Early in my profession, I missed out on promotions though I labored onerous. As an engineer by coaching, I assumed my success could be performance-based. I mistakenly thought that my worth to a company could be measured solely by my technical abilities — how rapidly and precisely I might compute the costs of advanced monetary derivatives.
It wasn’t till years into my banking profession that I noticed my mistake: I had neglected picture and publicity. Harvey Coleman’s 1996 research on profession development revealed that profession success depends upon a mix of efficiency, picture, and publicity (PIE). In truth, solely 10% of success correlates to efficiency, whereas picture accounts for 30%, and publicity for a staggering 60%.
Should you’re delivering outcomes however are nonetheless being handed over for promotions, it’s time to take inventory of the lacking items in your PIE.
Picture: Your Popularity at Work
What are you recognized for at work? In my first job as a overseas change (FX) gross sales skilled at a Singapore financial institution, I didn’t do nicely as a result of I lacked social abilities. Despite the fact that I improved my promoting abilities considerably after a yr, the poor impression my colleagues and managers had of me was fastened. It was troublesome to vary their minds. If I had stayed on, I might have been a mediocre salesperson at finest. So, I left to pursue my grasp’s in finance.
After I joined Citi in 2001 as a derivatives structurer, I confirmed a powerful curiosity in instructing. I volunteered to conduct product coaching for each purchasers and colleagues. In a short time, I constructed a popularity not simply as a talented structurer but in addition as a wonderful coach. This popularity led to invites from gross sales heads throughout Asia to coach their groups and clients, considerably enhancing my private model.
Methods to Construct Your Private Model
Develop a signature talent, one thing that’s totally different out of your core experience however could be integrated into your work.
As an example, should you’re a junior analysis analyst in an asset administration firm, you can develop video modifying abilities. By providing to shoot and edit movies for senior colleagues presenting at funding conferences, you may be seen as a precious group participant whom they need to carry alongside to occasions.
When you have already labored at your present firm for greater than a yr, altering your inner model could be a problem. I counsel specializing in growing your exterior model and letting it affect your inner standing.
Volunteering with a CFA society, organizing occasions, or serving as a speaker liaison are nice methods to do that. I’m proud to be a speaker on the CFA Institute LIVE 2025 occasion in Chicago subsequent Might. Share these experiences on LinkedIn and different retailers, as I do, to showcase your capabilities as a grasp networker or organizer. Your employer will see you in a distinct mild. Study to be a storyteller. Tales resonate extra deeply than details and figures. Use your tales to let individuals find out about your character, skills, and values. They’re essential components of your private model.
Publicity: How Nicely Do Individuals Know You?
Publicity is about making certain that the proper individuals — your colleagues and senior leaders — are conscious of your contributions. With out visibility, you gained’t get promoted.
I discovered this the onerous approach. After I was a vp (VP, a mid-level rank) at an American financial institution, my boss went on vacation and requested me to current the weekly market replace to the gross sales and structuring groups throughout Asia on his behalf. I advised him I couldn’t host the assembly as a result of I used to be busy getting ready for my skilled exams. However this was simply an excuse. In actuality, I feared public talking. He received one other VP to do it as an alternative. By year-end, when it got here to promotion nominations, guess who my supervisor selected to advertise to director stage? That’s proper, not me, however the different VP.
Should you carry out nicely in your job however don’t converse up in conferences, you’re making it troublesome for managers to find out about your work. Even when your individual boss needs to advertise you, nobody else within the firm will assist you as a result of they hardly know you. It comes right down to this easy equation:
How good you’re × Your presentation abilities = How good individuals suppose you’re
So not solely should you do good work, however it’s essential to additionally seize alternatives to let individuals know concerning the work you do.
Methods to Improve Publicity
- Communicate Up Throughout Conferences: Share your insights, ask considerate questions, and ensure your voice is heard.
- Volunteer for Excessive-Visibility Duties: For instance, supply to emcee the corporate’s annual dinner.
- Pursue Worldwide Alternatives: Inner transfers to totally different workplaces or nations can considerably increase your publicity. I labored in London and Hong Kong throughout my profession, and these stints allowed me to construct relationships with international leaders.
- Have interaction with the International Group: Attend CFA occasions exterior your property nation to attach with a broader community.
Full Your PIE
Promotions require extra than simply onerous work and outcomes. By mastering the PIE framework, you’ll place your self for long-term profession success.
Early in my profession, I missed out on promotions though I labored onerous. As an engineer by coaching, I assumed my success could be performance-based. I mistakenly thought that my worth to a company could be measured solely by my technical abilities — how rapidly and precisely I might compute the costs of advanced monetary derivatives.
It wasn’t till years into my banking profession that I noticed my mistake: I had neglected picture and publicity. Harvey Coleman’s 1996 research on profession development revealed that profession success depends upon a mix of efficiency, picture, and publicity (PIE). In truth, solely 10% of success correlates to efficiency, whereas picture accounts for 30%, and publicity for a staggering 60%.
Should you’re delivering outcomes however are nonetheless being handed over for promotions, it’s time to take inventory of the lacking items in your PIE.
Picture: Your Popularity at Work
What are you recognized for at work? In my first job as a overseas change (FX) gross sales skilled at a Singapore financial institution, I didn’t do nicely as a result of I lacked social abilities. Despite the fact that I improved my promoting abilities considerably after a yr, the poor impression my colleagues and managers had of me was fastened. It was troublesome to vary their minds. If I had stayed on, I might have been a mediocre salesperson at finest. So, I left to pursue my grasp’s in finance.
After I joined Citi in 2001 as a derivatives structurer, I confirmed a powerful curiosity in instructing. I volunteered to conduct product coaching for each purchasers and colleagues. In a short time, I constructed a popularity not simply as a talented structurer but in addition as a wonderful coach. This popularity led to invites from gross sales heads throughout Asia to coach their groups and clients, considerably enhancing my private model.
Methods to Construct Your Private Model
Develop a signature talent, one thing that’s totally different out of your core experience however could be integrated into your work.
As an example, should you’re a junior analysis analyst in an asset administration firm, you can develop video modifying abilities. By providing to shoot and edit movies for senior colleagues presenting at funding conferences, you may be seen as a precious group participant whom they need to carry alongside to occasions.
When you have already labored at your present firm for greater than a yr, altering your inner model could be a problem. I counsel specializing in growing your exterior model and letting it affect your inner standing.
Volunteering with a CFA society, organizing occasions, or serving as a speaker liaison are nice methods to do that. I’m proud to be a speaker on the CFA Institute LIVE 2025 occasion in Chicago subsequent Might. Share these experiences on LinkedIn and different retailers, as I do, to showcase your capabilities as a grasp networker or organizer. Your employer will see you in a distinct mild. Study to be a storyteller. Tales resonate extra deeply than details and figures. Use your tales to let individuals find out about your character, skills, and values. They’re essential components of your private model.
Publicity: How Nicely Do Individuals Know You?
Publicity is about making certain that the proper individuals — your colleagues and senior leaders — are conscious of your contributions. With out visibility, you gained’t get promoted.
I discovered this the onerous approach. After I was a vp (VP, a mid-level rank) at an American financial institution, my boss went on vacation and requested me to current the weekly market replace to the gross sales and structuring groups throughout Asia on his behalf. I advised him I couldn’t host the assembly as a result of I used to be busy getting ready for my skilled exams. However this was simply an excuse. In actuality, I feared public talking. He received one other VP to do it as an alternative. By year-end, when it got here to promotion nominations, guess who my supervisor selected to advertise to director stage? That’s proper, not me, however the different VP.
Should you carry out nicely in your job however don’t converse up in conferences, you’re making it troublesome for managers to find out about your work. Even when your individual boss needs to advertise you, nobody else within the firm will assist you as a result of they hardly know you. It comes right down to this easy equation:
How good you’re × Your presentation abilities = How good individuals suppose you’re
So not solely should you do good work, however it’s essential to additionally seize alternatives to let individuals know concerning the work you do.
Methods to Improve Publicity
- Communicate Up Throughout Conferences: Share your insights, ask considerate questions, and ensure your voice is heard.
- Volunteer for Excessive-Visibility Duties: For instance, supply to emcee the corporate’s annual dinner.
- Pursue Worldwide Alternatives: Inner transfers to totally different workplaces or nations can considerably increase your publicity. I labored in London and Hong Kong throughout my profession, and these stints allowed me to construct relationships with international leaders.
- Have interaction with the International Group: Attend CFA occasions exterior your property nation to attach with a broader community.
Full Your PIE
Promotions require extra than simply onerous work and outcomes. By mastering the PIE framework, you’ll place your self for long-term profession success.
