Pave your way up
It's tempting to trap your boss in a corner and pour out the frustration of your slow career and desire for more money. But that's not a plan. You need to start thinking about it in terms of organisational needs. What does your company need at higher levels of management? How can you become a person who meets these needs? Find out first what skills and experience you lack, then come up with a plan to acquire those skills. This way you not only gain potential and aspiration, but also the necessary experience.
Document your journey
Don't assume everyone will remember how well you did on the last challenging project you were ever entrusted with. You need to be prepared just like for an interview. Document your successes over the past year. Prepare arguments on how you can contribute even more to a higher position.
The way you present these achievements is also an important part of your persuasion strategy. Talk about data and business impact.
Your intention here is twofold: to present the reasons for your promotion and at the same time show the ability to provide convincing arguments for something that is important to you - and to the company.
Learn to lead
Moving up the ladder usually means leading a team. You need to show both the people allocating leadership roles and the teams you will lead that you can head a team with specific expertise (such as technical).
Can, for example, IT specialists consider you a leader? They can, but it does require a kind of empathy. Spend time with them, try to empathise with their needs. If empathy and leadership do not come naturally to you, consider how you can develop them. Leadership is a learned behaviour and there are many ways to learn it, from earning an MBA through internal training programmes to hiring a coach or mentor. The key to leadership is self-awareness. This is the first leadership skill that needs to be learnt.
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