PIE: The Secret to Upward Mobility

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If you are an employee in an organization, eventually, the topic of promotions will come up with your direct supervisor. Traditionally, when discussing the prospect of being promoted, our immediate thoughts pivot to our performance in our daily activities. We recollect on our contributions to a project or recount the number of “Meets Expectations” that appear on our annual review. These thoughts are natural and indicative of the narratives most of us were brought up with affirming that good performance will lead to career success.

While an individual’s performance is important, it is a misconception that merit alone is the sole reason someone gets promoted, requiring the current workforce to rethink how it positions itself for promotional opportunities and career success.

In his 1996 book Empower Yourself: The Organizational Game Revealed, Harvey J. Coleman coined the concept PIE (performance, image, and exposure) to uncover the fallacy that ascending the hierarchy of an organization was heavily dictated by performance and little weight given to other factors.

When I first learned about PIE, it revolutionized the way that I viewed my engagement at work. Like most high achievers, I performed well and built relationships across the organization, but viewing these activities through the lens of Coleman’s framework helped uncover where I needed to invest my time to maximize my chances for advancement.

So let’s take a closer look at PIE.

Performance

The P stands for performance, usually in the context of how well someone performs the duties outlined in their job description. Despite much emphasis surrounding upward mobility being attributed to “doing a good job,” performance is only 10 percent of the overall consideration when senior leadership is looking to promote employees. The reason for its little weight in the decision-making process is because good performance is already an expectation; otherwise, consideration would not have been given in the first place.

To clarify, performance is equally about individual contribution as much as contribution within a team. Contrary to the other two components of PIE, your performance is largely under your control and can be validated through documenting your unique contributions to projects assigned and the quantitative results achieved. Numbers are hard to refute and can be useful if there is doubt regarding how you add value.

Image

The next component is I, which stands for image and accounts for 30 percent of the weight given toward promotions. This is your personal brand and/or reputation within the organization. Your image is formed from the perceptions people have of you and their experience interacting with you. You contribute to the formation of your image by how you present yourself, your level of engagement, verbal and nonverbal communication, your approach to work, etc.

In my opinion, image can aid a person in garnering trust and buy-in from those within their supervision. From a leadership perspective, people demand good character and competence from their leader to feel safe in moving in the direction outlined by the leader. It’s the trust that makes others receptive to be led. Your reputation precedes you before you step into any room, so manage it well.

To assess the perceptions others may have of you, consider reaching out to a mentor or sponsor for feedback on how others may be perceiving you. We assume others view us based upon how we view ourselves and that can be a blind spot if it is not managed appropriately.

Exposure

The last component in PIE (and arguably the most important) is E, which stands for exposure and accounts for 60 percent of consideration when deliberating over promotions. Exposure refers to the visibility an individual and their accomplishments have among key decision-makers.

To quickly assess your level of exposure, review your level of engagement (on projects and socially) last year and ask yourself the following questions:

• Were any of the projects assigned to you visible to senior leadership?
• How regularly do you meet with others outside your functional area?
• What does your social network look like at work?
• Do you possess any informal leadership positions at work (e.g., committee work)?

These questions are meant to provide a sense of your presence in the organization and should not be confused with simply being well-known. Rather, high exposure is about being seen succeeding—racking up wins that add value to the organization and acknowledged by key decision-makers. The weight of consideration given to exposure emphasizes how crucial social connection and active participation within your organization are to upward mobility. It is imperative that professionals build a broad network of advocacy, inclusive of mentors and sponsors, across their organization that can attest to their skills in rooms where they are not in.

Additionally, visibility among key decision-makers creates familiarity and familiarity begets trust. Otherwise, it is tough to base decisions on unknowns, particularly when it comes to shaping the next generation of leaders in an organization.

Take Action

The PIE concept should empower you to take a more active role in your career advancement.  While strong job performance is still a factor when assessing promotions, an investment in your image and organizational exposure will undoubtedly differentiate you from your competition.

If you want to learn more. I recently expanded on PIE in an episode of my new podcast, BRÜTalks.

Moving forward, perform a self-assessment to determine what areas of PIE you need to invest in to secure that next promotion. Share this article with anyone you feel is stuck and not seeing career movement. It could be just the insider scoop they were looking for.

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