How to Quickly Get Promoted: 20-Year PwC Executive

Want to advance your career? Replying quickly when your manager messages you on Slack may do more for your promotion prospects than you realize. 

Dallas Dolen, a PwC leader who has participated in performance evaluations and promotion discussions for more than 20 years, recently told Business Insider that employees can increase their odds of advancing by demonstrating behaviors that signal they are ready for greater responsibility. Dolen, who is based in San Jose, California, oversees 7,500 employees at the Big Four accounting firm. 

The most important behavior, according to Dolen, is responsiveness. In practice, that means being willing to pick up the phone, answer an urgent message and pitch in when a colleague or manager needs support. 

“You have to be willing to, at midnight, jump on the plane,” Dolen said.

Dolen said his own career progress at PwC has, in part, come from consistently showing up and doing what was needed when problems arose.

He added that genuine interest in the job can make it easier to stand out, but he drew a distinction between being dependable and being perpetually online. Employees do not need to be available around the clock to demonstrate commitment.

In fact, he suggested that an employee who is constantly overwhelmed may raise questions, particularly as AI tools give workers more ways to streamline routine work. 

How to stand out

Entrepreneur contributor Kyle Elliott, a career coach for tech leaders, explained in a post on the site earlier this year that strong performance “is rarely enough” for a promotion. For high-performers, especially in competitive tech companies and fast-growing startups, doing excellent work is often only the first step. 

One common reason employees get passed over is that they assume their results will speak for themselves. But managers, particularly those overseeing large teams, may not have a complete view of every employee’s accomplishments, he added. 

Rather than simply reporting tasks completed, he advised that ambitious workers frame updates around measurable business impact, such as driving revenue or reducing costs. That gives decision-makers the evidence they need to advocate for a promotion.

Relationships also matter more than many workers would like to admit. Employees do not need to be performative or manipulative or participate in office politics, Elliott said. However, they do need to develop authentic working relationships with the people who can assess their impact. A strong network of internal advocates can tip the scales of a promotion.

Finally, high-performers can become trapped by being exceptionally good at their current role, Elliott said. Promotions are generally awarded based on if someone is already demonstrating the skills required at the next level, not merely if they have mastered their existing responsibilities. 

Moving up requires that employees make their contributions visible and prove that they can handle the responsibilities of the next job before receiving the title, Elliott said. 

“In most organizations, promotions are less about how well you execute your current responsibilities and more about how consistently you will operate at the next level,” Elliott wrote. 

Want to advance your career? Replying quickly when your manager messages you on Slack may do more for your promotion prospects than you realize. 

Dallas Dolen, a PwC leader who has participated in performance evaluations and promotion discussions for more than 20 years, recently told Business Insider that employees can increase their odds of advancing by demonstrating behaviors that signal they are ready for greater responsibility. Dolen, who is based in San Jose, California, oversees 7,500 employees at the Big Four accounting firm. 

The most important behavior, according to Dolen, is responsiveness. In practice, that means being willing to pick up the phone, answer an urgent message and pitch in when a colleague or manager needs support.