I’ve always thought that promotions were largely based on how hard you worked, or how long you’ve been at a company. While those two qualities may play a role in someone moving up the corporate ladder, I recently learned that bosses often look for something more subtle as the deciding factor.
I chatted with Bill George, a Harvard Business School executive fellow and former CEO of health-care company Medtronic, who told me the top traitleaders look for when considering employees for a promotion is someone who guides and inspires their team.
People who “focus on doing an outstanding job in leading [their] team” are in the best position to get promoted, George says. Great employees don’t boss their co-workers around — they excel at building trust with the people around them, which requires a certain amount of self-awareness to achieve, he adds.
You can build that self-awareness by reflecting on your strengths, getting feedback from your manager and co-workers, and using those takeaways to hone your skills as a leader, Juliette Han, a Harvard-trained neuroscientist, told CNBC Make It in 2023.
The more self-aware you are, the more “your leadership will be authentic and people will naturally want to associate with you,” George wrote in his 2022 book, “True North: Emerging Leader Edition.”
With this in mind, I plan to be more proactive about contributing new ideas at work and building intentional relationships with my colleagues. Making time for coffee and conversation with your peers is difficult, especially with a stacked schedule, but according to George, these connections are crucial.

CNBC