How to get scope in a flat or downsizing environment
Video recording in partnership with Maven
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How to get scope in a flat or downsizing environment (video recording)
Most leaders I talk to are stuck right now. Their teams are shrinking through layoffs or stagnant through flat headcount.
However, I coach several people who are growing their scope RIGHT NOW while their companies are downsizing.
This is hard. They are doing it by building trust, creating new value, and taking on new challenges. You can too.
Why scope matters:
Honestly, it largely shouldn't!
It is a lazy proxy for job complexity, which should be the focus
Some issues only show up at scale
Next, you must understand the required scope of the next level.
Then, conduct your own 360 review and get clear about where you stand by asking your manager, skips, and peers. And closely observe who is moving up, who is not, and why (ask stakeholders).
After laying the groundwork by completing the actions above, here are your next 3 actionable steps:
Build trust. Be the person to inherit teams. You become trusted by being clear about what you will do and then reliable by delivering it.
If your peer/manager leaves (or gets fired), you step up. To do this, your manager or skip must trust you. Follow my detailed guide “The Magic Loop” to build trust (it works, I’ve used it as the direct report, manager, and Amazon VP).
Volunteer for unstaffed work (tradeoffs! Watch the video recording for details).
Create new value. Some people report getting headcount for new ideas and projects even when no one around them can get growth for existing work. I started several teams while at Amazon (e.g. Appstore, Merch by Amazon, Prime Gaming)
Take on new challenges (risks). You break in (get more scope) by having significant high-visibility wins that get leaders to believe you are "great." Just being competent won't do it. Better to risk losing big and switch companies than to stay stuck in the middle.
The video recording also covers:
Advice on transferring to “safe” teams to avoid layoffs and transferring to “risky” teams to seek opportunity.
Three personal “How to” stories:
“Klingon Promotion” — My leadership career began when the leader above me was removed (not by me) and I stepped in. This story details why I was selected even though I was very young, new to the company, and unqualified on paper.
Amazon Merch on Demand
Jobs nobody else wanted
I answer live audience questions, including:
“How do I get an accurate/honest assessment on where I stand in the eyes of Org's leadership?”
“When you do get more scope, how do you decide between taking it directly on your plate versus delegating it to managers in your team to increase their scope as well?”
“After layoffs, I’ve got back to a team size of my 2 years ago. I cannot grow anymore, I think it’s time to change company. But there are not enough open positions. What should I do?”
“Suggestions on expanding scope in a flat env when manager disagrees with skip on org-wide priorities?”
“I’ve tried to volunteer for work. For one, I was successful, but other opportunities feel like pulling teeth because some of the “volunteer work” is outside of the scope of my team. How do you navigate that to progress your career, but also respect the scope of your org given tight times?”
“You mentioned being nice as a potential hindrance in the workplace, what can you encourage for those who are deemed nice in the workplace to become "unreasonable" especially when your role requires leading through ambiguity?”
“What traits separate Directors from Senior Managers and what are common reasons Senior Managers get stuck?”
I dive deeper into these topics and more in my upcoming live online class How to Break Through to Executive. This class will teach you the specific standards by which executives are selected and how to manage your promotion process to show you meet them. You will also hear more of my personal stories with actionable “How to” lessons such as the time I publicly failed Jeff Bezos in-person, was told “You’re doing this all wrong” during a promotion committee review, how to get “skip level support” for a promotion, and more.
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Level Up is a newsletter from retired Amazon Vice President Ethan Evans that breaks down how he succeeded and how you can get to the next level.