When hard work still doesn’t get you the promotion
What Joe Wilkinson (the Founder & CEO of Artisan Strategies and former growth leader at Lucidchart) learned about the unspoken rules of career advancement.
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“I felt like I was given nothing – no path, no way forward. And I was pissed about it”
This is what Joe Wilkinson, Founder & CEO at Artisan Strategies (and former growth leader at Lucidchart) shared during our conversation.
Joe’s performance review seemed to be going perfectly. “They told me I was doing great, highlighted specific things I was doing really well, and told me I had nothing to improve,” Joe says.
And then … the conversation went off the rails.
“I wanted to learn more and advance my career, so I asked what I needed to do to keep progressing towards a promotion,” Joe says. “My manager said, ‘Nothing. No change.’”
As an ambitious person, what do you do with that type of feedback?
Joe pressed the issue, asking what his peers had done differently to earn their promotions.
The answer: “Sometimes there are hidden things people do to get promoted. I can’t tell you what those are.”
Hidden things?!? What does that even mean?
To say Joe was frustrated would be a major understatement.
He was working hard. People told him he was doing great. BUT … they weren’t going to promote him. And that was it. End of story. No explanation. No next steps. No nothing.
The experience taught Joe a painful lesson: Sometimes it’s less about asking for direct feedback, and more about interpreting signals that tell you whether or not you’re delivering value.
Our conversation covered some of the toughest moments in Joe’s career — from his six years leading growth at Lucidchart (helping grow the company from a single-digit annual revenue to beyond a hundred million in ARR) to being head of product and growth at several startups to his current gig as a full-time growth advisor. Some of the highlights include:
The a-ha moment when Joe recognized the sweet spot between his love of product and growth and his desire to protect his time with his family
The time Joe felt betrayed when the person he’d been training to take over his team leadership jumped ship to another team
The terrible choice Joe was forced to make between being a good manager and being a good friend
Watch or listen below 👇
Specific things to listen for:
[03:32] When Joe gained the courage to go off on his own
[07:21] His ‘aha’ moment into entrepreneurship
[11:33] When Joe’s trainee was supposed to take over his team, but was persuaded to join a different team
[18:10] Will he choose his friend? Or the business?
[29:49] When Joe was told, “Great job! But you’re not getting a raise” at his performance review
[37:30] Feedback can either make or break a relationship
[41:16] Joe’s self doubt journey
Resources:
Connect with Joe on LinkedIn
Subscribe to Artisan Strategies Substack
Connect with Andrew on LinkedIn
Learn more about Appcues
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