You are doing the work.

You are delivering results.

You are checking every box they asked for.

But when it comes time to talk about how to get promoted to VP, somehow it is always someone else whose name comes up.

Here is the uncomfortable truth. VP promotions are not just about performance. They are about perception, positioning, and power.

I break this down more in my guide on why you are being overlooked for VP.

I’ve seen brilliant people get skipped over year after year, not because they weren’t qualified, but because they made one (or more) of these avoidable mistakes.

Here are the top three promotion mistakes you must stop if you want to be seen as VP ready:

Mistake 1: Blending In Instead Of Standing Out As VP Material

You’re in a high-demand, low-supply market.

There are lots of competent, capable people doing great work.

But promotions don’t go to the most capable. They go to the most visible.

At the VP level, leaders are not asking “who works the hardest.”

They are asking, “who already shows up like an executive we can bet on.”

You don’t need to be flashy. But you do need to be memorable.

You need to make it easy for decision-makers to say, “Of course it’s you.”

Here’s what blending in looks like:

You’re in every meeting. You’re delivering consistently. You’re helpful, collaborative, solid.

But there’s nothing that makes someone stop and take notice.

Ask yourself:

• What’s my signature strength or point of view?

• What do I want to be known for?

• Am I showing up where it matters or staying quietly in the background?

• What are my unique intersections? (Think: industry + skill set, startup + enterprise, engineering + product, international experience + leadership.)

You don’t need to be radically original. You just need to show how your combination of strengths makes you different.

That’s often where your standout story lives not in what you do, but in how only you do it.

Mistake 2: Lacking Sponsors And Social Proof For Your VP Promotion

You can’t promote yourself. Someone else has to be willing to vouch for you.

When leaders decide who is ready for VP, they look around the room and listen for whose name keeps coming up with conviction.

If no one is:

• Quoting your name in rooms you’re not in

• Advocating for your readiness

• Publicly endorsing your impact...

Then you’re operating without the political capital required to move up.

And here’s the kicker: your manager’s support alone isn’t enough.

I’ve worked with clients who had stellar performance reviews and still got blocked because the VP two levels up had no idea who they were.

Here’s a simple way to start:

List the 3–5 people whose opinion carries the most weight in promotion conversations.

Now ask: Do they know the value I bring? Have I made it easy for them to support me?

Still unsure how to build those relationships? Here’s a hint:

Start by offering value, not asking for favours.

Visibility begins with curiosity, credibility, and connection, not self-promotion.

If you are not sure how to start building those relationships, read my guide to strategic networking that actually gets you promoted.

Mistake 3: Relying On Technical Excellence Instead Of Executive Skills

You’ve mastered your craft. That’s the baseline.

But at the executive level, success isn’t about how well you do the work.

It’s about how well you lead, influence, and scale results through others.

And this is where so many high performers hit the wall.

If you are still treating technical excellence as your main value at Director level, you will quietly disqualify yourself from VP conversations.

They think “executive presence” is a mysterious charisma you either have or don’t.

So they keep doubling down on delivery, thinking eventually, it’ll be enough.

It won’t.

The real shift happens when you start to:

• Set direction instead of waiting for it

• Navigate ambiguity without panic

• Influence across teams and up the org chart

• Build coalitions, not just workflows

• Speak with clarity and conviction, especially when the path isn’t clear

I walk through these executive skills in more detail in my guide on developing magnetic executive presence.

Here’s the good news: these are not traits. They’re skills.

You can learn them. Practice them. Master them.

And when you combine executive skills with your technical depth? You become the person they can’t afford to overlook.

Your Next Steps

If you are stuck, it is likely because one or more of these mistakes is keeping you invisible, unbacked, or under-levelled.

Pick the one that resonates most and start there.

And if you want a clear plan to become the obvious choice for VP, watch my free masterclass where I walk you through the exact promotion strategy I used to go from Director to VP and the five elements leaders use to make VP decisions.

Free training: How Directors In Tech Become The Obvious Choice For VP

I believe in you, and I’m rooting for you

Maya❤️