Most people think becoming VP-ready takes years. It doesn’t have to.

What takes years is doing great work while waiting for someone else to notice.

A few weeks ago, I was interviewed on a podcast and asked a deceptively simple question:

“If someone wanted to be VP-ready and seen as the obvious next candidate, what would they need to do?”

Not eventually.

Not after one more year of proving themselves.

But starting now.

Most people expect the answer to be about skills, experience, or doing more.

It isn’t.

By the time a VP role opens, the real decision has already been shaped. Senior leaders have usually decided who feels ready, who feels risky, and who still feels like a strong operator.

That’s why so many capable people hear:

“Keep doing what you’re doing.”

“You’re on the right track.”

“Let’s revisit this later.”

Those are not neutral statements. They’re signals.

For Directors aiming for VP, these signals usually mean leadership sees you as dependable, but not yet operating at VP altitude. That gap is fixable, but only if you address it directly.

This 90-day plan to become VP-ready is about shifting that perception, fast, by changing your visibility, sponsorship, and executive narrative before the role is even posted.

Step 1: The VP Mirror

Before you do anything else, you need to stop guessing how you’re perceived. Understanding your executive perception is one thing, building it is another. I explain How To Develop Magnetic Executive Presence in detail here.

At the VP level, promotions are less about output and more about perceived risk to the business, the org, and other executives. Executives ask themselves whether promoting you feels safe, predictable, and aligned with the business.

The VP Mirror forces you to see yourself the way decision-makers see you, not the way your performance reviews read.

Run The VP Perception Audit

Answer yes or no:

• Do I know who actually influences VP promotion decisions in my organization?

• Do I know what those people care about at the VP level?

• Can I clearly articulate how they currently describe me in one sentence?

• Does that description emphasize strategy, judgment, and outcomes, or execution and effort?

• If a VP role opened tomorrow, would they say “ready now” or “strong potential”?

If you answered “no” more than twice, you’re not behind.

You’re operating without a mirror.

That’s the fastest way to work hard and stay stuck.

Your Action:

Write down:

1. The 3–5 people who shape VP decisions

2. What you believe each one would say about you today

3. What you need them to say about you to be seen as ready

This becomes the baseline for everything else.

Step 2: The One-and-Done Visibility Plan

Once people realize there’s a perception gap, they usually jump straight to “I need more visibility” and try to be everywhere. That’s a recipe for burnout.

Visibility is not about being louder or busier.

It’s about sending the right signal, consistently, at the right altitude with the right people.

Senior leaders don’t notice who is everywhere.

They notice who shows up talking about decisions, tradeoffs, and outcomes.

That’s why I teach a one-signal-per-week visibility plan.

You invest your time in one action that gives you the right kind of exposure and doesn’t burn you out.

What Counts as Strategic Visibility at the VP Level

A visibility signal answers one question for senior leaders:

“Can I already imagine this person operating at the VP level?”

For Directors, this is where most promotion strategies break: the work is solid, but the signal still sounds like execution instead of leadership.

Examples:

• Presenting a recommendation instead of a status update

• Leading a cross-functional discussion tied to a business priority

• Reframing a problem leadership is already debating

• Sharing an executive update that answer questions before they are asked

Same work. Different altitude.

What Visibility Does Not Move VP Decisions

These behaviors often reinforce the perception that you’re indispensable in your current role, which quietly works against a VP promotion.

• Speaking more without changing the substance

• Volunteering for extra work that stays invisible

• Being busy in the wrong rooms

Your Action:

Plan the next four weeks of visibility. For each week, write:

• Where will I be visible? (email, meeting, 1:1, slack)

• Who will see this? (Manager, Skip, leadership, cross functional)

• What do they need to see? (Decision, strategy, impact…)

This is what strategic visibility is all about. Specific and targeted action that puts you in front of the right people and creates the right perception. Inside my program, we provide a quarterly visibility plan with weekly action items so you never have to wonder “am I doing enough?”

Step 3: The Sponsor Matrix

VP promotions in tech are a team sport and the team is usually much smaller than people think. They happen when someone senior is willing to bet on you.

Mentors advise.

Supporters encourage.

Sponsors advocate when you’re not in the room.

This is why self-promotion isn’t optional, it’s strategic, read more here.

Sponsorship does not come from coffee chats or long relationships alone. You may have a standing one-on-one with your cross functional SVP but that doesn’t mean they’ll go to bat for you. Sponsorship comes from shared wins at the right altitude, with the right stakeholders.

How to Build Real VP-Level Sponsorship (Not Just Mentors)

You don’t need to be everyone’s BFF, in fact, you probably shouldn’t. What you need is to identify the 3 stakeholders beyond your manager who matter most for your promotion.

That list usually includes:

• Your skip level

• SLT members

• C-suite / Board

Then ask

• What do they care about right now?

• How does my work make their priorities easier to achieve?

• Where could a shared win naturally exist?

Your Action:

Choose one person from your Sponsor Shortlist and get on their calendar in the next 30 days with a value-led agenda. Less “let’s catch up” more “This [project] can help with [their agenda]”.

Step 4: The Reputation Ladder

As you grow, your reputation must move up the ladder.

Most high performers are described like this:

• “She gets things done.”

• “He’s reliable.”

• “They execute really well."

That’s not wrong. It’s just not senior enough.

Shifting perception means altering how you communicate your value, not just your results. You can read 5 Elements of a Winning Promotion Strategy for practical narrative tactics.

At the VP level, reputation sounds different:

• “She’s very strategic”

• “He can handle ambiguity.”

• “They make strong decisions under pressure.”

The Reputation Ladder is about intentionally moving your narrative to the next rung.

It’s how you shape how people see you, instead of letting them make their own assumptions.

A great example of executive narrative done well is the 60-second executive introduction formula (I break it down here).

It’s how you go from: ”Hey, I’m maya, Director as ACME corp” to:

”Hey, I’m Maya, The Director of Marketing here at ACME corp. My team and I are focused on aligning marketing and sales to hit our revenue goals. In the last 8 months we’ve completely overhauled our brand positioning, a $1m project that has already landed us 2 new logos with 3 more in the pipeline. I’ll be happy to connect and share more offline.”

Your Action:

Write two short paragraphs:

• Paragraph 1: How you’re typically described today

• Paragraph 2: How a VP-ready leader should be described

That delta shows you exactly what needs to change.

Step 5: Build Your VP Promotion Case

You won’t see this as a requirement anywhere, but a promotion business case is non-negotiable.

If you don’t make the case for your promotion, no one else will do it for you.

A Promotion Case is not:

• a resume,

• a performance review,

• or a list of past accomplishments.

Most Directors wait for their manager to ‘tell them when it’s time.’ VP candidates create clarity instead of waiting for permission

It is a future-focused argument for why the business benefits from you operating at the next level.

A strong Promotion Case answers:

• What scope am I already operating at?

• What problems do I own beyond my role?

• What decisions do I influence?

• What outcomes have changed because of my leadership?

• What additional value could I unlock at the next level?

This is not something you “send cold.”

It’s something you use to anchor conversations with your manager and sponsors.

Your Action:

1. Start a win bank to track your scope, impact and influence.

2. To nail your future facing plan ask yourself: If I was promoted today, what would I do differently? That’s your plan.

The 90-Day Plan To Become A VP

Here’s how this actually turns into action.

Days 1–30

• Complete the VP Mirror perception audit

• Draft your current vs. desired Reputation Ladder

• Identify your Sponsor Shortlist

Days 31–60

• Build and execute your One-Signal Visibility Plan weekly

• Start creating shared wins with at least one sponsor

• Refine your executive narrative

Days 61–90

• Synthesize everything into a Promotion Case

• Align with your manager on readiness and timing

• Strengthen advocacy behind the scenes

VP-Ready Checklist for Directors

Use this as your working list.

⬜ I’ve completed a VP Mirror perception audit

⬜ I know who influences VP decisions and how I’m perceived

⬜ I have a 4-week One-Signal Visibility Plan

⬜ I’ve defined my Sponsor Shortlist (3 names)

⬜ I’ve drafted my Reputation Ladder narrative

⬜ I’ve started a future-focused Promotion Case

What to Do Next if You Want VP This Year

This list above? That is your next move. It doesn’t get any clearer than that.

Don’t try to do it all at once, but stay consistent. One action every week for 90 days will get you closer to a promotion than you’ve ever been.

You don’t need more years of proving yourself, you need senior leaders to see you differently.

And as you get started hit reply and let me know how it goes.

In the free VP Promotion Masterclass, I break down how Directors in tech shift perception, build sponsorship, and position themselves as the obvious choice before the role opens.

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

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

Maya❤️