What are some of examples of ways you have been able to get promoted or support your colleagues to get promoted at the same company?

It's important to be transparent with your manager about your career aspirations and then align on the criteria for a promotion. Create an actionable plan to close any gaps and track progress against it. I have had these conversations with my manager several times over the years to prepare for my own promotions, and conversations I've had with my team now as a manager. 

At GitLab, we have a career development framework that outlines competencies and levels https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/product/product-manager-role/product-CDF-competencies/ . We have check-ins every 10 weeks to outline progress against each competency and have discussions about long-term career goals. 

To achieve promotions and support colleagues in their career advancement within the same company, I advocate a systematic framework. First, it involves 'auditing your own skills' to understand one's current capabilities. Next, we 'audit the role' desired, pinpointing the specific skills and experiences required for that position. The crucial step is conducting a 'gap analysis' to identify areas for development.

Once these gaps are identified, I recommend the 70/20/10 approach for professional development. This means 70% of learning should come from on-the-job experiences, 20% from mentorship or coaching, and the remaining 10% from formal courses or training. Regular discussions with managers to align expectations and track progress are essential in this process. This methodical approach has proven effective in charting clear paths for promotions and growth within the company for me.

One way I got promoted at a smaller startup of <200 people, and helped my colleagues do the same, was by smart teamwork and negotiation at a startup. My friend and I were working as Product Managers and felt we deserved to be Senior PMs based on what we were doing and how much we were getting paid. We compared our salaries with the market and found we should be earning $13k-15k more.

So, we worked together to make a strong case for our promotion and pay raise. We prepared answers to questions we thought our managers and the product leader would ask, like why we thought we deserved more money and a higher position.

Even though I had a bit more experience than my friend, working together helped us both. We ended up getting promoted to Senior PM, and so did another coworker who wasn't even asking for it at the time. My friend got a bigger raise than I did, since when we started negotiations I was earning more already, and I was really happy with what we achieved together. It showed that by joining forces and being well-prepared, we could convince a company that's usually tight with money to recognize our value and pay us more.

To be honest, what we did is not unlike what unions do on behalf of their members. Joint negotiation when you see a flaw in the system.