I Was Promoted 5 Times in 6.5 Years at LinkedIn. The Secret to My Success Was This 3-Step Meeting Prep Strategy.

This article primitively appeared connected Business Insider.

This as-told-to effort is based connected a speech pinch Jade Bonacolta, a 31-year-old successful Miami who began her profession astatine LinkedIn and is now the caput of North American trading astatine Google. Her employment and promotion history person been verified by Business Insider. The pursuing has been edited for magnitude and clarity.

After graduating from Columbia University successful 2015, I landed a occupation astatine LinkedIn successful San Francisco.

During the six-and-a-half years I was astatine LinkedIn earlier joining Google successful 2022, I was promoted 5 times, opening arsenic an subordinate successful the Business Leadership Program and leaving arsenic the caput of trading for endeavor technology.

A batch of my promotions came from the measurement I handled my one-on-one meetings pinch my manager.

Preparing pre-reads for my one-on-ones

Most group spell into one-on-ones taking a much passive approach, expecting their head to coming to them and show them what to do. But managers often person teams of 5 aliases much people, truthful having play meetings pinch each of them tin beryllium a batch to juggle.

I noticed that my first head would mostly inquire maine the aforesaid things successful each telephone — "How did this week go? What are you moving connected adjacent week and wherever do you request help?" I knew I wanted to beryllium much proactive and make those meetings much efficient.

I began spending an hr beforehand penning up what I called a "pre-read." I would draught a elemental email pinch 3 sections: what went good for maine this week, what I'm focusing connected adjacent week, and 1 caller thought aliases absorbing invention to propose for our team.

I would nonstop it to my head earlier we met and bring my transcript to the gathering to thief guideline our conversation.

My head told maine he recovered the pre-reads incredibly helpful; they made our conversations acold much productive and helped him consciousness wholly alert of my work. He recovered the format truthful useful that he asked the remainder of my squad members to travel the strategy for their one-on-ones arsenic well.

3 things that make an effective pre-read earlier a 1:1 meeting

1. What went well

First, I created a "wins" folder, and each clip I had a triumph passim my week, I would adhd it to the folder.

For example, if, erstwhile moving pinch the income team, I received an email from 1 of the leaders saying, "I americium truthful impressed pinch the questions you asked my squad and the measurement you provided value," that email would spell consecutive into the wins folder. I would past propulsion from that files erstwhile making my pre-read email to my manager.

I understood that I could beryllium doing the champion activity successful the world, but it didn't matter if the correct group didn't cognize astir it; if I wanted to beryllium promoted, I needed to beryllium visible.

I'd besides prevention each of my wins successful a archive and stock it pinch my head to make it easier to constitute my capacity reappraisal and build a lawsuit for my promotion.

2. What I'm moving on

Managers are often expected to show their labor what they should beryllium moving on. However, it tin besides beryllium adjuvant and beneficial if the labor show proactiveness.

After sharing what I did the week before, I would past say, "Here's what I deliberation I should activity connected adjacent week." Some of these were ongoing projects, while others were caller initiatives I was introducing.

When it came to projects, I had a beautiful beardown small heart connected the guidance I wanted to return my career, and I made the promotion I wanted clear to my manager. I asked them, "Are location immoderate projects I could activity connected that let maine to commencement building those skills?"

I besides tried to expect wherever I mightiness request my manager's help. I'd inquire myself: "What could perchance spell incorrect adjacent week?" and "Which personification do I request to link pinch adjacent week that I mightiness request an preamble to from my manager?"

This way, I could inquire my questions each astatine erstwhile successful the gathering alternatively than passim the week.

I besides tried to proactively travel up pinch solutions, alternatively than conscionable coming problems.

For example, I mightiness opportunity to my manager, "It seems for illustration we person to get our fund successful by this date, truthful is location a measurement that I tin taxable this earlier this week successful bid to make judge that that deadline doesn't sneak up connected us?"

3. One caller idea

In my pre-read, I'd besides stock 1 caller idea.

Throughout the week, I would salary attraction to things that my head recovered frustrating aliases inefficiencies that came up complete the past week — things that had elemental fixes.

Then, successful my one-on-one meetings, I'd connection an thought aliases solution to lick those issues. I realized that the ideas didn't person to beryllium big. In fact, erstwhile presenting a caller idea, the cardinal is to make it small, arsenic you don't want to return connected an unhealthy magnitude of activity and pain out, aliases neglect the main parts of your job.

Once, my squad and I were doing really awesome work, but nary 1 successful our broader statement knew overmuch astir it. As I wanted to lean much into the trading world, I asked my manager, "What if we started a very quick, regular newsletter?"

My head agreed.

I took connected ownership of that newsletter. Every month, I consolidated and sent retired the newsletter to the full organization, sharing updates connected what our squad was doing. It was simple, and different teams weren't doing it, and I was reaching the leaders of different teams.

When those leaders would scope backmost retired to my head astir really the newsletter was great, my head would respond: "It was really her idea. I didn't moreover inquire her to do that; she conscionable volunteered to return this on."

Spending an hr to hole was worthy it to springiness my head visibility

I've repeated this process successful each caller domiciled I've taken and each caller head I've had astatine Google. My managers person loved it, and I've received unthinkable feedback whenever I've done it.

Even successful my now senior-level role, my activity squad profoundly appreciates my play position updates and caller ideas for the team. They dainty maine arsenic a thought partner alternatively than conscionable a nonstop report.

Making the astir of one-on-one meetings gives your leaders much visibility into each the activity you're doing.