Cracking the Unwritten Rules of Marketing Leadership Advancement
You’ve delivered results. You’ve built strong campaigns. Your peers see you as a leader. But when the Marketing Director or VP role opened up, you weren’t the one promoted.
If you’ve been here before, you know the sting — and the confusion. According to John Beeson’s Harvard Business Review article “Why You Didn’t Get That Promotion,” the leap into senior leadership isn’t only about your performance today. It’s about how decision-makers perceive your readiness for tomorrow — based on a mix of unwritten rules, non-negotiable factors, and deselection factors that can quietly block your path.
Let’s unpack them.
The Unwritten Rules That Shape Advancement
Every company has job descriptions and review processes, but at the director and executive level there can be another playbook. These are the unwritten rules that often guide promotion decisions:
Operate beyond your lane. Leaders expect you to think and act across the whole business, not just your marketing silo.
Lead through influence. Success at the next level often comes from shaping decisions where you have no direct authority.
Build leaders, not just campaigns. You must be able to develop talent capable of delivering without you in the room.
Show executive presence. You need to communicate with clarity and confidence under pressure, especially in front of other senior leaders.
Ignoring these rules doesn’t just slow you down — it can keep you invisible when opportunities open.
The Critical Factors
When it comes to reaching higher levels of leadership, there are non-negotiables, the baseline capabilities and experiences you must have to be considered for the next step. Without them, no amount of charm or creativity will make you a serious candidate.
For marketing leaders, these non-negotiables often include:
Proven track record. You’ve managed teams, owned budgets, and delivered results over time — not just in one standout quarter.
Broad business knowledge. You understand not just marketing, but how sales, finance, product, and operations intersect with marketing’s success.
Strategic thinking. You can connect marketing activity to long-term company goals, competitive positioning, and revenue growth.
Reputation for reliability. Senior leaders trust you to deliver without close supervision.
If you’re missing any of these, your first priority should be to close that gap before aiming for the next promotion.
The Deselection Factors You Can’t Ignore
Here’s the harder truth: sometimes you do have the skills, but other factors quietly take you out of the running. These “deselection factors” are often about perception and trust.
Common ones include:
Being too narrowly focused. If you’re seen only as “the demand gen person” or “the creative lead,” you may be viewed as lacking range.
Poor interpersonal skills. A reputation for being difficult or treating others with insensitivity or abrasiveness can sink your candidacy fast.
Weak communication in senior settings. Struggling to present clearly or getting defensive under challenge can raise doubts about your readiness.
No visible successors. If leadership can’t picture who will take over your role, they may keep you where you are.
The challenge with deselection factors is that they’re rarely shared openly. You have to seek them out — and act quickly to address them.
How to Ask for and Listen to Feedback
The best way to surface both the non-negotiables you may be missing and any deselection factors holding you back is to actively ask for feedback. But you have to ask the right way.
Instead of the vague “Why didn’t I get the promotion?”, try:
“What skills or experiences would make me a clear choice for the next Director/VP role here?”
“Are there any perceptions or gaps I should address that are holding me back?”
“If I focus on these areas over the next year, would that position me as a “ready now” candidate for the next opening?”
And then — listen. Don’t defend. Don’t argue. Write it down. Thank them for the honesty. The leaders who rise are those who treat feedback as a strategic asset, not a personal attack.
Connecting the Dots
Advancing into senior marketing leadership isn’t about waiting for recognition — it’s about understanding the rules of the game and playing them with intent:
Learn the unwritten rules of how leaders are chosen in your company.
Build the non-negotiables that earn you a seat at the table.
Identify and neutralize deselection factors before they become career blockers.
Ask for targeted feedback — and act on it.
When you do this, you help position yourself as the obvious choice when the next role opens.
How Mi3 Consulting Group Can Help
Breaking into senior marketing leadership isn’t just about being good at your job — it’s about understanding the hidden rules, meeting the must-haves, and avoiding the silent career killers that can stall your progress. That’s exactly what our Marketing Leaders Coaching service is designed to do.
We work one-on-one with ambitious marketers to:
Decode the unwritten rules in your organization so you know how leadership decisions are made.
Spot and eliminate deselection factors before they quietly take you out of the running.
Develop executive presence so you command attention and respect in high-stakes conversations.
Turn feedback into a promotion plan, using it to guide your next 6–12 months of focused growth.
If you’ve been passed over for a promotion — or you’re determined to make the leap to Marketing Director or VP — our Marketing Leaders Coaching will help you get there with a clear strategy, measurable progress, and the confidence to own the role once you’ve earned it.
