Practise this conversation
How to tell your manager you want a promotion
The ask you’ve been rehearsing on the way in, said out loud first to someone who answers back.
Tom is waiting for you
Before you go in
Three years in, new starters get sent to you and you know the floor better than most. You want to be a team leader and you’ve never said so to anyone who could make it happen. There’s no vacancy advertised. You’ve asked Tom, the shift manager, for ten minutes at the end of the shift.
Good luck.
Your goal
Tell Tom you want the team leader job, show him why, and find out what he’d need to see.
Up to 8 turns, about five minutes, then feedback from our AI coach. Your first go at this conversation is free. After that, one credit a go (packs from £3).
Want the full rehearsal? (Pro, 6 credits for both)
What you’ll practise
- Saying "I want the team leader job" in your first two sentences, plainly.
- Giving one specific example of leading that you’ve already done, with what happened.
- Asking what he’d need to see, taking an honest answer about a gap, and agreeing one thing to take on with a review date.
Your goal
Your free go at this one is used
One credit runs the whole conversation
Each new go costs one credit: a full conversation with Tom and the coach’s feedback. Your free go at the other conversations is still there.
No code? Get BOM Credits, from 10 for £3. Your code comes by email and works across the coach tools. Full refund within 14 days if you haven’t used a credit.
What worked
Where it slipped
Say this instead
One thing to practise
Read next
Show the conversation
Ready for the real one?
Rehearse it with Tom until you’re ready
Practise the conversation until it feels like the second time, not the first, and walk in with your best words.
- Two full rehearsals: up to 20 turns each, out loud or typed
- On the second, a hint from the coach after each reply
- Your own best lines on a card to take in with you
With the Best value pack (50 credits), 6 credits is about £1.45 · $1.90 · €1.70 · A$2.90. After that, one more go with hints is 2 credits. Private: use made-up names, and nothing you say is kept.
What we keep: nothing you typed. Your conversation stays in your browser and goes to our AI coach only to write the next reply and your feedback. Use a made-up name for the person you’re thinking of. The feedback is written by AI from your conversation and is a second pair of eyes, not a verdict on you.
Practice for reflection, not legal or HR advice. If it involves harassment, discrimination, health or safety, talk to HR or ACAS.
The full picture
You've been a picker and then a forklift operator in a distribution centre for three years. You're reliable, you know the floor, and new starters get sent to you. You want to be a team leader. You've thought it for a year and you've never said it to anyone who could do anything about it, because the right moment never comes and you don't want to sound big-headed.
Tom, the shift manager, is fair but busy and not big on career chats. There's no vacancy advertised. You've asked for ten minutes at the end of the shift, and you want to leave with Tom knowing what you want and with something concrete to work on, not a pat on the back.
Why it's hard
Saying you want a promotion feels like asking to be judged, so people hedge: "I'd like more responsibility at some point", which a busy manager hears as nothing. Or they over-correct and lead with how long they've been there and what they deserve, which puts the manager on the defensive. What a manager needs is three things: a clear statement of what you want, one example that shows you're already doing part of it, and a question that hands them the next move. The hardest part is asking what they'd need to see from you and then listening to an honest answer about a gap, without arguing.
Two-thirds of managers say they're uncomfortable communicating with the people they manage.
Lou Solomon, Harvard Business Review, March 2016 (survey by Interact and Harris Poll)82% of people who enter management have had no formal management and leadership training.
Chartered Management Institute with YouGov, Taking Responsibility, October 2023What usually goes wrong, and what you'll practise
What usually goes wrong
- "I'd like a bit more responsibility" with no job named. He agrees, nothing changes, and you think you've asked.
- "I've been here longest" or "I deserve a shot". Time served isn't the case. What you've done with it is.
- Asking about the money and the title before you've shown you can do the people part. He now thinks that's what it's about.
What you'll practise
- Saying "I want the team leader job" in your first two sentences, plainly.
- Giving one specific example of leading that you've already done, with what happened.
- Asking what he'd need to see, taking an honest answer about a gap, and agreeing one thing to take on with a review date.
Read before you practise
Questions people ask
How do I tell my manager I want a promotion?
Name the job, give one example of where you're already doing part of it, and ask what they'd need to see from you. That's the whole conversation. Then take on whatever they give you and ask for a date to review it. Keenness is a mood. Evidence is a case.
What if there's no vacancy?
Say it anyway. Managers fill roles with the people who've already told them they want one, often before anything is advertised. What you want from this conversation isn't the job today. It's for your name to be the first one he thinks of, and one thing to work on in the meantime.
How do I know if I'm ready?
The free Supervisor Readiness Assessment puts you in 15 everyday situations a supervisor meets and shows which of five skills to work on first. About five minutes. Do it before this conversation and you'll have an honest answer when he asks what you'd find hardest.
Credits here are BOM Credits: packs from 10 for £3 to 100 for £20, and one code works across every coach tool on the site. Full refund within 14 days if you haven't used a credit. Anything wrong, email [email protected]. How credits work