Go into any organization and you are bound to hear employees grousing about not getting promoted or not getting ahead as quickly as they would like. For many, getting ahead remains a mystery, even if they’ve had long and repeated conversations with their bosses about the promotion process. Unfortunately, their bosses have coached them using platitudes and empty promises. They’ve told them things such as:
- Just keep working hard and your time will come.
- I don’t know, go ask human resources.
- I am not sure I can put into words what you have to do, but I will know it when I see it.
- I have been fighting for your promotion but my boss (or human resources) said no. I guess maybe we don’t have the money right now.
In the first two seasons, Christopher was constantly campaigning to become a made man. Although Tony never completely spells out the criteria for becoming a made man, he informs Christopher that a set number of spots become available when the higher bosses "open up the articles." At this point, the capos give their recommendations. During the show’s first season, Christopher raises the issue even after being chastised for hijacking Junior’s trucks. Tony is clear to Christopher that the "… articles are closed and we are not accepting new members." After giving Christopher direction about making restitution to Junior over the hijacking, Tony tells him, ". . . you have a reputation for immaturity and it won’t be improved by not paying the tributes the acting boss demands of you." In this instance, Tony will not support him being a made man because he continues to be a loose cannon and the others will not respect him if this behavior continues.
After another incident with a hijacked truck that Christopher failed to stop, Tony offers even more specific advice about what it takes to get ahead: "Did you do anything to stop it [the hijacking]? Did you offer any guidance? What do we mean when we say leadership?" Tony is teaching Christopher a valuable lesson; he’s telling him that a made man would not have simply denied involvement in the hijacking but would have stepped in and stopped an action he knew the bosses wouldn’t countenance. Like any good coach, Tony was providing "just-in-time" learning, using a real business problem to teach Christopher about promotion criteria. In this way, he was focusing not only on Christopher’s current performance but also his potential for a future leadership role.
Tony is tremendously astute when it comes to coaching difficult but talented people. Ralph, for instance, is a great producer but a "difficult" person to work with. Ralph complains to Tony about not being promoted to captain, and Tony handles the confrontation brilliantly. At some point, most leaders face the dilemma of either promoting an individual star who is a lousy team player or risk losing this star if he isn’t promoted.
When Tony passes over Ralph for captain, he sits down and tells Ralph the news, explaining that he is promoting Gigi to captain over him. He talks to Ralph about his bad temper and cites several examples of poor decisions. Ralph responds angrily, reciting the familiar lament of how he "busts his butt" and brings in a lot of money. Later, Ralph again brings up the topic of his promotion, though his timing is not particularly good because he recently beat a stripper to death. Tony wisely reminds him of his bad judgment, telling him he disrespected the Bing and that is why he was passed over for captain.
Unlike many leaders, Tony didn’t coach Ralph by making false promises just to retain him a bit longer. He also didn’t verbally attack him in an attempt to bully him into behaving. Instead, he was honest with Ralph about why he was passed over and made the criteria for promotion clear.
This is the tough type of conversation most leaders can relate to. Tony chooses to let Ralph know where he stands and what he needs to do differently to get ahead. Certainly Tony realizes that Ralph is not going to be receptive to this message and will initially react negatively, but Tony’s bigger-picture goal is to develop Ralph’s leadership abilities, and he knows this conversation is necessary for Ralph’s development.