For senior ICs · Promotion 1:1s
Calibration is in two weeks. Rehearse the part where they say “not this cycle.”
You have the impact doc. You don’t know what happens when “I agree you’re doing great work” turns into a no.
You’ve been operating at the next level for fourteen months. You led the platform migration, mentored two juniors, and your skip-level gave you a shout-out in all-hands. Your manager said “let’s discuss at review time.” Review time is here — and you can already picture the pivot: visibility with leadership, headcount freeze, revisit in six months. Kommi puts you in that 30-minute 1:1 first, with a manager who deflects exactly like yours, so you practice pinning down criteria instead of over-explaining your project list.
The opening script isn’t the hard part.
Every career blog has the same structure: anchor your tenure, cite measurable impact, name the target level, ask what gaps remain. You have the template. What you don’t have is muscle memory for when your manager agrees you’re strong — then says “I can’t put you forward this cycle” and asks you to define what “visibility with leadership” actually means while you’re still processing the no.
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What’s at stake
One vague conversation can cost you another year at current level — $15k–$40k in title-aligned comp, a lost nomination window, and the signal that the ladder here might be broken.
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Why you procrastinate
You don’t want to sound entitled. You keep polishing the impact doc instead of booking the meeting, hoping your manager will bring it up first. They won’t.
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What scripts can’t do
GetPromoted and Ask a Manager give you the opening line. They can’t simulate your manager going from warm praise to “not this cycle” while you decide whether to push back or accept vague homework.
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What a coach costs
One promotion-strategy session runs $200–400. You need three reps this week — Sunday night, Tuesday lunch, Thursday before the real 1:1 — not one polished script delivered once.
Sample roleplay · 3 minutes
“You need more visibility with leadership.”
You’re Casey, senior IC. You’ve presented your impact and asked to be nominated for Staff. Your manager agrees you’re strong — then pivots.
You (Casey)
“Over the past year I led the platform migration, cut deploy time by 40%, and mentored two engineers to promotion. I’d like to discuss nominating me for Staff in this calibration cycle. What gaps do you see?”
Your manager
“I agree you’re doing great work — genuinely. But I can’t put you forward this cycle. You need more visibility with leadership. The VP doesn’t know your name yet. Let’s revisit in six months.”
Your move
- → Ask what specific interactions would count as “visibility”
- → Request measurable criteria you can hit before the next cycle
- → Propose a 90-day plan with a written follow-up email
Each choice changes how your manager responds — more vagueness, a headcount excuse, or a genuine criteria conversation. You practice staying curious instead of defending your project list for ten minutes straight.
Then the coach reads you back to yourself.
Not a scorecard. Not seventeen tips. One observation about what you did, one adjustment for next time, one sentence you can carry into the real 1:1 on Thursday.
Sample coach debrief
“You opened strong — specific projects, measurable outcomes, a clear ask. When your manager said ‘not this cycle,’ you immediately re-listed three more accomplishments. That turned the conversation into a defense of your track record instead of a negotiation for concrete criteria.
Try next time: Pause after the no. Ask one question: ‘What would visibility with leadership look like in measurable terms — three specific interactions or outcomes I can target in the next 90 days?’
Carry into Thursday: ‘I want a written list of the two or three gaps that, if closed, would make you confident nominating me in the next cycle. Can we agree on those today and schedule a check-in in 90 days?’”
Questions before your promotion 1:1
- Is this different from practicing a raise conversation?
- Yes. A raise talk is about compensation within your current level. A promotion talk is about title, scope, and your manager’s willingness to nominate you in calibration. The pushback is different — visibility, headcount, timing — and Kommi has a separate scenario for each.
- What if my company doesn’t have formal levels?
- The scenario still works. Substitute “Senior” with whatever title or scope increase you’re targeting. The hard part — vague deflection after you present your case — is the same whether you have levels or not.
- Can I practice different manager reactions?
- Yes. Run the same ask with a manager who cites headcount freeze, one who keeps praising you while refusing to nominate, or one who asks you to define the criteria yourself. Three reps in fifteen minutes.
- I already have an impact doc. Do I still need this?
- The doc gets you in the room. Kommi helps with what happens after your manager reads it and says “great work, but not this cycle.” That pivot is where most promotion conversations stall — not at the opening.
$11.99 a month.
A coach with a calendar runs two hundred dollars an hour. Kommi runs roughly forty cents a day — and is awake when you can't sleep, which is when most of these conversations are actually being rehearsed anyway.
We don't have a free tier, a team plan, or a premium upsell. One price, no pricing page riddle. If we add tiers later, we'll do it because users asked — not because a growth deck did.
About forty cents a day.
- Two free sessions before billing starts
- Then $11.99 a month — about forty cents a day
- Unlimited sessions — any conversation you can describe
- A coaching read after every session, and your progress over time
- Cancel in two taps; 7-day refund if you change your mind
One conversation you’d have talked yourself out of is worth years of this. Or just sleep better on Wednesday. Either way.
Run your first rehearsal — free →US only at launch. We'll get to the rest of the world.
The conversation is on Thursday. Begin tonight.
Three minutes. Two free. 7-day money back after that.