Advancing inside your own organization is hard. The very people deciding your future are the ones who already know you, at least that’s what they think. Their mental picture, formed by past projects, old responsibilities, and an outdated resume, can cap your potential and zap your career. Winning an internal promotion, then, isn’t just about being qualified; it’s about reintroducing who you are now and who you’re ready to become.

Let’s talk about how to influence perceptions with data, story, and most of all executive presence. Colleagues won’t just recall your history; they’ll recognize your readiness.

1) Reintroduce your strategic upside

While external candidates arrive with a curated narrative and a resume tailored to the role, internal candidates often come with something more complicated, familiarity. Familiarity can breed trust, but it also breeds assumptions. Your task is to update that mental model. Think of it as a smart phone update. It’s the same device, but it’s got a new look, new capabilities, and requires some attention to relearn.

You’re not trying to “prove” worthiness; you’re making it easy for decision-makers to see the upside of bringing you to the next level.

2) Reintroduce your evidence

Your most persuasive argument is a crisp connection between your work and the organization’s goals. Move beyond lists of tasks to a portfolio of outcomes.

a) Quantify your impact

Translate your contributions into numbers that matter to the business: cycle time reduced, revenue protected, stakeholder satisfaction increased, cost avoided, risk mitigated, throughput improved. When metrics are hard to isolate, approximate with ranges and show your method. Math builds credibility.

b) Use the STAR method (Situation–Task–Action–Result)

STAR turns fuzzy activity into a clear cause-and-effect narrative:

• Situation: Context that leaders recognize (e.g., “Cross-functional handoffs were delaying releases by two weeks.”)
• Task: The specific responsibility or objective you took on.
• Action: The concrete steps you led: tools, tactics, decisions.
• Result: Quantified outcomes tied to strategy (“Cut lead time by 28% and increased customer NPS from 62 to 71 within two quarters.”)

Aim for three to five STAR stories that map directly to the competencies of the role you want.

3) Reintroduce your readiness

The brain is designed to forget the details but remember the feelings. Remind them how you handled key moments with calm in a crisis, clarity amidst ambiguity, curiosity instead of defensiveness. That is executive presence: a quiet force that inspires confidence without theatrics.

Practice the micro-behaviors that project readiness:

• Calm: Slow your pace, breathe, and pause. Your presence regulates the room.
• Clarity: Lead with the headline, then provide context.
• Curiosity: Ask questions that surface assumptions and options.
• Conciseness: Keep answers tight; offer details on demand.
• Care: Signal respect, credit others, name constraints, and show you’ve listened.

These behaviors shape the emotional memory leaders carry into promotion discussions.

4) Reintroduce your tactics

When colleagues “already know you,” they may be interacting with an old snapshot. Borrow a page from performance frameworks: every interaction has an objective and possible obstacles. Choose tactics deliberately to refresh the picture. Here are nine versatile moves:

1. Inform – Share new scope, certifications, or initiatives you now lead.
2. Define – Clarify misunderstood parts of your workflow or decision rights.
3. Educate – Explain a complex challenge you solved and why it matters.
4. Verify – Confirm strengths they already see with concrete examples.
5. Challenge – (Respectfully) reframe limiting assumptions about your lane.
6. Invite – Ask leaders to evaluate a pilot that demonstrates next-level skills.
7. Mobilize – Rally cross-functional support to deliver a visible win.
8. Inspire – Share a compelling vision that connects your work to strategy.
9. Astound – Present a result or prototype that exceeds expectations.

Select one or two tactics per meeting, not all at once. Subtle, repeatable moments build a new narrative faster than a single grand presentation.

5) Reintroduce your leadership

You need a concise, repeatable pitch you can deliver in hallway chats, 1:1s, and formal reviews. Use the What? So what? Now what? structure:

• What? The value you’ve created, in numbers.
• So what? Why it matters to the organization’s goals.
• Now what? The next-level impact you’re prepared to deliver.

Memorize it. Then customize it per audience. Remember, this is a reintroduction. So, imagine you are meeting the decision makers for the first time too. Don’t assume they already know the real impact you are making.

The three objections

Chances are, you will still run into at least one of three objections. Be prepared in advance to respond to them with evidence.

“We already have someone in mind.” Acknowledge gracefully and ask: “What specific outcomes would make me the obvious choice next?” You’re playing the long game.

“You’re indispensable where you are.” Present a transition plan that protects continuity while enabling your growth.

“You’re not quite ready.” Invite specificity: “Which top three gaps should I close, and what evidence would convince you?”

The closing advantage: quiet confidence

Executive presence isn’t a title; it’s a practice. It’s the steady tone when stakes rise, the precision of your updates, the way you credit the team while owning decisions. When you pair that presence with measurable outcomes and a clear narrative, you dissolve the paradox of familiarity. Colleagues stop seeing who you were and start trusting who you’re ready to be.

Bottom line: Reintroduce yourself with evidence, design visibility into your week, speak in outcomes, and practice the micro-behaviors of calm, clarity, curiosity, and care. Do this consistently for a quarter, and you won’t have to ask people to see you differently—they already will.

Dr. Carl DuPont guides professionals in reconnecting to their authentic voice through a transformative approach that bridges performance expertise with scientific precision. As Director of the Kennedy Center's Washington National Opera Institute Program, Associate Professor of Voice at Johns Hopkins University's Peabody Institute, and Executive Education faculty at Carey Business School, Carl brings rare interdisciplinary insight to leadership development.