According to career progression principles, what should a promotion be viewed as, rather than merely a recognition of past accomplishments?
Answer
An investment in future performance.
The text emphasizes a forward-looking perspective when considering advancement: a promotion should not be treated as a simple reward or retrospective validation for past performance. Instead, it is fundamentally an investment the organization makes in the employee's potential to succeed at a higher level in the future. Therefore, candidates must actively showcase that they are already operating effectively at the next level, as this provides persuasive evidence of their future capability to handle greater complexity and responsibility.

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