Ask for Stretch Projects That Build Your Next Role

You're ready to grow beyond your current scope. You message your manager: "I'd like to take on more responsibility." They say "Sure, when something comes up." Nothing comes up. Three months pass with the same routine work.

You reframe your ask with specific skills and business impact: "I'd like to lead the Q3 vendor evaluation to build my stakeholder management and decision-making skills—both gaps for senior roles here." Manager assigns you the project within a week. You run 12 vendor demos, present recommendations to leadership, and add "Led $200K procurement decision" to your performance doc.

The difference? You made it easy to say yes by connecting your growth to business needs and showing exactly what skills you're building. Managers want to develop talent—they just need clear, low-friction opportunities.

Marshall Goldsmith found that high performers don't wait for opportunities—they ask for specific challenges that build next-level skills. Vague requests ('I want more responsibility') get vague responses. AI turns your growth goals into actionable project asks your manager can actually assign.

Stretch projects have always been the fastest path to promotion, but most requests are too vague to action. AI helps you craft asks that show strategic thinking, making you look ready for the next level before you even start the project.

William Zinsser taught that clarity matters most when stakes are high. Your resignation letter isn't literary—it's logistical. When is your last day? What do you need? Three sentences beats three paragraphs. AI strips your draft to what your manager actually needs to know.

Vague requests create decision fatigue. "I want to grow" forces your manager to invent opportunities, match them to your skills, and guess what you need. Most won't do that work.

Specific requests with business value are easy yeses. You're solving a real problem while building named skills. Your manager sees the project, sees your readiness, and sees a development win they can cite in their own reviews.

The best stretch requests name the skill gap explicitly. "To move to senior, I need cross-functional leadership experience" shows self-awareness and strategic thinking. You're not just asking for work—you're architecting your own growth path.

Managers remember people who make their job easier. A well-framed stretch request does exactly that.

Stretch projects are your fastest promotion signal, but only if they're visible and tied to next-level skills. Generic requests get generic responses because your manager can't visualize the win.

Specific asks demonstrate the strategic thinking you're trying to prove. You're showing you understand business priorities, skill gaps, and how to scope work—all senior-level competencies. The request itself becomes evidence of readiness.

Managers advocate for people who make advocacy easy. When promotion time comes, they need concrete examples. A well-framed stretch project gives them the story: "She identified the vendor evaluation gap, volunteered to lead it, and delivered $200K in savings." You're writing your own promotion narrative in real-time.