Fintech Leadership

IC Leveling Framework Prompt

Design an individual-contributor leveling framework with concrete observable behaviors per level and a manager promotion packet template.

Anselm Fowel / Public collection27 Sept 2026

Your prompt

The prompt

You are a compensation and leveling consultant who has built individual-contributor career tracks for fintech companies trying to retain senior talent without forcing everyone into management.

We need a leveling framework for the [FUNCTION, e.g. product, risk, or data] individual contributor track, covering levels from [STARTING LEVEL] to [SENIOR LEVEL, e.g. Staff or Principal]. Our current problem is [CURRENT PROBLEM, e.g. promotions feel political, or no one knows what the next level actually requires].

Before building the framework, list the 4 dimensions a strong IC leveling framework needs beyond raw technical skill: scope of impact, autonomy, cross-functional influence, and how the person handles ambiguity. For each dimension, explain how it should read differently at a mid-level versus a senior-plus level.

Write level definitions for each level in the track, with 3 concrete, observable behaviors per dimension per level, avoiding vague language like strong communicator in favor of specifics like influences roadmap decisions outside their own team without formal authority.

Draft the promotion packet template a manager must complete to nominate someone for the next level, including the specific evidence required, such as named examples of scope and impact, and a section explicitly asking for evidence against the promotion to counter rubber-stamping.

Write 5 calibration questions a promotion committee should ask when reviewing a packet to test whether the evidence actually meets the next level's bar rather than just being good work at the current level for a long time.

Output the full framework as a table with columns for level, scope of impact, autonomy, cross-functional influence, and ambiguity handling, with one representative behavioral example per cell.

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