I just hit 7 years working in production management. I'm making about $92k now, but when I look at the folks getting promoted to exec roles, it’s almost never the people who kept their heads down and did the work. It’s the ones who schmooze at every party and cozy up to the right people. 🥴 I’m proud of the reputation I’ve built, but lately I’m wondering if that's enough. Has anyone here actually made it to exec level without having to play the political game? Or is selling your soul just part of the deal?

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It is possible, but it’s rare and usually slower. Some people find mentors who advocate for them based on real work, not just popularity. It helps to think of networking less like “selling your soul” and more like finding genuine allies who believe in you.

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I’ve seen the same thing and yeah, it can wear you down. I don’t think it’s always about selling out, but building visibility matters. I kept my work solid but started being more intentional about who knew what I was doing. Have you tried small steps to get in those circles without losing what makes you, you?

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Executive Producers live the job. They promote people they like hanging around because they pull so many hours and want to be surround by people they enjoy, more than anything else. It's a step below friendship, but understand that the EP's job is a lonely one. No one wants to hang out with the boss. The people that take an extra step to hang out with the boss, proves to them that they like their company and are just down for the ride.

People that treat it like a job instead of a lifestyle are the ones they want. The ones they feel 'get it' and don't have the luxury of clocking in, doing the work and going home for the day. They are on call to any other executives in their chain of command especially when the Big Five are involved, or the Techo-Brolarchy.

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I'm artist as musician so I need promoters or record label

Once you get high enough on the ladder it's actually required to have those sort of social skills in order to broker deals / get buy-in / etc. So I wouldn't consider it selling your soul but actually a matter of building your network while practicing. But if you still see it that way that may be a sign that you wouldn't be happy as an exec, which is completely fine.

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We all work in an industry where 2000 people want our jobs. 500 of those people are probably just as competitive as we are. A lot of the jobs on set can be done by trained monkeys. As a department head (locations manager) off and on for 10 years, I know that I spend hours and hours and hours a day with the people I work with, and I only picked the people I want to hang out around for hours and hours and hours a day . Schmoozing is just a part of life. If you want to advance anyway.

Why would it be those who kept their heads down? Is not leadership the point of promotion?

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