Leaders have developed their own stealthy tests to spot high-potential employees ready to move up the next rung of the ladder. Chipotle’s chief operating officer, Jason Kidd, scouts the next cohort of leaders by breaking bread with his staffers.
Every week, Kidd rounds up three to four members of the regional market in the town he’s visiting. During the 90-minute meals, the Chipotle exec not only bonds with the staff and strengthens the stores’ routine operations but also uses the time to scout promotions within the company. The COO typically visits around a dozen stores weekly, in various locations—giving a wide swath of employees a shot at making an impression.
“We’re constantly identifying internal talent during these visits, seeing how people show up and see how they react,” Kidd recently told Business Insider.
In 2025 alone, the $46 billion fast-casual chain promoted 23,000 of its employees. And it’s a considerable segment of Chipotle’s workforce, which spanned more than 135,000 people across 4,100 global locations at the end of March. The food giant told Fortune that 100% of its regional vice presidents, 85% of general managers, and 83% of field leaders were promoted internally last year. And Kidd’s dinner-table test is one way Chipotle is tracking down who deserves a senior title.
The weekly dinners allow him to “get to know people in a different way,” the executive explained, and suss out who is actually interested in growing their careers. And while Kidd is dining with his staffers, he’s keeping an eye out for four key traits that signal they’re a surefire promotion.
The four key traits the Chipotle exec looks for when promoting
First and foremost, the COO wants to promote team players. Those who work well alongside others and support their peers have the potential for a promotion.
“At the end of the day, we run a people business,” Kidd said in the Business Insider interview. “So you need to make sure you take care of your people.”
The serial restaurant executive—who also held a leadership role at Taco Bell—is also looking for workers who “own the outcome.” Shying away from responsibility is a red flag; Kidd wants to hear honest assessments of how things are going, whether good or bad. “If somebody can own the outcome of what they’re doing, they’re likely going to be a good leader,” he said.
The third trait he’s looking to tick off is the skill of anticipating problems to come. Having that foresight, instead of just confronting issues in the moment, is paramount to earning a higher title and pay.
“We don’t need firefighters; we need people who could be ahead of the issues and anticipate what’s going on,” Kidd continued.
Lastly, Kidd is on the hunt for talent with problem-solving skills. He wants to promote employees who can not only recognize a problem but also come prepared with solutions for how to move forward.
Promotions have stalled—and employers are opening their playbooks
Many workers put in the hours, trusting that their hard work will speak for itself and propel them up the career ladder. But as promotions have slowed, employees are going the extra mile—and employers have developed their own tests to pick the best from the bunch.
The rate of workers receiving a promotion—a higher title and raise of at least 5%—peaked at 14.5% around mid-2022, according to a 2025 study from Gusto. But as of last year, it hit a five-year low, falling to just over 10%. And there are a few factors driving the slowdown: companies are laying low amid economic uncertainty; there are fewer jobs available to make a switch, so professionals are willing to put up with their current pay; and in an employer’s job market, staffers have less bargaining power.
To have a shot at landing a promotion, workers are eager to get in on the secret formula. And some employers are opening up their playbooks.
Earlier this year, Accenture told its associate directors and senior managers that they need to consistently use its AI tools in order to be considered for high-level promotions. The consulting giant began monitoring the weekly AI tools log-ins of some of its senior workers, and in the end, only those who boast “regular adoption” of the tech are considered for leadership positions.
Other leaders, like Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins, have more people-focused philosophies on who to move up. The leader of the $470 billion tech company doesn’t follow the routine interview process; instead, he seeks approval from his team to move them up the chain of command. If he runs the idea by the peers of a prospective promotion and they’re unhappy or perplexed, it’s a bad sign.
“I think when we have two or three internal candidates for a promotion, the whole interview process is stupid to me,” Robbins said on the TBPN podcast earlier this year. “We’ve been watching these people work for a decade. What are we going to learn about them when we sit down in a room for 30 minutes and ask them questions when we can watch them work?”
