My company refuses to provide a path to promotion.

Anonymous

August 25,2023 at 1:37PM UTC

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My company refuses to provide a path to promotion.

I work for a Series B start up. At the moment, roles are either VP, Head of, Sr IC, IC. I am the only person at the company with Manager as my title. However, I drive initiatives easily considered Director level at other companies.

6mo ago I was denied Sr Manager. The only reason was they had not clearly defined what a sr manager was. I requested a career plan including an agreed on list of accomplishments/skills that would get me the title. My boss, HR & I agreed on the path.

Yesterday I was informed they would not give me any title change, even tho they acknowledged I had met all the requirements. The reason was exactly the same. We no longer have HR, so the decision came from the CEO.

Since startups are not bound by bureaucracy (aka everyone’s titles are basically made up), this feels like a weird hill for them to die on. My instinct is to fully pull off the higher level executive work I do & look for work elsewhere, but I fear burning bridges or getting fired without a job lined up.

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AnonymousAugust 25,2023 at 1:47PM UTC
Quiet quitting is a real thing.
It's a great strategy for exactly your situation.
AnonymousAugust 25,2023 at 3:12PM UTC
I agree: quiet quitting. It's the only way in this situation....I feel
Tatyana Skreka DavisAugust 27,2023 at 12:11PM UTC
Happened to me at a established company with a well developed HR. In my case, there were no budget allocated (planning issues not money issues) for promotion from our team. This is my conjecture though. Similarly to you, I wasn’t given clear expectations and my requests for something on the paper have been ignored. Quiet quitting wasn’t an option due to my personality and all of the senior level initiatives still in the air. I did ask for a review of my position’s responsibility. That review helped me draw the limits and stick to my job functions. My position did grow from the time of hiring though but the review made it clear and specific enough to enable me to say no to requests to come in the projects for which I will not be compensated. My personal feeling is that due to a confluence of personal factors the upper management doesn’t believe I deserve a promotion. It is an issue of personal judgement that has less to do with my capacity to do good work and more to do with managerial experiences d philosophy of the executive making these decisions. I do not see a path to change their mind nor should I. I’m happy I’m no longer pulled in 20 directions without compensation for it. Now, it’s time to do my job well, recuperate from overextending myself, and find growing opportunities internally or externally. Good luck to you!
AnonymousAugust 27,2023 at 4:06PM UTC
I would stay the course and look for new work if the title is making you feel the way you seem to feel here. In startups often titles are inflated and generally they don't add in the senior word in any path because in future before the company gets large enough it suggests many layers internally which it sounds like they are not ready for yet. I would if I were you track the work you have done interview with the competition and think long term about what you really want next as you progress your career. If the CEO doesn't think you are ready there may be reasons such as he wants to keep you more tactical, or he doesn't think that personality-wise or other should have that bigger title. Often when it's the CEO thinking that you are 100% limited and pushing won't change a thing. They've made up their mind and its done.
Don't burn the bridge and if you leave leave with a new job not without one. It's not a dire enough situation for you to just up and quit. When you do leave just be diplomatic and say you left for bigger and greater opportunities and upward mobility. Good luck.
Grisel Scarantino, Career and Work-Life Fulfillment CoachAugust 28,2023 at 2:51PM UTC
I agree, it is a weird hill for them to die on.
I'd encourage you to keep this in mind: your employer may own your job, but YOU own your career.
The executive-level accomplishments you're achieving currently will help you get that well-deserved role and compensation somewhere else.
Don't let their poor decisions get in the way of that. Continue knocking it out of the park, while actively seek out other opportunities. Draw boundaries where needed so you don't burn out. Shift your mindset into what YOU are getting out of them for being in this situation... experience, and measurable accomplishments that show you are a capable director or executive.
If you haven't done so already, showcase those accomplishments on your resume and LinkedIn, ensuring that the right keywords show up on both, and take every opportunity to apply like you had planned.
BNAugust 29,2023 at 12:54PM UTC
Being a startup, titles mean nothing for awhile until they do, which may mean your company is maturing to the point where titles matter or you have some much larger changes happening . I'd be more concerned that there was no HR, unless they're on the hunt for a new Chief People Officer.
If they're denying the title change, it could be they are going through the job leveling to set up those paths (grab a career framework slide with the hiking analogy) with an outside consultant so titles are going to start to matter or maybe they don't think you are really there and need to have an adult conversation with you where they outline the expectation.
Maybe they're bringing in some senior level people. We can speculate the reasons but that's not going to help you.
Either way, you should be approaching this as a career path discussion vs having earned the title. What are the areas of growth for you or knowledge they would expect in your next role? I'm mentioning this next part in case this rings true for you. I have an employee that is constantly looking for the next level of a job. They have been in the field for 3-4 years and always want to have that career discussion. Ultimately I can have those conversations 2-3 times a year in terms of growth but I'm not their guidance counselor. They think they deserve the title because they're doing 14-20% of what that next title does. I appreciate that you are looking at the tasks you're being given and you should rightfully be focused on your own career but the CEO is focused on the state of the business and the funding. Those investors want the ROI, especially if the interest rates are changing.
If you are growing your career, I'd have my resume ready and IMO .
For a startup, I'd be less concerned with title because as you said they pretty much don't mean a thing. Being able to articulate what your scope is and your impact does. If they're paying you well, you've got some equity, I'd focus on the task at hand. That said you should always entertain a good opportunity and have the updated resume.
AnonymousAugust 29,2023 at 3:04PM UTC
At my company promotions are not just about someone's ability to demonstrate the skills of the next level, but also having the need and funds for that position. The path to promotion here is more difficult and complicated than just someone's personal abilities. To me lack of definition sounds like it is probably a convenient excuse instead of the real reason.