My career progression is being undermined.

20 Comments

1. AnonymousSeptember 1,2024 at 12:23PM UTC

   It's always been my experience that people leave bad leaders, not companies. If your entire team is turning over every 3 months, what are you doing to try to change that? Perhaps if you made team retention your primary goal, instead of focusing on trying to get a promotion after 1 year in the role, that promotion might come sooner.

2. AnonymousSeptember 1,2024 at 4:55PM UTC

   Thank you for this comment. You made me reflect on

   the number of contractors who did leave because their contracts were completed, number of staff who left while I was still on my probation, number of staff who clearly indicated that they were headhunted, which leave just one that left because the company was considering moving her out when she joined the team. Team individuals work across multiple projects with different leaders so the fact they leave isn't solely attibutable to the work dynamic in my team. I compromised my career development to stabilise the team and provide coaching. The senior managment know this which is why I am so annoyed that they would overlook me. Sometimes context helps in order to quality responses.

3. AnonymousSeptember 1,2024 at 12:45PM UTC

   Forget the promotion, that’s fully off the table. Your immediate priority should be to stabilize this team! I agree with another poster: you have a leadership gap that needs to be addressed in very short order. Your demand for a promotion, when you have all this tumult in your team, is 100% tone deaf. Read the room! Not only do you have a retention & turnover issue but it sounds like you have a performance issue, as well.

   This role won’t last, please consider looking for a new job.

4. AnonymousSeptember 1,2024 at 12:48PM UTC

   The team turnover was even worse before I started. The company pays poorly.

5. AnonymousSeptember 1,2024 at 12:54PM UTC

   Infact, the line management placed a team member in my team that was in the process of being worked out the company. The team turnover is not to do with me. I got good feedback from across all leavers and current team members (nobody holds back on feedback and people are ready to throw others under the bus - that is why I know it is not my performance as a leader).

   But I take your advise that I should look for another external position especially as I spend most my time looking for ways to upskill new joiners to perform at the expected pace within the company and to have good work dynamics.

   The feedback on Glassdoor for the entire company is dreadful. It is not related to my performance or leadership style. But thanks, I need to focus my efforts elsewhere.

6. AnonymousSeptember 1,2024 at 5:10PM UTC

   Seek a new job. High turnover is a bad sign prior to your arrival and after. Time to move on and be in a better environment for yourself.

7. AnonymousSeptember 2,2024 at 1:54AM UTC

   Companies that want to keep you, put you on a promotion track, keep you informed, and/or are straightforward with what they can and cannot due.

   While it can be true that managers don't support newly promoted folks (and wonder why they don't continue to excel--when they were never supported to thrive), another factor is that companies say whatever they want to keep staff around. That's why for at least the last decade, more and more people are job hopping (after 1-3 years of service).

   Take what they say with a grain of salt---it can be harder to be promoted because by the very nature of promotion, there are fewer people at the top. Take it and learn from it for what it is (politicking and making them look good/ making them money). Perhaps you were doing your job instead of making their jobs easier...nothing against you. I've been where you're at. You're a go-getter, you get things done, and you learn fast. That may not be what senior leadership wants. They may not tell you what they want- so it's a guessing game/networking game----Maybe. I don't know your situation.

   If they've demanded you follow up, plan to do so. It's also possible-highly likely, they're giving you the runaround. If ,as a thought experiment and for your own professional growth, you want to follow up with them with clearer rationale for promotion - do so. Lots of tips online like this for building a case for promotion: https://medium.com/@johnog65536/how-to-write-a-promotion-case-553b6a91b870

   All to say, if you're not happy, don't take it personally. It's a changing world. Plan to leave.

   Good luck!

8. AnonymousSeptember 2,2024 at 5:41AM UTC

   Thank you so much. Yes, I have been given the run around. There are some policies in place and some staffers were promoted in less than a year but I heard that these people where in the 'click'. Everything you say is spot on. I am following up and will take on focus on the tasks at hand for the promotion if only to include on the CV. Because it will be a 'learn from this and move on' situation. Writing is on the wall. I am not a 30 year old but in my mid fifties. Most those being promoted are late twenties.

9. AnonymousSeptember 2,2024 at 5:58AM UTC

   Instead of focusing on an internal promotion, give yourself an assignment to write up your achievements in terms of the three factors you were given or others you can think of that would benefit a company. Also look at job descriptions from other companies to give you ideas as to how to present your benefit to a company.

   Then I would start circulating my resume...

   An additional factor that could be in play at your current company is that in a position such as yours where you are obviously filling in some gaps that need filling, the process of backfilling your current role is a challenge for them that they do not wish to take up, so they are trying to keep you in your current position.

   I have been in a somewhat similar position on occasion and have been told that it would be about a year before I would qualify for the next level position. This indicated to me that my best chance at career progression was to leave the company, so I interviewed with another company to obtain a higher level position. That may be your best route to getting what you are after.

   Wishing you well! Among your other talents, your talent at training and upskilling staff could be highly valued in terms of saving time, money, streamlining processes, etc. - you just need to find an organization that looks at it that way.

10. AnonymousSeptember 2,2024 at 10:10AM UTC

    ThNk you. Most appreciated. Yes, during my MBA, at one of the companies I interviewed mentioned that they truly valued staff that unskilled the team members. Much appreciated!!

11. AnonymousSeptember 2,2024 at 12:47PM UTC

    This company already seems like a place you will not progress at. You said yourself the environment is strange and they have high turnover. These are all red flags. I would use this position to spring board to another organization as it's easier to get a job when u have one. I think that's the only benefit this position will offer you. Lest you waste time and frustrate yourself spending more time than necessary where you are now

12. Maegan, Nike Sales Rep & Career CoachSeptember 2,2024 at 7:38PM UTC

    If I were you (and you want to stay there, which sounds like you do) I would get busy getting my numbers together that show you do save and generate the company money. This can even be done through the processes you coach the. new employees through and the sum of the groups quantified results.

    Ask for an example of how to promote the company internally or externally. Bring examples and ask if those qualify. By getting super clear on what they are looking for, you can totally deliver. A lot of people do work that goes unseen, and chances are you've probably already done the work you just need to bring numbers and visibility to it.

    Does that help?

13. AnonymousSeptember 2,2024 at 10:01PM UTC

    If you are looking for career progression, why are you still there?

14. Marcia SmithSeptember 6,2024 at 2:32PM UTC

    EXACTLY - sounds like an extremely toxic work environment

15. Moe HawkSeptember 3,2024 at 11:24AM UTC

    Don't waste your time trying to placate their system. Focus on honing skills in a key area of your choosing and seek new employment.

16. AnonymousSeptember 4,2024 at 3:07PM UTC

    Don’t be an invisible labor at a company which doesn’t recognize you, promote your, pay you fairly. What’s on your offer letter about promotion and pay? Those need to be straightforward and not guess what it is. To me, this company seems miss calculated its profits and expenses in fast turnovers, I would examine its business P&L in past three, six, nine, a year. You’ll be better off to leave that toxic environment to pursue companies which treat you fairly.

17. AnonymousSeptember 6,2024 at 1:26PM UTC

    There is no argument. They’ve made the requirements for promotion crystal clear. You’ve decided you know best and want to change the criteria. That won’t get you promoted. If you really want to stay there and think the company is worthy of your gifts and talents figure out a way to achieve the promotion goals then get promoted and work within to change things. Not sure what kind of business this is but it sounds very regimented which is probably necessary and common for your industry. Good luck to you.

18. AnonymousSeptember 6,2024 at 3:01PM UTC

    If you had been able to reduce the number of resignations, you could have probably made a case that you were saving the company money (because they wouldn't be spending money on hiring and training new people). Can you help the person who's stayed expand their role to take on some of the training work while you focus on achieving the specific goals that are required of you to be able to qualify for the promotion?

19. AnonymousSeptember 6,2024 at 3:29PM UTC

    Did they share those goal posts for promotion with you before the review cycle? Or was this a surprise? If you knew what was expected and did not go outside of the box then you failed the criteria and that is that. You should focus if you want to be promoted and that is your professional goal, on being the manager. Let the people who they hire in (I'm frankly surprised that you are not doing more to retain people and that you are not part of the hiring process) succeed or fail on their own.

    You can't have it both ways, part of managing is managing the doers, and part of it is stepping in when you need to, and part of it is rising above what is expected. Find the path or if you cannot find a company where the expectations align with what you can deliver to get to the next step you want in your career.

20. AnonymousSeptember 25,2024 at 8:16AM UTC

    Hello Everyone, Very grateful for the diversity of comments from this community:

    Yes, the feedback from my line manager for not being put forward for a promotion was that I do a very good role and the company does not promote people who bring in value from improved/efficient processes. So as some of you have mentioned below, nurturing and stabilising the team was counter productive in this role and company that I should 'let each new person look after themselves'. Thanks for this advice and I will take it forward as I move through my career.

    In the weeks since I posted, I managed to secure a new role and doubled my salary. Thank you to all those who pointed out that 'the writing is on the wall' and I would not be promoted within this role. I took action.

    Much appreciated.