“Too Good to be Promoted” is Bull Crap
“The boss says you’re too important to be promoted.” Don’t believe it. That’s selfish bull crap.
Some bosses promise promotions in order to appease you. They are lying manipulators. Their goal is to keep you where you are, give you more responsibility – while not paying for it.
Bosses that lie and manipulate:
- Give new job titles with little or no pay increase.
- Add responsibility but don’t deliver the promotion.
- Make excuses for not promoting you.
- Move the targets.
- Nit pick your skill-set. One month it’s one problem; the next month it’s another.
- Won’t explain deliverables or milestones that indicate trigger promotion.
- Don’t have the guts to tell you the truth.
Continuing without a promotion indicates:
- You are getting enough from the position to stay; stop complaining.
- Responsibilities drive you to keep your job – do your best.
- You’re gullible and naïve. Find an outside viewpoint.
- You are fear-driven rather than opportunity-driven.
- You aren’t as good as you think you are – improve.
- You don’t understand and embrace the boss’s lack of commitment to your advancement.
10 Things to do when you aren’t promoted:
- Take responsibility for your trajectory while realizing others matter.
- Move laterally out of your department.
- Make it easy for the boss to promote you by training someone to do your job (with approval from the boss).
- Sharpen your resume’ and start looking.
- Network – enhance your people skills.
- Help others get promotions.
- Stay positive; avoid bitterness and complaining.
- Identify what you need to do to earn a promotion.
- Never give an ultimatum.
- Never tell the boss you are looking for a new job.
Have you been “too good to be promoted?” What did you do?
What suggestions can you offer someone that’s in this spot?
Sometimes when the boss says this it indicates that they see an employee in a very narrowly defined way. In other words, they simply can’t see them fulfilling a different (higher) role. I encourage employees to find ways to expand their skill sets (sometimes through volunteering to take on an additional responsibility or by filling in for someone with different duties as needed). That way, they expand the boss’s view of their capabilities without issuing an ultimatum.
I heard this response about 13 years ago in a review.. my response was “then I’m too hungry –at this point in my carreer– to stop growing!” However I don’t think my boss was a liar — I think he was trapped in a statistical maze that says you have X of this position and Y of that ,and salary ranges are ftom $XX to $XXX. I think companies can caught up in departmentmental gatekeeping and lose the bigger picture.[GM’s take note!] I have enjoyed the growth that leaving forced me to do — although I was “too good” I wasn’t fully matured.(However, I sometimes miss the security of being someone thought to be a key person at the “too good” company!) Your points above are great “thought candy” for anyone in this situation.
(Saturday .. am I really at my desk on a summer Saturday?)
I agree with the recommendations above. What if you’re not promoted because you do not complain and dramatize enough. The environment I work in, the persons that get promoted are those that complain, create drama (drama queen) and are sometimes not too compliant with the established practices of the company (poor performers)?
Benard…do you work for the same company I do? thats what I see all the time, our current manager fits that to a t! reputation of one of the biggest complainers in the company….and yet got the promotion and is now sinking quick…this type of environment makes it tough to stay positive in, that’s why I’m trying to move….well that and career advancement.
Dear Dan,
Being too good to be promoted indicates two things. Either you are staying for your agenda or you are not capable outside. In first case, keeping focused to your goal is the key. In second case keeping quiet and doing work without raising many questions is the key because your ground is shaky. I agree that when you are given additional responsibility without extra benefit, there is high perception that you will not deny it. Again here are two situations. Either, you will do because you don’t have other or outside option or you are capable to do that without asking any benefit. In either case, you need to analyse your position and focus, if you achieve your goal, then it is ok. When you only struggle and divert your focus, then find alternatives. Longer you stay, more difficult it becomes to look outside and there is high possibility that you will compromise every time.
I would rather focus inwardly when I do not get promotion. I would strengthen my capability and take decision. Not taking decision is more dangerous than taking decision and fail afterwards.
Ajay
The way I approach things like extra duties without extra pay is: I do it because even though I know Im being taken advantage of, I also know that in some way I’m gaining by keeping it up with my skills.
The more you do at work, the better you become.
Finding another job outside is not so easy because people out there don’t know your dedication. You are to the outside world the same as an average person. This is true to people who do a poor job at work too, people outside don’t know how bad they are, so if they survive long enough on a company, they can very well find advantage outside better than you by simple luck.
Your only advantage at your position is to the company you work for. If there were other companies who could see how good you were, no way your company be playing you like that, as they would lose you quickly, if you were that good.
Another approach I do is to never accept anything great a company is willing to give me just because I found something better for myself. I rather give the other guy a shot.
I seem to always get stuck at work. I always end up on the position no one wants it. But I’m always willing to teach anyone who is sent to me, I even try giving my bosses ideas of whom would do good at my position and is actually wanting to be there. But so far I haven’t found a boss to cooperate.
Where I’m currently am, my boss have gave me the task to do XYandZ to get promoted, when I accomplish those things quickly (by working my ass off) they simply cut my hours, to the point I was making half of the money and doing a hell of it more. This was because the general manager set that up for me, and the other managers took advantage of it and instead of allowing me time to do what the GM wanted, kept sending me home.
I’m not the person to beg about anything, and I like challanges, but seeing managers doing this show me this is not the place for me.
I adjust my workload to the point of regaining most of my income back. But now basically I’m still making less than when I was as a trainee, which is absurd, but for the good of my future I’m better off seeing them taking advantage of me as taking the advantage of better my skills and grow.
Just like I seen happening before, once I find another job and leave they will struggle and hurt themselves. And just like them, I’ll not care, as I’ll be focusing on my new job.
Geez Dan, quit candy-coating your blog! 😉
If you are in a culture where any of the ugly 7 that Dan listed (am sure there are more) or where Bernard and matt may be ‘stuck’, definitely do Dan’s 10 and interview for jobs that may be out of your box perception of what you do/can do.
By their human nature, large organizations will probably have pockets of drama and pockets of excellence…keep scanning and see where you want to be. May not be today, or in 3 months or more, but keep looking.
Even an interview failed may be a new network connection if you present yourself well. Remember an interview process is very unique creature, not something you can easily practice. Do all the prep for an interview and the post work too of course. Again, even if you don’t get the job, thank each person whom you encountered. It can be one of those 7 degrees of Kevin Bacon that land you your next job.
Interview with companies who have a culture and values that fit where you are or where you want to be. (Remember the current culture you are in also washes both ways, from you and over you, so unfortunately, if you are in a negative and thespian-like three act play that never ends, you may absorb some of those behaviors without realizing it over time. No one is immune.)
From the manager perspective, I would emphasize number 7 in the first list. I have seen supervisors tell someone they are “too good to be promoted” when the supervisor actually lacks the courage to address legitimate performance concerns.
Take care,
David
Dan, loved this article – helped seeing my thoughts crystallized into words….hate the compromises that are sometimes implicit in advancing yourself in an organization and are nowhere related to performance or potential. The dilemma is whether to ” persist and live another day to fight the battle” or “begin elsewhere to fly high”…
What if the job your boss won’t consider you for because you’re “too valuable in your current position” is still open when you get an offer from another company? Can you then make the ultimatum that you want the job or you’ll accept this other opportunity?
I’ll tell you my approach when instructors did this with me – go. If it’s done with humility, perhaps… For example, I have another offer but I want to say here. Can we talk? But ultimatums — never. IMHO
Thanks. I do like that idea, because I do want to stay with them. It’s just so backwards that they think I’m so valuable that they want to keep me where I am when in reality that’s going to be the reason they lose me.
Comprehensive view Dan of all sides of the coin here. It is crazy to think someone is too good to be promoted so either they are great enough to stay where they are and if promoted, could be promoted out of their competency. You’ve got to try it to know it, but I like the points you have made in terms of dealing with the facts.
I’m going through this right now. I’ve been “promoted” but make nearly $20K less than the other people I now manage. Because there’s no money, or so I’ve been told. I’m just quietly biding my time at this point while doing the best job I can. Even if they did offer to pay up, it would be too late. My résumé is up to date. All I need is a company that will value me and my skills for what we’re worth. Or for my little side business to take off. Even better 🙂
Thank you for your comment and best wishes! Go for it.
Just because you manage them do you deserve a higher salary? I know plenty of PhDs that aren’t managers and their managers couldn’t ever do their job. Does the manager deserve a higher salary if there was no chance in heck they could do what the PhDs were doing?
Thanks Crack. Knowledge workers are almost always more skilled in their area of expertise than their managers. Successful leaders always seek to hire people who are “better” than they are. Pay may have something to do with scope of responsibility. Just a thought.
I have been in sales environments for the past nine years, from junior rep to sales manager and Director of three companies.
One thing that I have learned is that your top sales person hardly ever makes a great sales manager. Many times you have to promote an average Sales Person and they turn out to be a top manager. It may be linked to personality type, but skill sets definitely also play a role. Sometimes people become too specialised to function effectively in a position that require a more general knowledge and skills base. Before you judge your senior for the decisions they make, go do some research into what is required for the position you think you want and then get an objective opinion of whether it is a true fit for you or not. It may be time for you to change career, or to become the absolute best at what you are.