Why Doesn't Everyone Promote from Within?

Liz, I'm so frustrated! I thought the whole idea is that you take a job, you learn how things work and then you take on more responsibility. Isn't that the point of hiring people into lower-level jobs, so they can learn the ropes and prove themselves?

What's going on, James? You sound so dejected.

I'm fed up. When I interviewed for this job as a regional service agent they told me all about the opportunities for advancement in this company. They laid it on thick! You know what the headline on the job ad was? It was "Grow Your Career with Us!" That was the sales pitch.

I've been working here two years and two months and I've seen three opportunities posted for team leader jobs. I got one interview for those three job openings. They say I do a great job in my region. I know I do. But when I try for a promotion, nothing!

What happened the other two times? You applied for three internal opportunities and got one interview, right?

Three different jobs. I talked to my team leader before I put in every application. His name is Sidney. He's a nice dude. He says "Go ahead and try it." I ask him "Do you think I have a chance?" He says "Hard to say." What is it, a secret society of supervisors? What am I missing?

So the people who got those three supervisor jobs - were they already working with you, or were they new hires?

Two new hires. The woman who got the job that I interviewed for was already here. She's basically best friends with the manager.

Okay, look. Did you apply for the first two jobs and not get an interview, and then you got the interview just recently? That would suggest that they think you're ready for a supervisory role now.

You got the interview -- that's huge. It just wasn't the right time. You'll see more job openings posted, right? You've seen three in two years so far.

I wish it was like that. I got an interview for the second job that I applied for. I put in one application and didn't get an answer. I put in the second one and got an interview, but I didn't get the job. I put in a third application and didn't hear anything.

Hold on a second, you didn't hear anything at all? You didn't get an email message, and no one spoke to you about it after you put in an application?

No, if you don't get an interview you just figure it out because someone is hired and you don't hear anything.

James, that's atrocious! How did they tell you that you were scheduled for the one interview you had?

I got an email message about that. Then I didn't get an email message after the interview. I just saw that they hired a new guy. It's not really professional.

I'm horrified. They need to redesign that internal promotion process completely. What a horrible message to send to the team! When you apply for an internal promotion with your team leader's support and they decide not to interview you, they need to tell you why.

That's a development opportunity, and of course a mojo-building conversation for everyone if it's handled right. They would say "Look, James, we think you're incredible and we're really glad you are here. This is the kind of stuff we'd love to see you try in your region. These are the muscles we'd like to help you build."

They'd say "We want you to see you run a project" or "We want to get you involved in hiring the next new Regional Agent."

They'd either tell you that they simply don't see you in a supervisory role, period, so you'd know that you're not going to be able to grow your flame in that place, or they'd tell you what you should be working on. Those are the only two choices.

I'm starting to think I need to look elsewhere.

Well, you like your supervisor Sidney and you trust him, so why not ask him what he thinks the energy blocker is? Why do you hear great things about your performance in your job but get the cold shoulder when you try to take a step up?

They owe you guys the reason why they'd fill two out of three management openings with external candidates when their recruiting pitch is "Grow your career with us!" That's ridiculous. It's an obvious inconsistency between their recruiting message and the reality, and you'd have to expect anyone with career aspirations to bail from a situation like that.

Why wouldn't a company want to move people up through the ranks? Isn't that financially smart? You train people yourself and then they know how everything works.

You're absolutely right, but we have to factor in fear.

What do you mean?

Fear is the mystery ingredient that always gums up the works in corporate and institutional Everywhere. Fear gets people to do economically stupid and morally indefensible things at work every day. It's the Godzilla structure combined with regular human fear.

We get to say "This is our policy" and then we don't have to own it. We can distance ourselves. "That has nothing to do with me. I'm a great person. It's just our policy." We pretend that we don't feed Godzilla every day by going along with broken systems and bad policies.

That's pure delusion. When you work in a management role for an organization you have to own up to your piece of whatever dysfunction or inhumanity the organization has. You are part of the machine, so you can't delude yourself that the bad stuff has nothing to do with you.

You have to own it, speak up about it, and shift the energy. You have to find other people who feel the way you do. You can't pretend that when you put on the suit, your responsibility for your words and actions on our planet don't matter anymore. Anyway, your body knows. You can't fool your body!

Fear gets some managers to avoid making internal promotions. Bringing someone from the rank and file into the supervisory team is a scary idea if you're fearful yourself.

When you hire a new supervisor from outside, they owe you. You just gave them a supervisory job under you. They're going to toe your line most of the time, at least for a while.

When you promote someone inside, you're sending a message that a fearful manager may not be able to choke out, and that is "You are awesome. We think you can take on a bigger job and be amazing at it."

Fearful managers can't mentor people, or they can only mentor really junior folks who won't challenge them. The idea of helping someone else move up to their level in the organization is Kryptonite to them. That's because they don't feel okay inside, themselves.

We have to feel compassion for folks like that, because if you are angry and resentful toward them, your own precious mojo is wasted. A fearful manager's pain is his or her own deal, not yours.

When the universe sends you a message, you've got to listen. Sometimes the message is "You're pushing on a rope. This blockage is not going to move any time soon. There are bigger and better things out there for you. There are people who will see what you bring and celebrate it. You have to see it, first!"

That's the question the four winds always ask us: "Do you believe in yourself? We will, if you will!"

You've been treated abysmally and you know you're good at what you do. You're done with Triple A ball, James. Step up to the major leagues!

You are ready. These guys don't deserve you. Ask your supervisor what's up so you can get whatever intelligence there is in this learning experience. At the same time, get your stealth job search engine up and running. The job market is really good for job-seekers right now. Take a step and fill your lungs. You know you rule, James. Let's see what you make happen next!