False promises at work - not being promoted

[CRLLS]

Simply stated, "Time to move on." Count this as a learning lesson. You'll have many lessons over the course of your work life.

 

[UnrealizedPotential]

I remember in 1991, after two years of hard work, and seeing everyone around me get promoted, I decided to confront the manager. I asked him if he ever intended to advance me. He said he didn't know what to do with me. So I was put in a position that was payed more than the others who were promoted before me. I told him I wasn't quitting and didn't have any place to go. In a sense , the burden was on him to make him tell me no, he wasn't going to promote me. Of course, I finally was promoted and did fine afterwards. That's what happened to me and how I handled the situation.

 

[Bestwifeever]

So just wanted to provide the crowd an update.

I had a convo with my boss today about what my bonus $ would be for 2016. It was lower than last year's, and my boss said, "I know you're probably disappointed so let me explain..." He said his was lower than both last year's and the year before and that in general everyone's was either flat or lower than other prior years, even though we hit our revenue figure this year, in order to pad for next year since we are expecting a lower year.

He also went on to say that him and my other boss submitted a higher bonus $ figure for me than I got. The "higher ups" decided to give me less than what my two bosses submitted for me and the "higher ups" only wanted to give me what they ultimately ended up giving me. He said that some higher ups have a tarnished perspective of me (our company is a very dispersed group - not all in the same office dispersed throughout the US so keep in mind I only see some higher ups quarterly, if that...) because they think I've been too aggressive in pushing for promotions and taking on more work. While they all think I've done a good job, they don't think I've hit it out of the park which is why they said I haven't been promoted, in addition to being too aggressive and not trusting them.

My boss then began to say things like "when you become promoted, we will let you know and be fully supportive of it" but he iterated that I keep my head down, focus on my work and constantly hitting home runs.

My boss said he was on my side through all this and while he agrees I have been a little aggressive he supports me and thinks I am a great worker. I told him at the end of the convo I appreciated all the detail and candid talk but that now I am more concerned about my viability in the company and if it is really a good fit for me as i initially intended on growing there for a while but I was concerned about this now given my "perception". He then said that he thinks it is "repairable" and that I can change my image around and i shouldn't be concerned about that as long as I keep my head down and trust that they have my best interests at hand.
...

You are really lucky to have had such an indepth discussion with your boss. He must really like you. Take what he says to heart--we don't always consider how others perceive our words and actions. Yes, for the next year or so, keep your head down, be enthusiastic, forget the compensation for now, and see what happens. If you end up moving to another company at that point, you should always keep this boss's words in mind as your career progresses.

 

[Totoro]

Sounds indeed like a great talk you had. Open and constructive.

Have to say I'm a bit puzzled with the decisive "get out" advice many are giving here. Guess we all learn from experience. I'd probably stay, adjust attitude and make sure that is felt by higher ups. Get frequent feedback to avoid being blind-sided.

Of course it doesn't hurt to look around in the mean time ..

 

[CRLLS]

Sounds indeed like a great talk you had. Open and constructive.

Have to say I'm a bit puzzled with the decisive "get out" advice many are giving here. Guess we all learn from experience. I'd probably stay, adjust attitude and make sure that is felt by higher ups. Get frequent feedback to avoid being blind-sided.

Of course it doesn't hurt to look around in the mean time ..

As far as the get-out advice goes, my personal experience is: even if your boss is sincere and is truly giving you his best advice, he is likely doing so for his personal well being, not yours. He doesn't want to have to go thru the ordeal of replacing an employee and training a new one. At least not without warning, which you have now given him. 2nd, he doesn't want his bosses to see his reports jumping ship. 3rd, your boss has no real pull with his boss's bosses. Evidenced by both he and his boss did not win your battle with the "higher ups". In my observation, this means you are now at the level you will be until new management comes in.

Maybe I am wrong, others are right. That this is only a temporary situation, and you will get that promotion in a few years if you change your attitude. Are you willing to wait it out and take that gamble? Do you know of others in your org who have managed to chang the opinions of management, that resulted in advancement down the road. I have had bosses who have a long, vindictive memory. And others who are truly mentors, who both want, and have the authority to see you grow. It appears that you have to decide not only your boss's intention, but his boss's bosses' too. In the mean time, in the event of a buy-out, sell off or merger, you know where you are in the new "synergy" dept. Good luck in whatever your choice is.

 

[ChiliPepr]

The 5% that was not so positive was that they said they think I am being too aggressive about my career growth and that "perception is reality" and it may come off the wrong way to some people.

I had my boss tell me that "perception is reality" when I was discussion something and I told him "No, reality is reality and it is the job of my manager to make sure management knows what reality is."

That one comment has moved my retirement date up a number of years, from a few years out to hopefully 2017. When you are told that what people perceive you do is more important than what you actually do, it is time to move on.

If you do decide to move on, beware of the dreaded "counter offer", and hopefully your response will be "If I am worth that now, why was I not worth it at the last raise/promotion period?"

Huge jumps in pay normally result from moving to another employer concurrent with a higher level position. What kind of money are you worth somewhere else ?

The usual solution is to move up AND out.

+1 Many times I have seen people move out and a couple years come back to a role they would have had 0% chance of getting if they had stayed at the firm. Just don't burn bridges on the way out.

I'm not sure it makes sense to try and find a new job...say, I land a 25% pay increase, but in 2018, I could attain that pay increase with more growth to spare for future years at my current firm, whereas at another firm, I may hit a wall sooner.

In the whole scheme of my net worth and (mostly) job satisfaction at my current job, I need to decide if it make sense to swallow my pride and stubbornness and just deal with it for another year and see how things go, or not b*tch about it and actually do something about it (job search).

You are young, it makes the most sense to go someplace you like with a pay raise. you cannot trust the future.

Don't forget to groom a guy (or gal) for your job during the year.

One way to not get promoted is to not have a replacement trained beforehand.

My father always told me that "you will never get promoted if you are the only one that can do your job". I had a situation at a firm where one department wanted to bring me on but my current one said I was too important to let go. So I left.

I had a convo with my boss today about what my bonus $ would be for 2016. It was lower than last year's, and my boss said, "I know you're probably disappointed so let me explain..." He said his was lower than both last year's and the year before and that in general everyone's was either flat or lower than other prior years, even though we hit our revenue figure this year, in order to pad for next year since we are expecting a lower year.

Maybe you should ask him if the firm has ever increased bonuses because they were expecting a higher revenues the next year?

 

[pb4uski]

....It is also important that you do not burn bridges. You never know one, 5 10, or more years down the road when you might encounter your management chain or co-workers in another setting - even another company in the same industry - and they will remember your past.

+1 about a decade after I left my first job out of college, the managing partner of the firm joined the Board of Directors of the company I was employed by... luckily, I had left on good terms so it was no problem... but if I had burned bridges it would have been mighty uncomfortable since I periodically interacted with the board as part of my duties.

I agree with others that your best chance for advancement is to move on.... if you can.

 

[Aerides]

Ok now I'm confused. On Jan 17 your boss was "She" (mentioned at least twice...she). Today it's "He".

sup?

 

[Sunset]

Ok now I'm confused. On Jan 17 your boss was "She" (mentioned at least twice...she). Today it's "He".

sup?

Some people are confused by the difference, sometimes when talking to a person it's pretty hard to tell, and some cultures where English is not the first language, the words are used interchangeably which always bugs English speaking folks.

 

[growerVon]

As far as the get-out advice goes, my personal experience is: even if your boss is sincere and is truly giving you his best advice, he is likely doing so for his personal well being, not yours. He doesn't want to have to go thru the ordeal of replacing an employee and training a new one. At least not without warning, which you have now given him. 2nd, he doesn't want his bosses to see his reports jumping ship. 3rd, your boss has no real pull with his boss's bosses. Evidenced by both he and his boss did not win your battle with the "higher ups". In my observation, this means you are now at the level you will be until new management comes in.

Insightful points from the people manager perspective. I'll add a 4th: for a manager or lead it can be handy to have someone to stack rank at the bottom or "not ready" come review/calibration time. OP, it sounds like management has you in a box for now.

 

[Meadbh]

I think the OP has acquired a reputation for being "difficult" and is more likely to be let go than to be promoted. Whether he stays or goes, he needs to work on his communication.

 

[Closet_Gamer]

Another possible observation: your boss is in over their head as a people manager.

It's entirely possible that everyone on your team is being told they're "above average" or whatever the vernacular was at the OPs company. It's all fun to hand out high grades until you come the reality of only so much $$$ and so many raises to go around. The the truth will out.

Then, when you ask about comp/promo, they're in a bind and flip out.

Then they see an out to blame those evil people above them. "I'm on your side, but we're all such victims of the goomba's upstairs." Nice. Slip the noose.

All of the above is easier to do if the OP actually has been a bit too aggressive and created obvious excuses.

A few suggestions for the OP:
1). Do a great job and manage your personal brand. In ANY company promotions are about more than what is in the perf review

2). Sniff out where you were relative to other employees. If everyone is Exceptional then your perf review is useless to you and "higher ups" in assessing anything

3). Give yourself a long hard look in the mirror and recognize that you do, at a certain level, compete with the people on your hallway for advancement. Don't underestimate them or overestimate yourself

Good luck.

 

[younginvestor2013]

Thanks again for everyone's insight! I do appreciate it.

I have two bosses - one is a "he" and one is a "she"

While all of your posts have been very insightful, it has led me to conclude that everyone has different approaches and "styles" to situations like this in the workplace and that there isn't necessarily a right or a wrong answer, I think it just depends on what the end goal is (earn as much as possible? Experience? Resume builder? Job security? Coast through work? Team compatibility? Wanting/enjoying to work in a specific industry).

Anyway, the saga continues and takes an even more interesting twist.

This week they have announced 3 lay offs. I dont know if there will be more but I suspect there might be.

The bad news is that 3 people lost their jobs and one person was so sad they were crying on their way out. It is a sad thing so I felt bad for them.

Only one lay off was in my department, and was the person I was referencing above ("my predecessor") who is slightly more senior than me with a little bit more responsibility than me.

I was surprised by this. I spoke with him and he said that they didn't do a year end review with him and never had him set his goals and also aren't giving him a year end bonus. On the contrary for me as I did have all of the above and am getting a year end bonus. So i am led to believe that I made the cut but who knows??

I'm still stomaching all of this and will have a better feel for things after a couple months. I do know that my predecessor's job responsibilities will be dispersed amongst the team and, as unfortunate as it is for them to be laid off, I think it is creating opportunity for me and is a favorable thing for me assuming I want to stay at my current company. I will have even more work for 2017 yet with no promotion or pay change.

My plan is to stick through it for a couple months and see how I feel. I foresee two outcomes 1) keeping my head down and giving 110% in taking on the additional responsibilities and have it result favorably for me within the next year or 2) by June be completely fed up with things and jump ship somewhere else.

Time will tell!


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

 

[Hamlet]

Thanks again for everyone's insight! I do appreciate it.

I have two bosses - one is a "he" and one is a "she"

While all of your posts have been very insightful, it has led me to conclude that everyone has different approaches and "styles" to situations like this in the workplace and that there isn't necessarily a right or a wrong answer, I think it just depends on what the end goal is (earn as much as possible? Experience? Resume builder? Job security? Coast through work? Team compatibility? Wanting/enjoying to work in a specific industry).

Anyway, the saga continues and takes an even more interesting twist.

This week they have announced 3 lay offs. I dont know if there will be more but I suspect there might be.

The bad news is that 3 people lost their jobs and one person was so sad they were crying on their way out. It is a sad thing so I felt bad for them.

Only one lay off was in my department, and was the person I was referencing above ("my predecessor") who is slightly more senior than me with a little bit more responsibility than me.

I was surprised by this. I spoke with him and he said that they didn't do a year end review with him and never had him set his goals and also aren't giving him a year end bonus. On the contrary for me as I did have all of the above and am getting a year end bonus. So i am led to believe that I made the cut but who knows??

I'm still stomaching all of this and will have a better feel for things after a couple months. I do know that my predecessor's job responsibilities will be dispersed amongst the team and, as unfortunate as it is for them to be laid off, I think it is creating opportunity for me and is a favorable thing for me assuming I want to stay at my current company. I will have even more work for 2017 yet with no promotion or pay change.

My plan is to stick through it for a couple months and see how I feel. I foresee two outcomes 1) keeping my head down and giving 110% in taking on the additional responsibilities and have it result favorably for me within the next year or 2) by June be completely fed up with things and jump ship somewhere else.

Time will tell!


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

My advice would be to start looking elsewhere. Typically, layoffs are a really bad sign about the health of an organization. The fact that they stiffed your predecessor on the way out is not a good sign either.

Don't be the last person off of the sinking ship.

 

[target2019]

My plan is to stick through it for a couple months and see how I feel. I foresee two outcomes 1) keeping my head down and giving 110% in taking on the additional responsibilities and have it result favorably for me within the next year or 2) by June be completely fed up with things and jump ship somewhere else.

You're young, so can recover quite well. There are usually significant twists and turns in the business world. One move often leads to another, so work at improving your skills, and things will be ok.