10x When Promises Falter
Navigating Promotion Mistakes and Rebuilding Trust
As engineering managers, we aspire to foster environments where our team members feel valued and have clear pathways for growth. However, sometimes, despite our best intentions, circumstances change, and we're unable to deliver on our promises of promotion. This can be due to various factors, including shifting priorities, misalignments in expectations, or a flawed promotion process. Regardless of the reason, when these promises are broken, the fallout extends far beyond disappointment; it damages fundamental trust between a manager and their team.
The Situation
Imagine yourself in this scenario: You're an engineering manager who has built rapport with a highly-skilled, tenured team member. Recognizing their potential, you assure them that promotion is in their future. However, as the promotion review process approaches, you realize that while they meet many expectations, there are critical areas where consistent proficiency still needs to be demonstrated. Moreover, you're starting to feel the pressure of a promotion process that seems subjective and heavily impacted by factors outside your control.
Ultimately, you decide against putting the employee up for promotion, feeling you don't have sufficient evidence to secure their advancement. This decision, while reasoned, is a direct contradiction to your previous assurances. Your employee feels betrayed, and the trust you've built is in jeopardy.
The Impact of Broken Promises
Psychological Contract Violation: Research on the psychological contract (unspoken expectations between employees and employers) suggests that when promises are broken, it's perceived as a breach of trust. This can lead to disengagement, decreased motivation, and even intentions to leave an organization (Robinson & Morrison, 1995).
The Power of Betrayal: Studies indicate that betrayal in the workplace can have a more profound negative impact than simply being treated unfairly. This is because betrayal involves a violation of an established trust dynamic (Morrison & Robinson, 1997).
Emphasis on Accountability and Growth
Leadership Accountability: Effective leaders take full ownership of their decisions, even when those decisions are difficult. This means not deflecting blame onto an imperfect process but acknowledging your role in the situation.
Focus on Growth: Rather than dwelling solely on missed promotion, shift the conversation towards continued development. Work with your employees to establish clear goals and create a plan for achieving the necessary skills and experience for future advancement.
Transparent Communication: Proactive, transparent communication with both your team member and upper management is critical. Be honest about challenges, expectations, and the requirements for promotion.
The Role of Leadership
Leadership shapes company culture and directly impacts how promotions are managed. Their actions influence team dynamics and trust. Here's how leaders can ensure fairness, transparency, and growth-focus in promotion decisions:
Clarity and Alignment
Define and Communicate Criteria: Establish clear promotion criteria and expectations. This eliminates ambiguity and helps everyone understand what's needed for advancement.
Transparent Processes: Implement well-structured promotion processes to ensure consistency and minimize confusion.
Supportive Culture
Prioritize Growth: Foster a culture of development where honest feedback and mentorship are valued. This builds resilience and minimizes the damage when promotions don't occur as expected.
Empower Managers: Equip managers to have honest conversations about career progression, challenges, and realistic timelines with their teams.
Ethical Considerations
Merit-Based and Inclusive: Base promotions on well-defined criteria, consistently applied. Ensure equal opportunities for remote, part-time, and in-office employees.
Mitigate Bias: Use structured evaluation processes and diverse panels to minimize unconscious bias in decision-making.
Legal Compliance: Adhere to employment laws to protect the organization and demonstrate commitment to ethical practices.
Rebuilding Trust and Navigating Fallout
Own the Failure, Sincerely: Begin by taking full responsibility for the broken promise. Acknowledge the hurt you've caused, going beyond generic apologies. Be specific about where you feel you went wrong, whether it's overpromising, misjudging readiness, or not communicating changes in your thinking.
Emphasize the Relationship: Let your employees know they matter to you and that you want to repair the broken trust. However, acknowledge that it will take time.
Offer Practical Choices: Discuss options:
Is there a path to promotion with clear goals and a timeline?
Would a transfer to another team be beneficial?
If they choose to leave, what support can you provide for a smooth transition?
Advocate for Process Improvement: Collaborate with leadership to design a clearer promotion process with well-defined criteria. This not only benefits your team but also helps avoid similar situations in the future.
What the Employee Could Do
While it's understandable for the employee to feel disappointed and betrayed, here's what they can do to improve the situation:
Seek Clarity: Initiate regular conversations with their manager about promotion criteria. Proactively ask, "What specific skills do I need to demonstrate for the next level?"
Own Development: Take ownership of their career growth. Be proactive in addressing feedback, seeking out mentorship opportunities, and taking on projects that stretch their skills.
Temper Expectations: Understand that promotions are not guaranteed. Focus on delivering excellent work and building a strong track record, even if the path to advancement isn't immediately clear.
Honest Assessment: In the wake of the missed promotion, engage in honest self-reflection. Could their perception have been misaligned with their readiness?
Applying the Advice
Sarah, an engineering manager, has a promising junior developer on her team, Alex. Enthusiastic about Alex's potential, Sarah has encouraging conversations about their potential for promotion. However, when performance reviews come around, while Alex shows progress, Sarah identifies that inconsistencies in their code quality and project execution don't yet align with the requirements of the next level.
Sarah's Actions (Manager):
Ownership: Sarah schedules a one-on-one, acknowledging that her previous encouragement may have set unrealistic expectations. She takes responsibility for not being clearer sooner.
Focus on Development: Sarah highlights Alex's strengths and works with them to create a development plan. This plan focuses on the specific areas needing improvement, with actionable goals and a timeline.
Transparency with Leadership: Sarah proactively communicates with leadership about Alex's progress. She advocates for better-defined promotion criteria and resources to support Alex's growth.
Alex's Actions (Employee):
Seek Clarity: Alex initiates a follow-up conversation to gain a deeper understanding of the missed promotion. They ask: "Can you help me understand specifically where I fell short, and how I can bridge that gap for future consideration?"
Own Development: Alex takes ownership of their growth plan. They proactively address the feedback, seek mentorship where needed, and volunteer for stretch assignments to accelerate their development.
Maintain Perspective: While disappointed, Alex focuses on continuous improvement and building a strong track record. They understand that even if this promotion didn't happen when expected, consistent development makes them a stronger candidate in the future.
The success of this situation hinges on an open and honest dialogue between Sarah and Alex. By working together, they can turn this setback into a growth opportunity. Sarah demonstrates her commitment to Alex's development, while Alex shows initiative and willingness to address their growth areas. This collaborative approach strengthens their relationship and paves the way for future success.
Conclusion
Mistakes happen; it's how we respond to them that matters. By prioritizing transparency, accountability, and an unwavering commitment to your employees' development, you can navigate these challenging situations and work towards rebuilding the trust that is essential for a positive and productive team dynamic. Ethically sound promotion practices not only foster a positive and inclusive workplace but also enhance organizational trust and support a merit-based culture. Have you had similar experiences? Share your strategies!
~10xManager