The blame game in promotion

In a local company, two sales managers, Reaz and Mohsin, both graduates from the same university, faced a stark difference in their career paths. Despite their hard work, when it came to promotion, Reaz was chosen over Mohsin. Frustrated, Mohsin challenged the decision, and the boss set up a task for both managers. Mohsin delivered a basic price comparison report, while Reaz provided additional insights such as trade terms and market analysis. The boss then explained his decision, stating that while Mohsin followed instructions, Reaz went the extra mile, highlighting the key difference that earned him the promotion. 

In many corporate environments, line managers often avoid addressing the real reasons behind promotion decisions. Instead, they shift the responsibility to higher authorities, particularly the CEO, to maintain popularity with their teams. While this tactic may protect a manager's image in the short term, it fosters a toxic work culture. It creates distrust between top management and mid to lower-level employees, damaging the company's internal cohesion.

In a company where I worked previously, promotion and appraisal processes were governed by structured systems. CXOs knew the limits of promotions, yet many proposed recommendations far exceeding what was possible. When these recommendations were inevitably rejected by the Management Committee (MC), some CXOs blamed the decision on the CEO or the MC. In one instance, a CXO went so far as to show official documents to the rejected employees to gain their trust. This behaviour resulted in frustration among the team members, with some leaving the company, feeling that higher-ups disliked them personally.

Such behaviour, while maintaining the line manager's popularity, puts the CEO and top management in a vulnerable position. Miscommunication or misleading employees can lead to resentment and potential revolts against leadership. In one case, an employee believed they would never be promoted because of the CEO's alleged personal dislike, despite there being no such personal bias. This misalignment between managers and employees not only impacts morale but can also lead to larger organisational issues, with unsatisfied employees potentially working together to undermine leadership when the opportunity arises. Clear communication and transparency are crucial to maintaining trust and stability within a company.

McKinsey's research highlights how middle managers may deflect blame for unpopular decisions onto senior management to avoid conflict with their teams. This tactic can protect their popularity in the short term but creates long-term distrust between employees and the higher levels of leadership, especially if promotions or performance feedback are involved. This avoidance of direct accountability can erode organisational culture and performance.

Moreover, research by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) emphasises the role of line managers in contributing to a positive or toxic work environment. When they pass the blame upwards instead of addressing issues directly with their team, it damages trust and can lead to employee dissatisfaction, stress, and even attrition. Poor line management practices, including ineffective communication of promotion decisions, have been linked to workplace stress and low employee well-being.

It transpires from the above that clear communication from managers is crucial in maintaining trust between employees and management. A lack of training and support for line managers in this area aggravates the problem, with many managers not equipped to handle sensitive promotion or performance-related conversations effectively.

A CEO would recommend transparent communication, accountability, emotional intelligence training, clear promotion criteria, and regular feedback loops to foster trust, reduce workplace toxicity, and ensure fair promotion processes within the organisation.

People get promoted not only for doing their jobs well. They get promoted for demonstrating the potential to do much more. Promotions are like candy; the more you get, the more you want, but it does not always make you happy. Such happiness is temporary. One should focus on the job and not promotion. A positive attitude and consistent hard work with an innovative bend are bound to set one apart and get promoted in due course. Patience is the key!

The author is the founder and managing director of BuildCon Consultancies Ltd