Promotions, Perceived Ceilings and Value of Adversity in Your Work
Two company presidents, one from a consulting firm and another from a recruiting firm, converse about the reality and what leaders seek
Many employees question how their work productivity and capacities for advancement are being evaluated and if those judgments are accurate.
A leader recently said something interesting about how he thinks and what he looks for to determine if someone is good enough at their work and ready to move up in the organization.
"We don't want to put an artificial ceiling on anyone," said Ben Cherington, the general manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates. "... Typically what we like to see is for players to actually go through a little bit of adversity at each level first, kind of find their way out of that adversity before we consider any further promotions."
Leaders in organizations have a thankless job in determining which people are capable of what and who is ready for the next challenge. Employees don’t always conclude that their current performance, body of work and potential is fully seen.
An “artificial ceiling” on professionals may exist in the minds of certain leaders that prevents capable people from receiving the desired opportunities and promotions.
“While most organizations attempt to implement equitable hiring practices, the reality is that these efforts often fall short in practice,” says Charlene Currie, president at MOR Consulting Group, a strategic consulting firm that provides advisory services to fix what’s broken and scale what’s working.
“The root cause is frequently unconscious bias, as hiring managers tend to have pre-identified candidates and quite frankly, these candidates are people that the hiring managers have rapport with, share common interests and like.”
The byproduct of this may not be a surprise.
“This results in promotions being awarded to those who have the most visibility and familiarity rather than experience and competencies,” Currie contends.
There may be more going on in these situations that is presumed.
“In my experience, workers often create their own ceilings,” argues Jim Hickey, president and managing partner at Perpetual Talent Solutions, a recruiting firm.
“I genuinely believe that many limitations in professional growth stem not from a lack of talent or ability but from how individuals present and position themselves within an organization.”
Confirming what many people believe, Hickey says it’s not always the most talented or skilled person getting promoted.
“Often, it’s the individual who is the most consistent and effective at self-promotion,” he stresses, while quickly adding, “And I want to be clear: this doesn’t mean they’re the loudest voice in the room. The most impactful self-promotion is usually quiet, strategic and deeply professional.”
He details what it may look like in practice.
“It might be as simple as sending a thoughtful weekly recap to their manager, outlining key wins or looping leadership into relevant updates to ensure visibility,” Hickey says.
“It can also mean volunteering for high-impact cross-functional projects or offering insights in meetings that clearly demonstrate subject matter expertise without veering into self-congratulation.”
Tasks: Evidence and Allies
There are people who strongly feel that something is amiss when it comes to rightful recognition and the possibility and process of promotions.
“When I work with clients who feel overlooked or held back by management, one of the first things we do is conduct a deep audit of their own behavior,” Hickey says.
“Without exception, these reviews always reveal missed opportunities, moments when they could have highlighted their contributions, communicated their impact more clearly or built stronger internal advocates.
“The takeaway is this: your work doesn’t always speak for itself.
“In today’s environment, career advancement often requires shaping the narrative around your performance: consistently, quietly and with intention.”
Learning how to overcome adversity is a skill and a show of grit and problem solving. It can build confidence in the minds of those who do the promoting that a professional may be ready for the next step up the career ladder.
“It is extremely important to demonstrate that you can manage and successfully overcome adversity in your existing role, as it demonstrates your ability to deliver results under pressure and lead with resilience,” Currie explains.
“How you navigate complex and unanticipated challenges and how you manage to thrive during periods of organizational change, particularly while leading a team, speaks volumes about your readiness for a promotion.”
Critical Proving Ground
Hickey too talks about how struggle reveals important characteristics to leaders.
“Adversity matters, not because hardship is inherently noble, but because the ability to manage it well is the clearest signal that someone is ready for more,” he says.
“As a recruiter, I can say with confidence that if clients could only ask for one quality in a candidate, it would be problem-solving skills.”
Leaders prefer to see it for themselves or hear about it from others rather than hear from candidates that they know how to work through difficulty and challenges.
“Real problem-solving doesn’t come from theoretical exercises or hypothetical scenarios. It comes from lived experience,” Hickey says.
“That’s why enduring, managing and successfully overcoming adversity in one’s current role is often the most critical proving ground for advancement.”
In brief, it is credible proof and evidence for someone seeking to be promoted.
“Leadership needs to know that when challenges arise, and they always do, the person they’re elevating can handle them with composure and creativity,” Hickey states.
What else then should leaders who are responsible for determining if someone is promotion worthy be most looking at to accurately assess people’s skills and strengths for working through adversity? There are ways to develop clarity.
“An effective way to assess people for their ability to overcome adversity is to look holistically at the full context,” Currie recommends.
She provides helpful questions to aid in making a thoughtful, correct determination:
“What was their role and what were their accountabilities at the time? What challenge did they encounter and how did they identify and manage it? How did they perform under pressure, particularly when communicating to key stakeholders?
“And, perhaps most importantly, what did they learn from the challenge and how have they applied those lessons since?”
Verbal Communication of Reasoning and Solutions
“A reliable way to assess someone's ability to work through adversity is to observe how they describe setbacks in both the present and past,” Hickey has learned.
“They should display clarity and a willingness to take responsibility without spiraling into blame or excuses, center solutions above all else and avoid complaints and blame.”
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