3 Steps To Overcome Promotion Frustration At Work

𝗗𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 at work? 
Are you feeling undervalued for the hard work you’ve produced?  
Do you feel frustrated that you’re not progressing?  

I’ve been there. 
 
But, if you let that cycle of thoughts continue, your confidence will likely dip and your enjoyment at work will follow suit; a vicious circle that could then impact your chance of promotion. The irony!  
 
This topic comes up a lot in my client coaching. It often looks like someone who feels stagnated and like their efforts are going unrecognised by their current managers. Many have reached a point of contemplating leaving a job that they actually love to get the progression they crave elsewhere.   
 
The start of a new year is a time for resetting career goals and for some, a reflection in Performance Reviews about ‘where to from here’ and when you feel you deserve more but aren't getting it, it can leave you feeling undervalued and frustrated. And for many, it can trigger an auto-response to want to throw in the towel and find greener pastures. 
 
But what you need to do instead is 𝘀𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 and get curious with ourselves. You need to really understand what is it that you want, what’s really causing this frustration and take control. 
 
Check out the 3 steps below that I use regularly with clients in my Career Evolution Programs when they feel this way to help them get more clarity and control.

Step One To Overcome Promotion Frustration: Understand what you’re feeling  

Rather than simply telling yourself ‘it’s so frustrating I didn’t get promoted’ ask yourself what it is causing you to feel and why. For example, is it that you feel a promise has been broken, a feeling of lack of fairness between you and others, a feeling of being undervalued, a feeling of a lack of recognition...? 

Once you understand exactly what the real root cause of your frustration is, you can take it to Step Two.  

Step Two To Overcome Promotion Frustration: Talk It Out 

Request a time to meet with your manager or whoever controls this situation, and explain that you’re eager to discuss where you’re at in relation to your promotion and that you’re keen to hear feedback.  

It is crucial that you invite open feedback and that you are actually willing to hear it.

Go in curious not furious to learn their perspective and identify what gaps, if any, may exist and what can be done about it. 

On that note, prepare and take with you any evidence of work completed or milestones reached against promotion goals that may have been agreed. Sometimes in these situations, the Manager simply hasn’t keep themselves abreast of progress (rightly or wrongly!) and simply needs to hear it.  

Sometimes of course there are miscommunications or misunderstanding that have occurred that can be discussed and aired in a meeting like this so you can walk away with a clear understanding and plan of attack. 

It’s important to explain where you believe you are in relation to the goals, how it’s making you feel (Step 1) and to ask them to explain what else needs to be achieved, what timeframes may be likely, how you can demonstrate more of X etc.  

Ask a lot of questions with your curious mind and ensure you remain calm and professional. Getting irate or agitated generally doesn’t lead to a positive outcome.  

This is about you taking control of the things that you can, being curious and proactive to ultimately get what you want – the promotion.  

Step Three To Overcome Promotion Frustration: Assess your Needs 

Assuming you’ve done all you can in Step 2 for now. Take a moment to reflect on what it is about the promotion that you actually want.  

For example; is it about getting recognised for your hard work or loyalty, is it about the pay rise, the recognition among peers, access to new training opportunities or networks, travel?  

Once you’re clear on what it is that you’re chasing, you can start to assess if there are other ways you can get these things WITHOUT being promoted.

Let’s say a big motive is getting access to new networks in the company, you may be able to reach out to others or ask your boss to facilitate some introductions for you to help with your development and satifaction.

If it’s about recognition, then you can share how you feel with your manager again to ensure they understand that you’d like some recognition for your work – a shout out in a team meeting can go a long way to feed the need, BEFORE you get the formal recognition by way of promotion. 

Not getting promoted when you feel it’s deserved is frustrating but I hope these steps help to cool off some of the frustration and switch to proactive action mode instead. If you need further assistance on this or anything to do with your career reach out to book a time to talk with me here. We will unpack your current challenges and determine your next best move.