8 Reasons IT Pros Need To Reject A Promotion

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moarsauce123,
User Rank: Ninja
1/30/2015 | 1:34:55 PM

Another Reason

Working for a small veteran owned consulting firm, I was not surprised when they asked me to manage an entire account for them.

I accepted, pending financial detail agreement.

Six months later they had not been able to come to agreement, due to meeting delays, crash programs and proposals to win business, and other interruptions.

Then they hired someone in above me, demoting me back to my old position, after I helped them get him hired into the contract I work on.

Nice folks, huh.

So, now what do you do? No financial loss because no raise was ever agreed to. Complaints are useless because you are basically calling the owners of the company out for doing what they feel is in the best interest of the company. Anything you do is wrong.

Can you really go back and work day to day with this new person above you?

Are _you_ professional enough to do that? Is anyone?

What if they like him so much they give him that $20k bonus they promised to you -and- neglect to take you off the financial systems so that you see them do it, plain as day, right there in black and white.

Then what?

Better to not take the promotion without pay in the first place. WAY BETTER.

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asksqn,
User Rank: Ninja
1/30/2015 | 5:36:07 PM

Falling on Deaf Ears, I'm afraid

Prudent advice here but I seriously doubt anyone in this day & age will reject a promotion simply because s/he lacks leadership skills. No one in his or her right mind will ever admit to such a deficiency.

Case in point: I've seen epic fails across multiple industries of this phenomenon in action. What ends up happening is that the newly promoted keep their jobs regardless of how spectacularly they fail at it simply because the co. is loath to insert anyone else into that slot OR look for new talent. HR is part and parcel of this equation, I'm afraid. Ultimately, the lesser paid cogs who are forced to work for the Spectacular Fail Mgr. end up quitting and the department becomes a revolving door of misery. Morale slides and products/services/sales nosedise along with it. Meanwhile, it is a ::MYSTERY:: to upper mgt as to why the status quo deteriorated.

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David Wagner,
User Rank: Strategist
1/30/2015 | 5:41:48 PM

Re: Another Reason

@Moarsauce123- Wow, terrible story. I guess if you're in the fiscal situation to do it, the best thing to do is quit when they ask you to take the demotion so you can look for the new job with the old better title on your resume. But that's just alousy thing to do to anyone.

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David Wagner,
User Rank: Strategist
1/30/2015 | 5:45:17 PM

Re: Falling on Deaf Ears, I'm afraid

@asksqn- Well, you're probably right. I don't think too many people would ever turn down a promotion, but there's got to be a turning point, or as you say, everyone is worse off. The person who took the promotion is worse off because their career stalls. The enterprise is worse off because it has to deal with the worse performance. It is just a mess as you point out.

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shamika,
User Rank: Ninja
1/30/2015 | 10:09:48 PM

Re: Another Reason

This is bit of a new experience for me.however promotion would anu way have more work.

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Joe Stanganelli,
User Rank: Author
1/30/2015 | 10:33:57 PM

Re: Falling on Deaf Ears, I'm afraid

It's the Peter Principle of the '80s, and I too have seen it starting to make a comeback -- partly because of a broken compensation system and how difficult it's gotten to fire poor performers.

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Solo123,
User Rank: Apprentice
1/31/2015 | 9:34:31 AM

Re: Another Reason

I agree. There should be some professional and ethical concerns raised by the employee if any such demotion is taking place.

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mejiac,
User Rank: Ninja
1/31/2015 | 4:08:08 PM

Re: Falling on Deaf Ears, I'm afraid

@Joe Stanganelli,

Agreed, poor performance does have a difficult way to be managed, mostly because of the amount of laws that protect employees that most times work against the company and those that do want to make improvements.

And because many employes know they can't be fired, the purposely have a bad attitude, which makes the entire team uncomfortable.

Recently one of the clients I used to work at is going to a phase of layoff. It was supposevely specific departments that were being outsourced, but many employees were ear marked to be layed off... guess it was the only opportunity to be able to walk them out.

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mejiac,
User Rank: Ninja
1/31/2015 | 4:11:05 PM

Re: Falling on Deaf Ears, I'm afraid

@David,

Really great article!

I personally can testify to this. I'm still growing in my career, so I still see myself at a junior level when compared to the managers that I work with. Even thought I may have a good set of skills, I know I could never compare to the 20+ years some folks have in the area.

But thankfully I did get a raise but was kept in the same position so that I may continue to learn and growth until I'm ready for prime time :)

(I do have a personal development plan to assure that both my company and me are happy with things to come)

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mejiac,
User Rank: Ninja
1/31/2015 | 4:20:37 PM

Re: Falling on Deaf Ears, I'm afraid

(Wanted to provide an additional coment)

Amount the things Dave that you list, there's work-life balance. I think this one is critical.

I have two small kids, and thankfully I'm able to enjoy my evenings and weekends with them withouth worrying about emails or late conference calls.

I can honestly say that for the next 5-10 years I can stay where I am since it'll allow me to enjoy my kids golden years. Then after that I'll probably get bored and start seeking the next level :)

... but in the mean time, I'm enjoying every minute

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