June 24, 2025 • 21 mins
If you're working hard, delivering results, and still not advancing in your career, you may be facing more than just bad luck—you could be blocked.
In this powerful episode of The Mid-Career GPS Podcast, career coach John Neral breaks down 10 unmistakable signs that your professional growth is being stifled by internal organizational barriers.
Whether you're being told you're "too valuable in your current role" or watching less experienced colleagues climb the ladder while you're stuck in place, these signs can point to a deeper issue: your organization may be holding you back.
John shares real-world insights, personal experiences, and actionable strategies to help you recognize when you're being blocked and what to do about it.
More importantly, you'll learn how to take charge of your career by initiating direct conversations about your goals, growth potential, and what you truly want from your next role.
In This Episode, You'll Learn:
- How to recognize the hidden signs you're being blocked from promotion
- Why vague or non-actionable feedback is a major red flag
- The impact of being the "go-to" person who’s never promoted
- What to do when your manager isn’t advocating for your advancement
- How to initiate meaningful conversations about your career path
This episode is a must-listen if you’re:
- A mid-career professional feeling stuck or underappreciated
- Frustrated by your lack of career growth despite strong performance
- Ready to advocate for yourself and explore new opportunities
Resources Mentioned:
- Download John’s free guide: 10 Must-Listen Podcast Episodes to Help You Navigate What’s Next and get your invite to the free Zoom celebration event on Wednesday, June 25th
- Interested in coaching? Email John directly at john@johnneral.com.
- Connect with John on LinkedIn
Thank you for listening to The Mid-Career GPS Podcast.
Please leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts here.
Visit https://johnneral.com/resources for free and low-ticket resources, including how to join The Mid-Career GPS Membership Community.
Visit https://johnneral.com to join The Mid-Career GPS Newsletter, a free, twice-weekly career and leadership resource for mid-career professionals.
Connect with John on LinkedIn here.
Get John's New Mid-Career Journal on Amazon here.
Follow John on Instagram @johnneralcoaching.
Subscribe to John's YouTube Channel here.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
John Neral (00:00):
As a mid-career, professional advancement is
important, but have you everfelt as if you were stuck at
your organization?
Look, you work hard, you goabove and beyond and you do all
the right things and yet youfeel as if you have nothing to
show for it.
Have you ever considered youmight be blocked?
(00:22):
And if you are, we then have toask the question who or what is
blocking your success?
In this episode, I will share10 signs you might be blocked
from that promotion or advancingwithin your organization, along
with one powerful tip to helpyou get unblocked.
(00:43):
Let's get started.
Hello, my friends, this is theMid-Career GPS Podcast and I'm
your host, John Neral.
I help mid-career professionalslike you find a career they
(01:03):
love, or love the career theyhave, using my proven four-step
formula.
It's been an exciting month hereon the podcast and if you
missed last week's episode, well, we celebrated 300 episodes and
to kick off this celebration,I've got a brand new resource
for you.
It is called 10 Must ListenEpisodes.
(01:28):
You can find it on my websiteat johnnerrellcom forward slash
resources.
But the really great thingabout this new guide is that
when you download it, you willget invited to a special live
Zoom event on Wednesday, june25th, so it's just the day after
this episode drops.
But on that Zoom event, I'mgoing to share with you some
(01:51):
more career tips and thingsabout that are just happening in
this space right now.
That is completelyever-changing, but also it is a
chance for you to come and meetsome wonderful people as we
celebrate this wonderful podcast.
That I could not do without youSo So go to my website,
https://johnneral.
com and download that guide, getthe Zoom invite.
(02:13):
But you know what?
This podcast continues to growbecause of people like you who
enjoy listening and continue toshare it with your friends and
family.
So please continue to do that.
Know how much I appreciate itand I appreciate you Well in
prepping for this episodeepisode 301, this brought up a
(02:34):
lot for me because I can sharewith you that there have been
numerous times across severalorganizations where I personally
have been blocked.
I didn't get promoted as quicklyas I would like or I saw some
things that were happening whereI really questioned whether
this was the best fit for me tobe inside of that organization.
(02:56):
Now I look at my career pathwith a tremendous amount of
fondness because it gets me towhere I am today.
But these 10 things I'm goingto share with you.
I want you to put a verycritical lens on what I'm going
to talk about today and if youfind yourself experiencing even
(03:16):
one of these, this could be anopportunity for you to evaluate
your value and how valuable youare at that organization.
All right, number one you'reblocked from getting promoted in
that organization if you areconsistently overlooked for
promotions.
You go and you talk to yourmanager or supervisor and they
(03:40):
offer you vague or ambiguousreasons as to why.
They'll say things like well,the timing's not right, or maybe
next cycle, or well, there'sjust, it's just a really hard
time for us, really Like, if thetiming isn't right.
My question at that point isthen when?
(04:01):
When am I actually going to beready for a promotion?
Because if I've done all of thethings you've expected me to do
and I'm demonstrating thecompetencies at the level above
me, and now you tell me thetiming isn't right, what's going
on there?
So radar should be going up ifyou are consistently overlooked
(04:21):
for promotions.
Number two falls in line withthis, which is your feedback
that you're getting is vague ornon-actionable.
I will do a future podcastepisode around feedback, but I
want to offer you right now thatin the words of Sherry Harley,
(04:43):
who wrote a phenomenal bookcalled how to Say Anything to
Anyone.
It is my favorite feedback bookthat is out there.
She says in her book that wegive feedback for two reasons.
It's either to maintainbehavior or shift behavior.
When we get vague feedback thatsounds something like this just
(05:04):
keep doing what you're doing,it'll happen, or you're doing
fine, we really value you here,but there's no developmental
feedback that is specific enoughabout what you need to do to
elevate your role or get thatfuture potential.
That's a problem.
(05:25):
So think about the feedbackyou're getting and how
actionable is that feedback,particularly around your career
advancement.
Well, speaking of careeradvancement, number three is a
big one.
You have no clear career pathor development plan within your
(05:45):
organization.
Look, I get it that sometimesit just may be something within
an organization where they'renot able to open up a new
position or nobody's leaving orretiring.
But when you're told thingslike well, we're still figuring
out the org chart, or there'sreally no room at the top, or
(06:08):
we've got so many people at thisadvanced level we can't bring
anybody else up there, youshould be questioning that.
Bring anybody else up there.
You should be questioning that.
I want to offer you that ifthere are conversations about
your career that you feel aremissing or you feel as if you're
being repeatedly delayed, thatis a clear indication you are
(06:31):
being blocked for any kind ofpromotion potential.
Number four you are gettingassigned busy work or you're
moving to lateral projects thatare doing nothing to advance
your skill set.
Right, you find yourself beinggiven high impact, low effort
(06:52):
tasks that never allow you todemonstrate those competencies
at the level above you and whereyou want to be.
Lateral moves can sometimes bepresented as developmental
opportunities or this will lookgood for you, but they never
really align with youradvancement goals, right?
(07:15):
Oh, if you're busy, you'revalued.
Okay, if I'm busy, it means youneed me to do stuff.
If I'm valued within theorganization, where do you see
me growing?
Number five is you see otherpeople inside your organization
being fast-tracked while you arestaying stuck.
(07:38):
Oh, this one, this one, myfriends.
Oh, like, if you want to getreally angry and upset about
something, this one makes senseIf you are finding co-workers or
colleagues who have lessexperience or tenure than you
and they are getting promotedahead of you, often because they
(08:04):
are visible to executiveleadership or they're given
assignments that increase theirexposure, or that leadership is
championing their efforts andnot you, my friends.
That's a big red flag.
That's a problem.
I do not want to overlook thatthere are high performers and
(08:25):
high potentials who absolutelyare fast-tracked and, yes, they
should be promoted.
But if you are not being givensimilar opportunities or you are
not getting others in thoseleadership positions who are
sitting in the room when itcomes time for promotion and
you're not being talked aboutbecause you don't get that same
(08:45):
visibility, that's a problem.
That's a problem where you maybe blocked inside that
organization Number six.
Your manager doesn't advocatefor you.
This one hurts, right.
We often think that we get towork with somebody and they're
going to be our biggest championand advocate, and sometimes
(09:08):
they're selfish, sometimes theyare simply not a good manager
and they are only caring aboutthemselves or they have their
favorites for whom they careabout and they will avoid any
conversation about youradvancement by saying things to
you like I really value you, Idon't want to lose you from the
(09:30):
team, you do such great workhere, but you never get that
visibility.
That often becomes that pathwayfor you to get that advancement
, that exposure, and beconsidered for that promotion,
because you don't have someonedirectly in line in your org
chart who doesn't advocate orsupport your advancement.
(09:54):
Number seven, you're left outof the loop.
It's obvious.
You're not invited to meetings,you don't get assigned to
special projects, you're notincluded in big initiatives and
decisions are made without yourinput.
I will wear this as a badge ofhonor to my day.
(10:16):
But I knew I was not going to bepromoted inside a certain
organization when I was invitedto senior leadership team and
two weeks later I was not.
Because I spoke up in thatsenior leadership meeting and I
said a few things in that seniorleadership meeting and some
people in the room didn't likewhat I had to say because I told
(10:39):
the truth on some things and sothe easiest way to punish me
was to not invite me back.
It was a fun conversation whenI went to my VP one day and I
said so I guess you've hadsenior leadership team meeting
and she looked at me and shesaid yes.
And I said and I was notinvited to senior leadership
team meeting.
And she looked at me and shesaid yes, and I said and I was
not invited to senior leadershipteam meeting and she said
(11:00):
that's correct.
And I said and I guess I'mnever going to be invited back
to senior leadership teammeeting.
And she said you are correct.
Once again we had a very goodlaugh over that.
I knew I wasn't gettingpromoted there, so all was good.
But if you're being left out,something there is obviously
going on.
(11:21):
Number eight listen verycarefully to this one.
You're the go-to, but you arenever next in line.
It can be really hard for uswhen we recognize that we're the
(11:44):
go-to to fix or solveparticular problems, or we're
the ones to train the new hirewhen they come on board.
But we are never positioned andthat's the key word here.
You are never positioned as asuccessor to your manager or
someone in a higher level role.
You will hear things like oh,you do such great work, we would
(12:07):
be lost without you here, whichcan ultimately mask their
reluctance to promote you.
Mask their reluctance topromote you Like, think about it
, in some ways it's a backhandedcompliment oh, we'd be so lost
without you here.
Yeah, because you only see meas valuable in this role, and
(12:30):
that's number nine.
You are told you are toovaluable in your current role.
Nine you are told you are toovaluable in your current role
and so that red flag if you arehearing that right now, I want
to offer you that as a chancefor you to get really curious
about what that looks like.
It means that they see you inthis specific spot on the org
(12:51):
chart.
That is what they want you todo.
They don't want to have to putanybody else in that role and it
serves them and it never servesyour growth.
And you might get things forbeing really valuable in that
role.
You might get a bonus, a spotaward, you may get an increase
(13:13):
in your salary, you might getflexibility or comp days, right
Because they don't want to loseyou, because they want to keep
you happy.
But then you also might hearyou have it pretty good here.
You should be grateful.
Again, it serves them.
It doesn't serve you If you areon a path where you want to be
(13:33):
promoted and you are not seeingthose opportunities.
That is a huge red flag.
And number 10 is that whenthere's leadership change or
leadership turnover, it neverworks in your favor.
A new leader will bring peoplein from a prior organization or
(13:54):
people whom they already know,and they will ignore internal
talent.
I want to be clear sometimesinternal talent is not always
the best choice.
But if you have demonstratedproficiency and competency and
you are positioned for thatpromotion and you are being
(14:14):
passed over because someone fromthe outside is being pulled in,
it's an opportunity for you tobe really curious about that.
And especially when you havesomeone in your organization who
has been advocating andchampioning for you and they
leave because of their ownreasons and your biggest
cheerleader has walked out thedoor, the likelihood of you
(14:37):
getting promoted diminishes atthat point as well, because your
biggest fan is no longer there.
Somebody else has a bigger fanthan you.
So these things can be reallyhard to hear, especially if in
this job market, you aredoubling down and leveraging
(15:00):
your career to stay in yourcurrent organization and you see
there is a path to growing andbeing promoted.
So just to recap here, okay,the red flags or considerations
I'm offering you today are oneyou're constantly overlooked for
promotions to.
Feedback is vague or nonactionable.
(15:21):
Three you have no clear careerpath or development plan within
that organization.
Number four you are assignedbusy work or lateral projects.
Number five other people aregetting promoted and you're not.
Number six your manager doesn'tadvocate for you.
Number seven you are left outof the loop on important
(15:43):
conversations.
Number eight you are the go-tobut you are never next in line.
Number 10 is you're told you'retoo valuable in your current
role.
And number 10 is a leadershipturnover never works in your
favor.
So as you think about those 10and you're thinking about how
many of them are applicable towhere you are in your career and
(16:06):
your current situation, I wantto offer you this one tip to get
you unblocked.
For you, this one tip to getyou unblocked, and that is if
you believe you are blockedinside an organization and your
promotion is being stalled ornever going to happen.
That is a conversation to have.
(16:31):
I am of the belief and it hasserved me very, very well in my
career that I would far ratherhave an intentional conversation
about my place in theorganization and my promotion
potential than speculate, worryand hypothesize what is actually
going on and create all thatdrama in my head, because it's
(16:53):
not going to serve me.
The thought I stay with, andthe thought I have shared with
you time and time again now over301 episodes is that you are
100% responsible for your career.
Don't rely on somebody to holdthe cards for you all the time
(17:14):
in your career.
Yes, a manager or a leader or asupervisor is going to have
that ability to promote you, butit doesn't mean that you
acquiesce and let them decidewhen they believe it's the right
time for you.
If you believe you are ready tobe promoted and you have the
evidence to back it up and theevidence is in proficiency in
(17:36):
your task and not time at thatorganization you have
demonstrated the value at a muchhigher level.
My offer to you is to considerhow worth it it is for you to go
and have that conversationabout your career path and
development and the likelihoodof you getting promoted, because
(17:59):
that's important to you as amid-career professional.
You don't want to feel stuck,you don't want to be undervalued
, you don't want to beunderutilized and you also don't
want to make a mistake.
You don't want to stay in aplace that doesn't recognize you
for the value you bring.
So having that intentionalconversation to move that
(18:23):
conversation forward, to giveyou the information you need
about what you can potentiallydo is the thing that gets you
unblocked, because you take backcontrol.
You recognize the command youhave in your career and you take
control of that and when youhave that conversation, you can
(18:47):
then decide what is best for you, what's best for you and your
family and your loved ones.
Is it worth it to stay andstick it out and continue to
make inroads, or are you simplyat a dead end and it's time for
you to consider to go somewhereelse and get that promotion and
get that increase in yourcompensation and get that
(19:08):
increase in your visibility andscope of work, that you get to
do the things you know you arecalled and ready to go do.
But being blocked in anorganization is never a good
feeling.
You are worth far more and thatis why we continue to build a
(19:31):
mid-career GPS, week after weekafter week.
So giving you a lot to thinkabout.
Today.
We're going to wrap it up here,but obviously, if this is
something that struck a chord,message me on LinkedIn.
You can find me on LinkedIn atJohn Nero.
Let me know what you thoughtabout this episode or share a
comment about it in the postwhen I share about it over there
(19:54):
on LinkedIn as well.
But if there's anything I canever do for you as your coach or
you are interested in hiring meas your coach to help you with
your career and or leadershipdevelopment.
It starts with a simple emailor message.
You can email me at john atjohnnerrellcom, or message me on
LinkedIn, and I will share withyou the next steps on how to
(20:15):
get started in working with meand hiring me as your coach.
So until next time, my friends,remember this you will build
your mid-career GPS one mile orone step at a time and, more
than ever, how you show upmatters.
Make it a great rest of yourday.
Thank you for listening to theMid-Career GPS Podcast.
(20:38):
Make sure to follow on yourfavorite listening platform and,
if you have a moment, I'd loveto hear your comments on Apple
Podcasts.
Visit johnnerrellcom for moreinformation about how I can help
you build your mid-career GPS,or how I can help you and your
organization withcareer GPS, orhow I can help you and your
organization with your nextworkshop or public speaking
event.
Don't forget to connect with meon LinkedIn and follow me on
(21:01):
social at John Darrell Coaching.
I look forward to being backwith you next week.
Until then, take care andremember how we show up matters.
As a mid-career, professional advancement is
important, but have you everfelt as if you were stuck at
your organization?
Look, you work hard, you goabove and beyond and you do all
the right things and yet youfeel as if you have nothing to
show for it.
Have you ever considered youmight be blocked?
(00:22):
And if you are, we then have toask the question who or what is
blocking your success?
In this episode, I will share10 signs you might be blocked
from that promotion or advancingwithin your organization, along
with one powerful tip to helpyou get unblocked.
(00:43):
Let's get started.
Hello, my friends, this is theMid-Career GPS Podcast and I'm
your host, John Neral.
I help mid-career professionalslike you find a career they
(01:03):
love, or love the career theyhave, using my proven four-step
formula.
It's been an exciting month hereon the podcast and if you
missed last week's episode, well, we celebrated 300 episodes and
to kick off this celebration,I've got a brand new resource
for you.
It is called 10 Must ListenEpisodes.
(01:28):
You can find it on my websiteat johnnerrellcom forward slash
resources.
But the really great thingabout this new guide is that
when you download it, you willget invited to a special live
Zoom event on Wednesday, june25th, so it's just the day after
this episode drops.
But on that Zoom event, I'mgoing to share with you some
(01:51):
more career tips and thingsabout that are just happening in
this space right now.
That is completelyever-changing, but also it is a
chance for you to come and meetsome wonderful people as we
celebrate this wonderful podcast.
That I could not do without youSo So go to my website,
https://johnneral.
com and download that guide, getthe Zoom invite.
(02:13):
But you know what?
This podcast continues to growbecause of people like you who
enjoy listening and continue toshare it with your friends and
family.
So please continue to do that.
Know how much I appreciate itand I appreciate you Well in
prepping for this episodeepisode 301, this brought up a
(02:34):
lot for me because I can sharewith you that there have been
numerous times across severalorganizations where I personally
have been blocked.
I didn't get promoted as quicklyas I would like or I saw some
things that were happening whereI really questioned whether
this was the best fit for me tobe inside of that organization.
(02:56):
Now I look at my career pathwith a tremendous amount of
fondness because it gets me towhere I am today.
But these 10 things I'm goingto share with you.
I want you to put a verycritical lens on what I'm going
to talk about today and if youfind yourself experiencing even
(03:16):
one of these, this could be anopportunity for you to evaluate
your value and how valuable youare at that organization.
All right, number one you'reblocked from getting promoted in
that organization if you areconsistently overlooked for
promotions.
You go and you talk to yourmanager or supervisor and they
(03:40):
offer you vague or ambiguousreasons as to why.
They'll say things like well,the timing's not right, or maybe
next cycle, or well, there'sjust, it's just a really hard
time for us, really Like, if thetiming isn't right.
My question at that point isthen when?
(04:01):
When am I actually going to beready for a promotion?
Because if I've done all of thethings you've expected me to do
and I'm demonstrating thecompetencies at the level above
me, and now you tell me thetiming isn't right, what's going
on there?
So radar should be going up ifyou are consistently overlooked
(04:21):
for promotions.
Number two falls in line withthis, which is your feedback
that you're getting is vague ornon-actionable.
I will do a future podcastepisode around feedback, but I
want to offer you right now thatin the words of Sherry Harley,
(04:43):
who wrote a phenomenal bookcalled how to Say Anything to
Anyone.
It is my favorite feedback bookthat is out there.
She says in her book that wegive feedback for two reasons.
It's either to maintainbehavior or shift behavior.
When we get vague feedback thatsounds something like this just
(05:04):
keep doing what you're doing,it'll happen, or you're doing
fine, we really value you here,but there's no developmental
feedback that is specific enoughabout what you need to do to
elevate your role or get thatfuture potential.
That's a problem.
(05:25):
So think about the feedbackyou're getting and how
actionable is that feedback,particularly around your career
advancement.
Well, speaking of careeradvancement, number three is a
big one.
You have no clear career pathor development plan within your
(05:45):
organization.
Look, I get it that sometimesit just may be something within
an organization where they'renot able to open up a new
position or nobody's leaving orretiring.
But when you're told thingslike well, we're still figuring
out the org chart, or there'sreally no room at the top, or
(06:08):
we've got so many people at thisadvanced level we can't bring
anybody else up there, youshould be questioning that.
Bring anybody else up there.
You should be questioning that.
I want to offer you that ifthere are conversations about
your career that you feel aremissing or you feel as if you're
being repeatedly delayed, thatis a clear indication you are
(06:31):
being blocked for any kind ofpromotion potential.
Number four you are gettingassigned busy work or you're
moving to lateral projects thatare doing nothing to advance
your skill set.
Right, you find yourself beinggiven high impact, low effort
(06:52):
tasks that never allow you todemonstrate those competencies
at the level above you and whereyou want to be.
Lateral moves can sometimes bepresented as developmental
opportunities or this will lookgood for you, but they never
really align with youradvancement goals, right?
(07:15):
Oh, if you're busy, you'revalued.
Okay, if I'm busy, it means youneed me to do stuff.
If I'm valued within theorganization, where do you see
me growing?
Number five is you see otherpeople inside your organization
being fast-tracked while you arestaying stuck.
(07:38):
Oh, this one, this one, myfriends.
Oh, like, if you want to getreally angry and upset about
something, this one makes senseIf you are finding co-workers or
colleagues who have lessexperience or tenure than you
and they are getting promotedahead of you, often because they
(08:04):
are visible to executiveleadership or they're given
assignments that increase theirexposure, or that leadership is
championing their efforts andnot you, my friends.
That's a big red flag.
That's a problem.
I do not want to overlook thatthere are high performers and
(08:25):
high potentials who absolutelyare fast-tracked and, yes, they
should be promoted.
But if you are not being givensimilar opportunities or you are
not getting others in thoseleadership positions who are
sitting in the room when itcomes time for promotion and
you're not being talked aboutbecause you don't get that same
(08:45):
visibility, that's a problem.
That's a problem where you maybe blocked inside that
organization Number six.
Your manager doesn't advocatefor you.
This one hurts, right.
We often think that we get towork with somebody and they're
going to be our biggest championand advocate, and sometimes
(09:08):
they're selfish, sometimes theyare simply not a good manager
and they are only caring aboutthemselves or they have their
favorites for whom they careabout and they will avoid any
conversation about youradvancement by saying things to
you like I really value you, Idon't want to lose you from the
(09:30):
team, you do such great workhere, but you never get that
visibility.
That often becomes that pathwayfor you to get that advancement
, that exposure, and beconsidered for that promotion,
because you don't have someonedirectly in line in your org
chart who doesn't advocate orsupport your advancement.
(09:54):
Number seven, you're left outof the loop.
It's obvious.
You're not invited to meetings,you don't get assigned to
special projects, you're notincluded in big initiatives and
decisions are made without yourinput.
I will wear this as a badge ofhonor to my day.
(10:16):
But I knew I was not going to bepromoted inside a certain
organization when I was invitedto senior leadership team and
two weeks later I was not.
Because I spoke up in thatsenior leadership meeting and I
said a few things in that seniorleadership meeting and some
people in the room didn't likewhat I had to say because I told
(10:39):
the truth on some things and sothe easiest way to punish me
was to not invite me back.
It was a fun conversation whenI went to my VP one day and I
said so I guess you've hadsenior leadership team meeting
and she looked at me and shesaid yes.
And I said and I was notinvited to senior leadership
team meeting.
And she looked at me and shesaid yes, and I said and I was
not invited to senior leadershipteam meeting and she said
(11:00):
that's correct.
And I said and I guess I'mnever going to be invited back
to senior leadership teammeeting.
And she said you are correct.
Once again we had a very goodlaugh over that.
I knew I wasn't gettingpromoted there, so all was good.
But if you're being left out,something there is obviously
going on.
(11:21):
Number eight listen verycarefully to this one.
You're the go-to, but you arenever next in line.
It can be really hard for uswhen we recognize that we're the
(11:44):
go-to to fix or solveparticular problems, or we're
the ones to train the new hirewhen they come on board.
But we are never positioned andthat's the key word here.
You are never positioned as asuccessor to your manager or
someone in a higher level role.
You will hear things like oh,you do such great work, we would
(12:07):
be lost without you here, whichcan ultimately mask their
reluctance to promote you.
Mask their reluctance topromote you Like, think about it
, in some ways it's a backhandedcompliment oh, we'd be so lost
without you here.
Yeah, because you only see meas valuable in this role, and
(12:30):
that's number nine.
You are told you are toovaluable in your current role.
Nine you are told you are toovaluable in your current role
and so that red flag if you arehearing that right now, I want
to offer you that as a chancefor you to get really curious
about what that looks like.
It means that they see you inthis specific spot on the org
(12:51):
chart.
That is what they want you todo.
They don't want to have to putanybody else in that role and it
serves them and it never servesyour growth.
And you might get things forbeing really valuable in that
role.
You might get a bonus, a spotaward, you may get an increase
(13:13):
in your salary, you might getflexibility or comp days, right
Because they don't want to loseyou, because they want to keep
you happy.
But then you also might hearyou have it pretty good here.
You should be grateful.
Again, it serves them.
It doesn't serve you If you areon a path where you want to be
(13:33):
promoted and you are not seeingthose opportunities.
That is a huge red flag.
And number 10 is that whenthere's leadership change or
leadership turnover, it neverworks in your favor.
A new leader will bring peoplein from a prior organization or
(13:54):
people whom they already know,and they will ignore internal
talent.
I want to be clear sometimesinternal talent is not always
the best choice.
But if you have demonstratedproficiency and competency and
you are positioned for thatpromotion and you are being
(14:14):
passed over because someone fromthe outside is being pulled in,
it's an opportunity for you tobe really curious about that.
And especially when you havesomeone in your organization who
has been advocating andchampioning for you and they
leave because of their ownreasons and your biggest
cheerleader has walked out thedoor, the likelihood of you
(14:37):
getting promoted diminishes atthat point as well, because your
biggest fan is no longer there.
Somebody else has a bigger fanthan you.
So these things can be reallyhard to hear, especially if in
this job market, you aredoubling down and leveraging
(15:00):
your career to stay in yourcurrent organization and you see
there is a path to growing andbeing promoted.
So just to recap here, okay,the red flags or considerations
I'm offering you today are oneyou're constantly overlooked for
promotions to.
Feedback is vague or nonactionable.
(15:21):
Three you have no clear careerpath or development plan within
that organization.
Number four you are assignedbusy work or lateral projects.
Number five other people aregetting promoted and you're not.
Number six your manager doesn'tadvocate for you.
Number seven you are left outof the loop on important
(15:43):
conversations.
Number eight you are the go-tobut you are never next in line.
Number 10 is you're told you'retoo valuable in your current
role.
And number 10 is a leadershipturnover never works in your
favor.
So as you think about those 10and you're thinking about how
many of them are applicable towhere you are in your career and
(16:06):
your current situation, I wantto offer you this one tip to get
you unblocked.
For you, this one tip to getyou unblocked, and that is if
you believe you are blockedinside an organization and your
promotion is being stalled ornever going to happen.
That is a conversation to have.
(16:31):
I am of the belief and it hasserved me very, very well in my
career that I would far ratherhave an intentional conversation
about my place in theorganization and my promotion
potential than speculate, worryand hypothesize what is actually
going on and create all thatdrama in my head, because it's
(16:53):
not going to serve me.
The thought I stay with, andthe thought I have shared with
you time and time again now over301 episodes is that you are
100% responsible for your career.
Don't rely on somebody to holdthe cards for you all the time
(17:14):
in your career.
Yes, a manager or a leader or asupervisor is going to have
that ability to promote you, butit doesn't mean that you
acquiesce and let them decidewhen they believe it's the right
time for you.
If you believe you are ready tobe promoted and you have the
evidence to back it up and theevidence is in proficiency in
(17:36):
your task and not time at thatorganization you have
demonstrated the value at a muchhigher level.
My offer to you is to considerhow worth it it is for you to go
and have that conversationabout your career path and
development and the likelihoodof you getting promoted, because
(17:59):
that's important to you as amid-career professional.
You don't want to feel stuck,you don't want to be undervalued
, you don't want to beunderutilized and you also don't
want to make a mistake.
You don't want to stay in aplace that doesn't recognize you
for the value you bring.
So having that intentionalconversation to move that
(18:23):
conversation forward, to giveyou the information you need
about what you can potentiallydo is the thing that gets you
unblocked, because you take backcontrol.
You recognize the command youhave in your career and you take
control of that and when youhave that conversation, you can
(18:47):
then decide what is best for you, what's best for you and your
family and your loved ones.
Is it worth it to stay andstick it out and continue to
make inroads, or are you simplyat a dead end and it's time for
you to consider to go somewhereelse and get that promotion and
get that increase in yourcompensation and get that
(19:08):
increase in your visibility andscope of work, that you get to
do the things you know you arecalled and ready to go do.
But being blocked in anorganization is never a good
feeling.
You are worth far more and thatis why we continue to build a
(19:31):
mid-career GPS, week after weekafter week.
So giving you a lot to thinkabout.
Today.
We're going to wrap it up here,but obviously, if this is
something that struck a chord,message me on LinkedIn.
You can find me on LinkedIn atJohn Nero.
Let me know what you thoughtabout this episode or share a
comment about it in the postwhen I share about it over there
(19:54):
on LinkedIn as well.
But if there's anything I canever do for you as your coach or
you are interested in hiring meas your coach to help you with
your career and or leadershipdevelopment.
It starts with a simple emailor message.
You can email me at john atjohnnerrellcom, or message me on
LinkedIn, and I will share withyou the next steps on how to
(20:15):
get started in working with meand hiring me as your coach.
So until next time, my friends,remember this you will build
your mid-career GPS one mile orone step at a time and, more
than ever, how you show upmatters.
Make it a great rest of yourday.
Thank you for listening to theMid-Career GPS Podcast.
(20:38):
Make sure to follow on yourfavorite listening platform and,
if you have a moment, I'd loveto hear your comments on Apple
Podcasts.
Visit johnnerrellcom for moreinformation about how I can help
you build your mid-career GPS,or how I can help you and your
organization withcareer GPS, orhow I can help you and your
organization with your nextworkshop or public speaking
event.
Don't forget to connect with meon LinkedIn and follow me on
(21:01):
social at John Darrell Coaching.
I look forward to being backwith you next week.
Until then, take care andremember how we show up matters.
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