How Bad Hr People Continue to Get Promoted

A workplace story that is more common than common sense.

A gentle disclaimer: The characters and incidents portrayed in this story are fictitious. No identification with actual persons (living or deceased), places, and products is intended or should be inferred.

Once upon a time, there was an employee that had a terrible boss. Most of the employees in the company also didn't like this boss.

The employees were afraid of the boss, and the leader did things like badmouth other employees, was spiteful and hold grudges against people, was petty, blatantly play favorites, was controlling and a micromanager, wasn't open to feedback, and didn't hear the employees' career aspirations, the list went on and on. It was a hostile and terrible situation to work in.

At one point, another employee went to HR and report some of the behavior of the boss, but nothing happened as follows up and so as result, the other employees were afraid to report anything to HR because they believed it was futile and they were also afraid the boss might find out and retaliated.

Feeling powerless and unsure how the situation could be improved, this employee, along with many other employees, was disengaged and actively looking around for other jobs regularly because they couldn't stand their job because of the terrible boss.

Eventually, things got so bad that many employees talked about banding together and raise the issue to the upper management, but ultimately, they didn't because they were too afraid. So, nothing happened. They remained disengaged, and the few lucky ones who got the opportunity to move soon moved out.

Good news! One day, the employee found out that their boss was in line for internal promotion in the organization, and they would be replaced by external hire. So, the employees who hadn't had the chance to move out stopped looking around thinking, "I can bear with this for 1-2 months, and once this person gets promoted, I don't report directly to them and I'll feel better about my job.".

And so, the boss got promoted because the organization did not know how terrible they were. After all, they never asked for feedback about leaders, and they didn't consider feedback from the employees as one of the key factors in promoting leaders.

Eventually, the employee got a new boss who was kind and whom they liked. Over time, this new boss proved themselves to be an outstanding leader and mentor, and the employee ended up liking their job again. They became way more engaged and stopped looking for other opportunities.

Meanwhile, the terrible boss was now in charge of other teams with an even more senior role in the organization. And this, friends, is one way how terrible leaders get promoted and continue to move up in the organization.

The end.

This story happens. All. The. Time.

So why do bad leaders get promoted?

1. Top Management is not listening to the opinions of their rank and files employees

In a perfect world, feedbacks from all employees, from the Staff to Director levels, are all considered with respect. But we don't live in the perfect world, don't we?

I've seen and witnessed some companies for whom the Top Management seemed to be not interested or do not want to know the opinions of the entry or mid-level employees. These companies typically rarely have routine employee engagement surveys; and for those who do, often if the results show a lot of negativity, the management is likely to put a short-term 'band-aid' on the problem.

(I've also seen a Company Head discontinued the yearly employee engagement survey because, out of the many components measured in the survey, the 'management' component received the worst satisfaction scores, but that's a story for another day).

In these companies, people who are not good leaders get promoted because the company itself doesn't bother to ask for feedback from the employees about their leaders.

2. Employees rise to positions where they are not competent

A book titled "The Peter Principle," in 1969 written by Raymond Hull based on research from Laurence J. Peter mentioned that: "an employee is promoted based on their success in previous jobs until they reach a level at which they are no longer competent, as skills in one job do not translate to another."

Hence, we end up with a bunch of incompetent managers on top.

I find the point to be true, especially for the case when the leaders are hired from external sources (other companies) and getting an 'upgraded' title as part of the hiring package. Too often, the organization didn't do proper due diligence and more decisions are made based on CVs and past accomplishments rather than culture-fit, behavioral qualities, and leadership skills.

Many HRs, already overloaded with requests to fill vacant roles and menial work, also do not do a background check. And when they do, doesn't mean the background check is being done properly (I do think only contacting a candidate's former supervisors for a reference check is only half of the story. To get a fuller picture of how someone behaves, verification to the co-worker and subordinates of the candidates is essential).

3. Being loyal is valued more than good performance

If you've worked long enough in the corporate world, you must have seen this happening: someone gets promoted for staying long enough and being loyal, even though their performance is mediocre at best.

This may happen because some companies like to encourage employees to stay, by showcasing that you, too, could be rewarded with progression if you just stay long enough and do not burn down the company.

4. Butt kissing still works (surprise, surprise)

I'm sure you have seen this happening too: Someone gets promoted faster than usual because their boss likes them. Sometimes working hard and good performance are not as effective as this.

No wonder there's so much ass-kissing in the corporate world. Because in many companies, leaders are rated solely by their bosses, which explains why many leaders are so busy managing up (pleasing their bosses)—when good leadership is about managing down.

And the end of the day, it's important to know yourself (your strengths & weaknesses, things that you value the most, career aspirations, what do you want to be in the next 3, 5 years), and where you will thrive.

Find a results-oriented job if you are fiercely independent, not a people pleaser, and opinionated. Climb the ladder in a big local company if you think you are diplomatic.

There is no point in being consistently stressed out in a place where you don't feel appreciated and do not develop yourself. Your well-being and happiness matter the most.

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Source: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-do-bad-leaders-keep-getting-promoted-dennis-kurnia