Supporting Employee Aspirations: Best Practices and Pitfalls to Avoid
Navigating the aspirations of employees seeking promotions and professional development is a crucial aspect of effective leadership, particularly in creative and high-impact roles where their contributions are pivotal but often overlooked. To foster a more engaged and motivated workforce, senior management must handle these situations with authenticity and transparency.
When employees express interest in a promotion, acknowledging their ambition with genuine recognition is essential. Research highlights the importance of sincere acknowledgment in boosting morale and engagement (Kahn, 1990). For instance, instead of relying on vague compliments, which can seem insincere, provide specific praise: “Your work on [specific project] demonstrated exceptional creativity and dedication.” This type of recognition helps build trust and reinforces their commitment to their role.
Clear, actionable feedback is particularly important. Employees in creative fields often navigate subjective evaluations, so detailed and constructive feedback helps align their work with organizational goals (London, 2003). Rather than offering generalized comments, focus on specifics: “The visual design of [specific project] was impressive, especially the use of color and layout. To further enhance your impact, consider focusing on [specific area for improvement].” This approach respects their contributions and provides a clear path for growth.
Setting specific goals and expectations is crucial for guiding employees toward advancement. Creative professionals thrive under structured guidance that aligns with their skills and aspirations. Locke and Latham (2002) emphasize that specific goals lead to improved performance. A clear, actionable plan such as, “To be considered for a promotion, focus on achieving [specific creative goals] and enhancing [particular skills],” helps integrate their development with organizational objectives.
Creating a tailored development plan is vital, especially for employees in critical roles. This plan might include advanced training, high-impact projects, or mentorship opportunities. Noe (2017) supports the notion that targeted development enhances both capability and satisfaction. For instance, “Let’s design a development plan that incorporates [specific training, project involvement, or mentorship] to build on your strengths and prepare you for the next role.”
Regular check-ins are necessary for maintaining motivation and addressing any issues. Frequent, genuine feedback ensures that employees feel supported and valued (Hattie & Timperley, 2007). Monthly reviews can facilitate discussions about their progress, celebrate successes, and make necessary adjustments to goals.
However, if an employee is already performing tasks associated with a desired promotion and demonstrating leadership, senior leadership must be prepared to provide a clear and honest explanation if the promotion is not granted. Consider whether there might be underlying issues such as social problems, cultural biases, or other prejudices within the organization. Failing to address these factors can lead to perceptions of unfairness or discrimination.
For instance, imagine Layla, a highly talented, hyper-educated, and high-performing employee who has been effectively performing the role of Junior Graphic Designer while still holding the title of the generalized “associate.” Despite her clear demonstration of capabilities and her expressed desire to transition into the Junior Graphic Designer role, Layla is denied the promotion without a valid explanation. This denial, coupled with the lack of formal recognition and appropriate compensation, can have several adverse effects. It may erode Layla’s trust in the organization, lead to increased frustration, and potentially drive her to seek opportunities elsewhere where her skills and contributions are valued and rewarded. Additionally, the team dynamics could suffer, and the organization's reputation could be damaged if the situation becomes known within industry circles. Such an organization would be fraught with accusations and rumors of prejudices, favoritism and scandal but certainly not a meritocracy that rewards hard work and dedication.
Despite specific accomplishments being recognized, it is crucial to avoid relying on empty platitudes or generic praise. Highly skilled and gifted employees like Layla can often see through insincere feedback and may be insulted by vague or evasive language. An employee such as Layla needs more than an “atta-girl” or a gift card to the local Shake Shack. That will not do. What she desires is professional development and recognition for her hard work and accomplishments for herself and to be seen by her peers.
But all such instances are limited to creative roles. Let us consider a more personal past example. Managing a team of seven, I too had a similar circumstance. I knew on day one of our opening that Tricia was an amazing employee. She was a standout and was one of one. She had no equal in fervor and dedication to her role. It wasn’t just the newness of the job, that our store was one of the first of its kind in the State, but I could tell that she was genuinely looking to excel and thrive. She was hired before I was brought in to lead the department due to my extensive past experience in such roles but I would have chosen her to be in my department anyway. A few weeks in I noticed she was even more antsy; always taking on more and more. She often stayed late and arrived early. She assisted other employees in completing their tasks and had an upbeat attitude and demeanor the entire time. A few months into the job, a position opened in an adjoining department.
I had no idea Tricia was going to apply but I might have guessed it. For her, it would be a promotion with better pay, a new title and a reward for all the work she had done thus far. But she was denied and understandably heartbroken. I learned this from the manager of the adjoining department that she had applied and was denied due to a lack of specific requirements. Once I learned of this, I went to speak with Tricia and told her I’d learned of her interests in the role and I expressed my deepest apologies that she didn’t get it. She was noticeably embarrassed about my knowledge of her application. I assured her that I was fine with it and that she deserved to the opportunity. Instead of ignoring her or chastising her, I recognized her talent and more importantly her hard work and ambition. I scheduled a series of training sessions for her to hone her skills and in doing so I learned that what she really wanted was my job; not my job specifically. What she desired most was to work herself up to a role like the one I had. Her approach was that if she could work hard and do more than enough she would be recognized for it. Her worse case was that I’d be promoted very soon and that if she couldn’t take over another department, that she would be willing and able to assume my role without pushback from senior leadership. Getting past her reluctance to admit this, I helped her to craft even more structured training to get her what she needed. We both agreed that what I knew of my role would take decades to learn but I could help her get the testing requirements and specialist training she needed. The rest could be learned in time.
Months went by and a similar role for which she once applied, open up in another district. I gave her my blessing and strongly encouraged her to apply. We’d had dozens of training and testing sessions by now and she had earned at least half a dozen specialist certifications at this point. Moving past of initial nervousness for fear of being disappointed, she applied. Not surprising, Tricia landed the job. Not only did she get the job in the role she wanted but it was a closer to her residence with even better hours than I had.
Monthly reviews can facilitate discussions about their progress, celebrate successes, and make necessary adjustments to goals.
The last time I spoke with Tricia which was admittedly several years ago, she had become a District Manager - responsible for over a dozen locations. We reminisced about the time she worked for me and she thanked me again and again about how much I supported her. I did not ignore her. I did not feel challenged or threatened by her. In fact, I felt like true leadership required that I help the next person achieve and live up to their aspiration and potential. But I was able to see a bigger picture. I saw how people like her could move the organization as a whole to higher heights. Anything less from me would have been cowardice at worse and negligent at best. She will remember those training sessions and attentive leadership forever and she will help another person along their way and the organization will be better for it.
Proper leadership and promoting talent isn’t limited to creative roles. Creative roles are difficult to define by those ignorant of the organization impact such roles play. Consequently, it can be difficult for leadership to understand how the appropriate recognition and reward system is trite with miscarriages of managerial abuse when it comes to managing such employees. Creative roles have strategic consequences to organizational growth and prosperity. As such, it requires a more strategically minded leader to reward such individuals appropriately. A biased, prejudicial, overly prideful senior leader will do well to set their egos aside and step up by demonstrating effective leadership by first recognizing and rewarding leadership talent. As it is often said, “game recognizes game.”
If the promotion being sought is deemed unnecessary or misaligned with organizational goals, leadership should not expect the employee to continue performing tasks outside their current job title without appropriate recognition or compensation. A reasoned and respectful approach is required; simply delaying or avoiding the conversation will not earn respect and may be viewed as a failure of leadership.
In conclusion, effectively supporting employees seeking promotions involves genuine recognition, clear feedback, specific goals, and a tailored development plan. Senior management must also address any underlying issues transparently if a promotion is not granted. By avoiding empty platitudes and engaging with employees sincerely, organizations can foster a motivated, engaged, and productive workforce, driving long-term success.
References:
Hattie, J., & Timperley, H. (2007). The power of feedback. Review of Educational Research, 77(1), 81-112.
Kahn, W. A. (1990). Psychological conditions of personal engagement and disengagement at work. Academy of Management Journal, 33(4), 692-724.
Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (2002). Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation: A 35-year odyssey. American Psychologist, 57(9), 705-717.
London, M. (2003). Job feedback: Giving, seeking, and using feedback for performance improvement. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.
Maslach, C., & Leiter, M. P. (2016). Burnout: A multi-dimensional perspective. In Stress: Concepts, Cognition, Emotion, and Behavior (pp. 351-357). Academic Press.
Noe, R. A. (2017). Employee training and development. McGraw-Hill Education.