Here's how you can navigate common obstacles to getting a promotion.

One thing I've found helpful is defining SMART goals with short, medium and long term checkpoints to assess the progress, communicate it effectively to leadership and leverage their experience to improvise

Improve Skills: Continuously enhance your skills and acquire new ones relevant to your role. Network: Build strong relationships with colleagues and higher-ups. Seek Feedback: Regularly ask for feedback and act on it to improve performance. Show Initiative: Take on additional responsibilities and volunteer for projects. Document Achievements: Keep a record of your accomplishments and contributions. Communicate Goals: Clearly express your career aspirations to your manager. Stay Professional: Maintain a positive attitude and professional demeanor. Be Patient: Promotions take time; be persistent and patient.

Here’s how navigate common obstacles to getting promotion: Skills Up: Learn new things. Be best at your job. Visibility: Show work to bosses. Speak up in meetings. Build Network: Know people. Help them, they help you. Feedback: Ask for advice. Fix what’s wrong. Consistency: Always do good work. Be reliable. Seek Challenges: Take tough tasks. Show you can handle more.

Navigating promotion obstacles involves setting clear goals, gaining visibility, and addressing skill gaps. Seek regular feedback and document achievements. Stay professional, avoid office politics, and take initiative on projects. Improve communication skills and understand the promotion path. Ensure a healthy work-life balance and align with company culture. Timing your request strategically and maintaining a proactive attitude are key to overcoming barriers and securing a promotion.

The question that you can ask the folks responsible for promotions, what can I do so when an opening is available for someone to move up, you think of me first? Get an answer, be a star. Look at other people getting promoted, what have they accomplished, do similar or completely different things. Stand out by being competent, focused. Be helpful to co-workers. You are not competing against them for a promotion, you are competing against yourself. Take initiative, and be helpful.

Ask for what you want, then discuss how to get there. If it is a reasonable path, stick to it. If it is not, get your resume polished. Check in with your mentors/coaches/trusted support system. I have different, yet with overlap, support systems for different areas. Professional support, emotional support, and my mother-in-law when what I am cooking needs to be rescued. Who you are talking to about your qualifications is that is not your boss or a co-worker is critical for your peace of mind. When you believe you have your ducks in a row: these are my skills, this is company's need, here is why I think I'm the right person at this time for this position. It is not enough to say, I wanna be da boss.

Support system, community groups, mentors are all so important to discuss the who, what, when, and why you should keep those communication lines open. Think about job shadowing, volunteering, and internships with those individuals or organizations that you are highly interested.

Write a success diary. Continuously note down your successes. Ideally, your description should be quantified so that it is easy for others to understand. Also record what effect your achievements have had on the company. These must not only be big contributions, but also smaller ones that improve your processes or working methods in the team.Your advantage: When talking to your boss about your career aspirations, you can directly demonstrate that you are trustworthy and that promoting you is promising for the company. Because past success is the best predictor of future success!

Professional growth and promotions. There are two primary ways to enhance your possibility of a great promotion. One is is thru enhancements of your "technical" skills. Be a better welder, baker, programmer, office manager etc. The other way to enhance your career is by increasing, sharpening, honing your soft skills. If your company has tuition reimbursement, talk to your manager, get your employer to send you to the Dale Carnegie basic course. When I told my employer, he told me to ask 3 of my clients in particular; he believed they would have nothing good to say. All three had the same response, best course I ever took. When people have the hard skills and get passed over, a look at the soft skills will often give the reason.

You can’t go into learner or overachiever mode for a few months—you can make learning and growing a habit. That says promo potential.

The main reason you haven’t gotten the promotion is due to poor networking. I was stuck in my role for 7 years. It was only after I made key connections that I was able to get a promotion. You need champions who will fight your corner behind closed doors 🚪 It’s behind these door that your promotion opportunity will happen. Even just having your manager full unwavering support isn’t enough. You need your the managers manager support and even their managers support. If people don’t know you, you won’t get promoted. Doesn’t matter if you are a competent or a hard worker. You have to be seen doing the work by the people that matter. So start adding value and solve problems for the people that will impact your promotion to network.

Map whether your relationship with people who decide promos are green, yellow, or red. Work on them accordingly. Especially focus on being known where you’re red now.

Timing can be crucial when considering a promotion. It's important to have the necessary skills, experience, and accomplishments to justify a promotion. Taking a promotion too early might mean you're not fully prepared, which can cause frustration and lead to potential challenges in the new role.

It is important for employees to view the arch of promotion thru the business lens. Do not expect a longevity promotion; there must be a business need for another supervisor, manager or director no matter how well you may be performing. Align yourself with the tasks and projects essential to the business. Do your best work and don’t be afraid to advocate for yourself by showcasing the value you add! Remember, if you don’t toot your own horn no music gets played!

There is an open position, you are qualified, and you got passed over for someone less qualified because they are a suck-up or their aunt is the CEO's ex-girlfriend/ex-boyfriend/unindicted co-conspirator. If this is first time you were passed over, ask yourself why? Ask the person that did the promoting what it is you need to work on so you will be promoted. Show the slightest bit of resentment, you will not be promoted by that person, ever. If it is not the first time this manager has overlooked you then, time to get the resume polished and get in touch with your favorite headhunter. As my former employer of 35 years was fond of saying, the best part of banging your head against the wall is how good it feels when you stop.