4 ms·

> Every big tech company I’m aware of has lagging rather than leading promotions. Devil's advocate: the flip side is the peter principle.

mdekkers 3y ago
> Devil's advocate: the flip side is the peter principle. That’s not the only flip side, simply a possible outcome at poorly run organisations.
- lolinder 3y ago
  I don't think it requires bad management to accidentally promote someone who wasn't ready for promotion. A lot of promotions, even on the IC track, require qualitatively different skill sets. Someone can be performing well in their current role, and the manager could assume they would do well one level up, but if they've never been given the tasks of that level it's really impossible to know for sure.
  - jofiawjf 3y ago
    [flagged]
  - mdekkers 3y ago
    Understanding who should be promoted to where is a cornerstone of good management. Getting that wrong is literally one of the markers of bad management. There are a variety of mechanisms that can be deployed to ensure the person is right for the position. Throwing up your hands and going “well figuring this out is just too hard” is another marker of bad management, lol
em-bee 3y ago
an alternative would be to promote the best available person when a space opens up. the structure in a company should be relatively stable, as long as the teams and the number of employees are stable. say for 1000 employees you need 100 managers and 10 directors, then if one director leaves you promote the best suitable candidate from among the 100 managers. if none are suitable maybe hire an external, or find a way to train a manager to become suitable. achievements can be rewarded with a bonus or a higher salary but i think the latter is tricky if equal work should be rewarded with equal salary. i believe that's why there are more promotions than needed. they are used as a tool to reward people while making it look like they doing different work from those not promoted.

mdekkers 3y ago

> Devil's advocate: the flip side is the peter principle. That’s not the only flip side, simply a possible outcome at poorly run organisations.

lolinder 3y ago
I don't think it requires bad management to accidentally promote someone who wasn't ready for promotion. A lot of promotions, even on the IC track, require qualitatively different skill sets. Someone can be performing well in their current role, and the manager could assume they would do well one level up, but if they've never been given the tasks of that level it's really impossible to know for sure.
- jofiawjf 3y ago
  [flagged]
- mdekkers 3y ago
  Understanding who should be promoted to where is a cornerstone of good management. Getting that wrong is literally one of the markers of bad management. There are a variety of mechanisms that can be deployed to ensure the person is right for the position. Throwing up your hands and going “well figuring this out is just too hard” is another marker of bad management, lol

em-bee 3y ago

an alternative would be to promote the best available person when a space opens up. the structure in a company should be relatively stable, as long as the teams and the number of employees are stable. say for 1000 employees you need 100 managers and 10 directors, then if one director leaves you promote the best suitable candidate from among the 100 managers. if none are suitable maybe hire an external, or find a way to train a manager to become suitable. achievements can be rewarded with a bonus or a higher salary but i think the latter is tricky if equal work should be rewarded with equal salary. i believe that's why there are more promotions than needed. they are used as a tool to reward people while making it look like they doing different work from those not promoted.