It's important to understand the incentives of everybody in an organization, even if they're not able to articulate it clearly to you, you should make it your p

It's important to understand the incentives of everybody in an organization, even if they're not able to articulate it clearly to you, you should make it your personal mission to understand them. The incentive structure of your manager (i.e. the standard by which they are judged) is to keep their ICs productive while also attempting to keep costs "under control" (i.e. growing, but at a predictable rate that is below some hurdle). If you want a promotion, your manager needs to be able to explain / provide evidence to their manager (and so on, all the way to the board in theory) as to why you deserve a higher salary. If you are doing the right work, are able to provide them with an artifact (brag sheet / promotion packet) that concisely outlines the value provided, and consistently provide the signal that you'd be dissatisfied (i.e. potentially leave) without a promotion, you'll get a promotion. It's within your power to remove the only remaining obstacle for them by providing the packet, which is 80% of their work in securing you a promotion. There are almost always more urgent issues for a manager to address than a high-performing employee who is quietly upset about not getting a promotion. By stepping up and helping them do this small part of their job, you're demonstrating empathy by solving an important but non-urgent problem for them. They will be grateful.