Why Your Great Work Isn't Getting You Promoted

And how to fix it

Jul 28, 2025

Dear Future Leaders,

You're frustrated because your performance review doesn't match your contributions.

You've delivered successful projects. You've solved problems that were stalled for months. Your team respects your leadership.

But somehow, senior leadership doesn't see your value the way you think they should.

If this sounds familiar, you might be making the same mistake I made for years.

The Feedback That Made No Sense

When my manager criticized my "storytelling" despite my delivering praised results, I was genuinely confused. Someone had literally told me my clarity was refreshing.

But instead of getting defensive, I asked myself where this perception was coming from.

That's when I realized my blind spot: I was building solutions but not building relationships.

I spent most of my time with my engineering team solving technical problems. I met with business stakeholders only when projects required it. I thought this was efficient and professional.

Turns out, it was career-limiting.

If you come from a technical background, you probably operate like I did. You focus on solving problems quickly and efficiently. You avoid meetings that don't have clear agendas. You think your work should speak for itself.

This approach works well as an individual contributor. As a leader, it isolates you from the very people who determine your career trajectory.

The Uncomfortable Conversations I Had to Start

I realized I needed to do something that made me deeply uncomfortable: start having regular conversations with business stakeholders that weren't focused on immediate problems.

I set up biweekly one-on-ones with three key business partners. I was nervous about these meetings because they felt inefficient and potentially awkward.

But something surprising happened. They welcomed these conversations. It turned out they wanted this connection too.

We didn't talk about golf or make small talk. We had genuine discussions about challenges, resource needs, and strategic priorities. What do you need from me? What do I need from you? What obstacles are we both facing?

Within a quarter, everything changed. One partner gave me approval to hire additional team members without me asking. Another invited me to present at his steering committee. A third explicitly offered his support for any risks I wanted to take.

Most importantly, they started advocating for my work in meetings I wasn't part of. When my manager questioned my contributions, they challenged him directly.

What This Means for Your Career

Your technical skills get you noticed. Your relationships determine what opportunities come your way.

Your problem-solving abilities keep you employed. Your relationship-building skills get you promoted.

The people who advance aren't necessarily the most technically competent. They're the ones who build relationships that amplify their impact.

If you're avoiding relationship building because it feels fake or inefficient, you're not alone. Most technical people struggle with this transition.

But relationship building doesn't mean schmoozing or talking about sports. It means having authentic conversations about work challenges and goals.

The stakeholders in your organization want to understand what you're working on and how they can support you. They're often just as nervous about these conversations as you are.

Look at your current role and identify three stakeholders whose support could significantly impact your career. When was the last time you had a real conversation with them outside of project-related crises?

Start with one relationship. Schedule a 30-minute meeting. Be honest about wanting to understand their challenges and share what you're working on.

You'll be surprised how much people want to connect and how dramatically it changes the way they perceive your contributions.

The conversations will feel uncomfortable at first. That's normal. But this discomfort is exactly what's keeping you stuck at your current level while others advance past you.

In business environments, especially in Western corporate culture, people make decisions based on relationships as much as competence. They want to know how you think, what you care about, and whether they can trust you with bigger responsibilities.

If you only interact with them during problem-solving mode, they never get to see these qualities.

Think of relationship building as an investment in your career infrastructure. Every conversation is building the foundation for future opportunities you can't even see yet.

Your technical excellence solves today's problems. Your relationships create tomorrow's possibilities.

Want to get started right away? For a limited time, I'll give you conversation templates and scripts that make relationship building feel natural for technical people, plus a framework for scheduling those first uncomfortable meetings.

Simply reply with the word "CONNECT" to get started.