Dealing with a Self-Confident but Underperforming Staff Member Demanding a Promotion

legendary-noob on 21/01/2023 - 21:46
Last edited 22/01/2023 - 02:39 by 1 other user

TLDR, super self-confident but non-performing staff trying to force a promotion.

My ex manager recruited someone, X, internally in 2022. When he asked me for my opinion, I clearly told him X wasn't a suitable candidate for various reasons. So happen that my manager was a "manager" and had no idea what makes a good candidate for my team so X was brought in anyway, reporting into me.

At the start, I caught up with X and clearly articulated my expectation. Being someone who's been through that position as well, I acknowledged it was a tough gig due to inherent complexity, and the only time senior management notice our team is when there's f*ck up upstream. Being the bearer of bad news is never fun. However, the job requires us to be really focused on issues we face, and work independently to solve. I've also asked for a monthly catch up before our reporting pack is due so that we can go through a 4-eye check. There were a couple of projects to also improve the processes.

Fast forward 12 months later, ie today, the progress X has made is close to none.
1) Each month instead of having a set deadline, he would take his own sweet time to complete the task
2) Walking up to me 1-2 hours before reports are due, asking me to sign off without any chance to review
3) Insist on undertaking projects from his previous role but claiming credit under his current role
4) Actual projects to improve process are not done at all
5) The job that I have assigned used to be done by an analyst (ie one year after graduation). X is currently a senior analyst. Even then, he barely grasped the key concepts and ended up just churning numbers, and lots of whinging.

Here comes the big problem for me. X is really convinced that he's done a great job despite not meeting any of the KPIs we have set earlier this year. When he asked me for a promotion this year, he was surprised that he wasn't getting one. I went around asking for informal feedback for X. Appears that the general comment was a "nice person to grab a bear with but never the person when you're trying to get things done" which was exactly my experience.

Now, X is insisting that we consider a promotion for him or he would leave. I am quite annoyed / appalled with such behavior. To say that there is no impact from him leaving will be untrue, as it means I will need to train someone up again etc. However, X isn't creating any value for me / team. To make things worse, I think my current manager is going to budge, which in itself is not a problem but others in my team are already raising their eyebrows. I personally feel its demoralising not only for me but others in the team as X just talks and never get things done.

Education & Work

Comments

  • elgrande on 21/01/2023 - 21:53
    +11

    You are either good at doing or good at talking..

    • toristo on 22/01/2023 - 08:13
      +4

      As a manager, which are you OP?

      If you have an underperformer in your team, that is your issue to manage. Very firmly, you need to sit him down on a regular basis as discuss performance with proper measurement - if you can't measure it, you can't monitor it.

      I'm not saying you shouldn't let this guy walk, that might be a good option, but regardless you should consider what you can do to improve him, or future direct reports with appropriate coaching. It's the hard part of the job.

      • legendary-noob on 22/01/2023 - 10:28

        I'm definitely a doer
        I have made it real clear that I need doers in my team
        Our job involves looking at data, and work to figure out the cause of anomaly

        To be clear, I am manager on paper, as I am the techical person in the team
        The HR/admin stuff sits with my manager

        • toristo on 22/01/2023 - 15:22
          +1

          Sounds like a good discussion to have with your manager about performance management of this person / your personal development so you can support them etc

  • Muzeeb on 21/01/2023 - 22:03
    +8

    nice person to grab a bear with

    He at least give good hugs. Deserves a raise for that alone IMHO.

    Also, what industry do you work in?

  • pegaxs on 21/01/2023 - 22:12
    +7

    Sounds exactly like promotion material. Companies always promote underperforming micro-management styled, self cock-sure people. They promote them because they are worthless anyway, may as well give them a worthless job title.

  • Ghost47 on 21/01/2023 - 22:15
    +16

    I have heard of someone exactly like the person you're describing. Sadly for that person I've heard no amount of coaching appears to be getting through to them.

    If you've trained them up and it's been a year and they're still not creating any value I think you need to get them on a performance review program, and if they don't improve you need to get rid of them. There are probably hundreds of other people out there who would happily take on his role and excel and deliver value. Someone could be depressed and unemployed, nearly suicidal because they can’t get a job despite willing to do the hard yards, yet here you have a complete bozo getting paid for doing jack shit. You and your team need to all speak to your manager about it.

    This person sounds like a completely entitled idiot.

    • legendary-noob on 22/01/2023 - 10:55
      +2

      To be frank, I have not given him 100% of my attention when it comes to training
      Reason being, he's been ignoring my pointers or guidance, and therefore there was literally no progress made in developing his knowledge
      Of course, I have not gone over and above to push for a better outcome, and part of the reason was he thinks very greatly about his recent achievement (as senior analyst, wanting to be promoted to manager), while it was futile to convince him otherwise eg that a grad / analyst was performing that function previously

      But as you said, totally agree with giving opportunity to those willing to go that extra mile. Its really the attitude that counts.

  • [Deactivated] on 21/01/2023 - 22:17

    Yes, I know people like your staff member and I manage it by choosing not to manage people like your staff member anymore

  • Melencir on 21/01/2023 - 22:23
    +7

    Manage them out. Start calling hr in and getting things rolling.

    • outlander on 22/01/2023 - 13:02
      +4

      Yeah should have been doing this 11 months ago tbh

      All those nasty tricks you've heard managers doing to decent people? Perfect for this type of employee.

  • GrueHunter on 21/01/2023 - 22:25
    +5

    nice person to grab a bear with

    You work at a zoo?

  • Pimpiticians 4 Life on 21/01/2023 - 22:28
    +5

    X is a legend
    U can cop it sweet
    I don't care

    In all seriousness "Now, X is insisting that we consider a promotion for him or he would leave" sounds great you are better off without him. Ok you have to train someone up short term which can be a pain but you will be way better off in the long run.

  • p1 ama on 21/01/2023 - 23:35
    +16

    To be honest, after reading your post, I'm quite curious as to how much of this falls on you. Part of being a good people manager is how to help them do the work they need to do.

    On some level, I get that you may not have wanted to hire X, but I can't help but feel that there is some part of you that would feel some sense of satisfaction if X were to fail in the role as a way of reinforcing your preconceived notion of X and your advice to the hiring manager to not hire X.

    In any case, responding to your specific comments about X more generally:

    1) Each month instead of having a set deadline, he would take his own sweet time to complete the task

    You as X's manager need to set the deadlines for X and clearly communicate this to him. Why are you letting him set his own deadlines? If you are not enforcing deadlines from the top, of course he will take his own sweet time.

    2) Walking up to me 1-2 hours before reports are due, asking me to sign off without any chance to review

    You know when the reports are due, as X's manager, why aren't you putting time into X's calendar to make sure he has full visibility on when he needs to deliver the reports to you and when you will be getting back to him? If you need, say, 3 days to review, then set this deadline for X, put time in X's calendar where you will sit down and review with him…etc.

    3) Insist on undertaking projects from his previous role but claiming credit under his current role

    Not sure on this one, so won't comment.

    4) Actual projects to improve process are not done at all

    Why are they not done? Again, as X's manager, have you actually taken steps to ensure that X does the work they are required to?

    5) The job that I have assigned used to be done by an analyst (ie one year after graduation). X is currently a senior analyst. Even then, he barely grasped the key concepts and ended up just churning numbers, and lots of whinging.

    Again, have you set the correct expectations and given X the correct training? How many YoE someone has is not really a good indicator of whether they will be able to successfully do a job. Have you shown X what "good" looks like and the standard that you expect from him? If not, then I would imagine that a lot of this responsibility falls on you.

    Here comes the big problem for me. X is really convinced that he's done a great job despite not meeting any of the KPIs we have set earlier this year.

    You are his direct manager. Have you actually spoken to him about his performance? Or are you just letting this guy loose and do whatever he wants with no feedback which would actually imply, in his mind, that he's doing a good job?

    When he asked me for a promotion this year, he was surprised that he wasn't getting one.

    Have you actually had this conversation with him? Tell him the things that he needs to do in order to be in line for a promotion, give him regular feedback and updates on how he's going and tracking towards that, giving him visibility on whether he should be making the promotion when it comes time or not…etc.?

    Now, X is insisting that we consider a promotion for him or he would leave. I am quite annoyed / appalled with such behavior.

    Why? It's business, not personal. He's not your slave, he can set out the terms he wants in order to stay. You're free to call his bluff or not. You're not entitled to his labour at the end of the day.

    To say that there is no impact from him leaving will be untrue, as it means I will need to train someone up again etc.

    Then he knows he has bargaining power, right?

    However, X isn't creating any value for me / team. To make things worse, I think my current manager is going to budge, which in itself is not a problem but others in my team are already raising their eyebrows. I personally feel its demoralising not only for me but others in the team as X just talks and never get things done.

    FWIW, you are his manager. If X just talks and never gets work done, then that is on you. If he is incompetent, then it is on you to sort out why and to resolve it (which may well involve firing him and getting in someone else). That is part of your job as a people manager, that is what accountability is.

    I understand your challenge, as I am a people manager myself. The responsibility is hard, which is why people managers are paid more than analysts who just "do work". If you don't like managing people and feel that this adds additional stress / worry for you, then you should look at a role where you don't have to do that and can just focus on delivering quality work.

    Anyway, all the best, but my suggestion would just be to have a think about how to help X become better. The guy's obviously a part of your team now. Sometimes we get good team members, sometimes less good, that's part of being a leader.

    • legendary-noob on 22/01/2023 - 10:21
      +1

      Thanks - agree to most of your points

      Frankly I was never a people manager. My manager put him under me because he expressed interest in what I do.
      However, he was never the same kind. I am a doer he's not. Any historically, all the doers (nerdy, don't talk much) strive in our team.
      I have expressed concerns on the day they asked me about him joining the team, clearly saying he was better off remaining where he was but was brushed off and now made my problem.

      Our first 1:1 discussion wasn't a good one, where he told me he intended to keep all his existing projects (from his previous role) and I was like what? It seems like his understanding of coming to my team was to apply his skillset from previous role in my team (totally unrelated) and still be able to achieve promotion - an analogy would be an electrical engineer can work in a hospital fixing up their wiring issues and get promoted to be a brain specialist. I think its the difference in expectation that is causing so much grief. He is just walking away from the true problem my team is facing, and trying to create problem in a space which he is comfy with (which if was true, I will just get his old team to sort out, definitely not a core skill for my team)

      • p1 ama on 22/01/2023 - 13:42
        +4

        Frankly I was never a people manager. My manager put him under me because he expressed interest in what I do.

        Well you are now, if you don't want to be, that's a discussion you need to have with your manager.

        However, he was never the same kind. I am a doer he's not. Any historically, all the doers (nerdy, don't talk much) strive in our team.

        This is just a pre-conceived notion of him. Everyone thinks they are a doer. Being a doer has nothing to do with being nerdy or how much you talk.

        I have expressed concerns on the day they asked me about him joining the team, clearly saying he was better off remaining where he was but was brushed off and now made my problem.

        Again, do you want to resolve this issue or do you want to complain? He's a part of your team now, it's your responsibility to make it work. As his manager, you are accountable for him regardless of what you personally think of him or whether that is "fair" or not.

        Our first 1:1 discussion wasn't a good one, where he told me he intended to keep all his existing projects (from his previous role) and I was like what?

        As his manager, you are the person responsible for telling him what he should be doing. You are the person who needs to tell him, "your role is now to work on X, Y, and Z", and to tell him how to go about it.

        It seems like his understanding of coming to my team was to apply his skillset from previous role in my team (totally unrelated) and still be able to achieve promotion - an analogy would be an electrical engineer can work in a hospital fixing up their wiring issues and get promoted to be a brain specialist. I think its the difference in expectation that is causing so much grief.

        This is just very abstract beating around the bush. What you need to do is put in 10 mins in the calendar with him every day for a check-in, maybe just make it a daily coffee walk if you're in the office with the guy. In those 10 mins, you need to be clear about the following 5 things:

        1) What are his achievements (i.e. what has he done) since the last time you caught up the previous day?
        2) What you think his priorities should be for the next day (again, you are his manager, you decide what he needs to achieve)
        3) Let him tell you what he thinks needs to be done to meet your priorities
        4) You give him your thoughts on his plan
        5) You give him some feedback on how he's going and give him an opportunity to raise any issues that he has

        If you are not already doing this with him, why not?

        He is your only direct report, you need to do this with him on a daily basis for now given the state of your relationship with him. As your relationship evolves, you understand each others' working styles and you build trust, you may decide that you don't wish to keep this daily routine.

        FWIW, I do this with all of my direct reports. I know exactly what they are working on at any point in time, what their priorities are, what I want them to achieve. If you do not know this for him, then you are not doing your job as a people manager.

        My broader concern is that for someone who claims to be a "doer", and not a "talker", you have a surprising amount to say about your colleague, but have not done a lot to actually resolve this issue. Say what you want about him not meeting his KPIs, but you have to remember that as a people manager, your KPI is making sure that your team is delivering what they need to deliver.

      • whatwasherproblem on 22/01/2023 - 17:11
        +1

        he told me he intended to keep all his existing projects (from his previous role) and I was like what?

        We're you just "like, what?" or did you actually call him up on that? If this dude was full-time on all of his previous projects and he straight-up admitted to you that he plans on keeping that same work distribution going forward, then where's the extra time going to come from? He's got the same 7-8 hour workday as everyone else, so if he's told you that he plans to spend 7-8 of those hours doing the same projects he was doing before, then he's effectively told you he plans on doing nothing in the new role. Ergo, 12 months later you shouldn't be shocked that he has, in fact, done nothing in the new role.

        However, he was never the same kind. I am a doer he's not. Any historically, all the doers (nerdy, don't talk much) strive in our team.

        I'll second what @p1 ama is saying about you being unclear about his expectations. Twelve months is a long time to leave him to his own devices if you thought he was doing the wrong thing. It sounds like he's firmly on the manager track and playing the game, and he's playing it well, actually. From his point of view, he's been at your company a year, and he's spent his time meeting your expectations (because you haven't called him up on anything, so why would he assume otherwise? He'd have been fired or reprimanded if he wasn't doing as well as he thought he was), and spent the rest of the time networking with colleagues ("he's a good guy to grab a beer with" is a very powerful statement to make about a colleague). Of course he thinks he's winning, and of course he'd be offended that you think otherwise and that you took 12 months to let him know that he needed to lift his game.

        Honestly, if it's at all up to you, call his bluff. He'll "be promoted or leave"? Fine, then he leaves. It sounds like it'd be the best option for everyone, including him.

  • Donaldhump on 21/01/2023 - 23:38
    +4

    some people think the sun shines out their a$$ when they are in reality crap, let them leave, and the market will take care of them.

    but if the person after 12 months has failed his KPIs (lets hope they are measurable and not wishy washy), why is this even an issue surely they would have been managed out / fired.

    few points

    Why are you not giving them firm deadlines as their manager.
    Why are you not saying I want this report 5 days before I need to review it.
    Why are you not doing 3 monthly reviews if they fail their KPIS?
    Why are they insisting which projects to work on, you're the ****ing boss, you tell them what they are working on, its not bush week, if they don't like what they are given then the door is over there
    Why are they insisting on a promotion, positions don't mystically appear after 12 months. If a promoted position exist tell them to apply for the job, and when they don't get it, let them chose their path

    Speaking from experience I've had managers in other sites, that give ambigious requests or change their mind on the fly in their head, and when you ask them they don't reply for three days, then they complain you're late with work. They were actually crap managers who wanted be "all work" as they are too busy doing the actual work, with no managing. Thats why I think good managers are people who don't care to be the ones doing, but rather just do the managing / admin, and be able to reply pretty quick

    It may seem like you don't actually manage them (and they clearly need it), or have never been put in an absolute position to manage them, and hence don't

    remember Lunatics don't know they are lunatics because they are lunatics.

    • legendary-noob on 22/01/2023 - 10:06
      +1

      Fair points, and admit I'm a doer rather than a natural people manager, but appreciate your points.

      Tell me if I am wrong but:
      - Respect your KPIs
      - Be responsible for your own learning, your manager can point you in the right direction but you yourself need to be doing the work to progress your knowledge / experience

      Problem I faced in summary:
      - Management had inconsistent standard in recruitment
      - Team, including management, was stretched and had no time to focus on staff performance
      - I have no say in recruiting, even though it was my team. Per my post, I have clearly said no as I have seen his work and his skillset isn't the right one for the team
      - Difference in expectation - he thinks he's done a great job. I think the opposite.
      - Finally, you would think firing someone based on KPI is something normal. For some reason my company has been focusing on wellbeing (probably because many are actually doers) and bullying and I was constantly having doubt if I was too hard or I've met an a$$.

      To your point:
      - No change in mind, the KPIs are set based on what I wanted from all team members
      - I was regularly reviewing KPIs, and believe me, each conversation is hard because each feedback is countered with an excuse which I don't agree

  • cashless on 21/01/2023 - 23:55

    Sack the bastard

  • rambao9 on 22/01/2023 - 01:02
    +2

    Wow, the level of toxicity is strong in this one.

    "Now, X is insisting that we consider a promotion for him or he would leave." - This in itself criteria for letting him go. You also need to drive it in his head that he did not perform, did not meet KPIs and also has poor feedback across the business.

    If he is threatening to leave, he's going to leave anyway, just waiting for another opportunity to come along. You're better off finding someone else while he's still hear to offload the timing needed to onboard the new guy.

    And on a side note, oof whingers, my boss hates whinging, haha, it's hard to notice sometimes but it's nice when someone calls it out for what it is. There is absolutely 0 value to whinging.

  • djones145 on 22/01/2023 - 02:11
    +14

    make friends with him cause in 12 months time he will be your boss.

    does nothing, takes credit, manages up and talks well
    thats senior management material

    • FW190 on 22/01/2023 - 08:09

      sad but true, can't remember where I read this quote, but it goes something like "in the business world, usually it is the talkers who gets rewarded, while the doers are the ones who gets shafted".

      anyway, to the OP

      To say that there is no impact from him leaving will be untrue, as it means I will need to train someone up again etc

      but then you mentioned points 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5.

      doesn't sound like a great lost to me, I am sure any newbie, with minimal amount of training, can whinge, miss deadlines, be clueless, and still be full of themselves. When the time comes for reference checks, make sure to give X a glowing review, let him become someone else's problem.

    • jeeg on 22/01/2023 - 13:14
      +2

      +1 to this. People who move up the ladder are usually the talker with lots of talks and little actions. The only actions they tend to do is to farm out the task - this is called "delegation" they say - and when something comes back with good outcome they claim most of the credit - but not forgetting to award a little bit of credits to the people behind helping (have to at least give some credits to the helpers or else no one will help them in future).

      add to that if they are great beer drinking buddies (or bear loving), they will do very well indeed.

      • whatwasherproblem on 22/01/2023 - 17:20
        +1

        add to that if they are great beer drinking buddies (or bear loving), they will do very well indeed.

        100%. The old adage that "most business happens on the golf course" is still true today, if not more so.

      • p1 ama on 22/01/2023 - 19:29
        +2

        People who move up the ladder are usually the talker with lots of talks and little actions. The only actions they tend to do is to farm out the task - this is called "delegation" they say - and when something comes back with good outcome they claim most of the credit - but not forgetting to award a little bit of credits to the people behind helping (have to at least give some credits to the helpers or else no one will help them in future).

        I strongly disagree with this (as someone who comes from a technical background, with a PhD in a mathematical field).

        This sort of statement is often paraded by those in technical roles (e.g. like OP) who have little exposure to people management and believe that "idiots" with no technical abilities are often the ones who are promoted. However, this is broadly untrue.

        "Farming out tasks", or what you deride as "delegation" is an extremely important task in any well-functioning team. As a people manager, it is my job to understand the strengths, weaknesses and capabilities of everyone who reports to me and ensures, to manage work that comes in and delegate it in the most efficient way possible whilst ensuring that we have the capacity to deliver what is required and keep everyone happy.

        This is not an easy task and is far more challenging than when my job was primarily writing code all day. Not only do I have to consistently be responsible for the output of all my direct reports, but I also have to manage both up and down, have very difficult conversations and negotiations with both those who report to me and to whom I report, and more often than not, the responsibility of "going out to bat for the team" rests with me.

        In many ways, it is a thankless task, and to some it might appear like I'm just schmoozing the big boss, but I'm really trying to make sure that the contributions of our team are recognised and that more interesting work comes our way.

        What most technical people don't understand (myself included for many years), is that how important one is to a business is leverage and scale. If your domain is technical excellence, you better be so darn good at something niche that you get promoted on that alone (which happens - someone I used to work with knew an ancient programming language that one of our systems used and he was paid > $300K just because it was impossible to find anyone with his expertise). Otherwise, you have to learn to manage people because that's what scales - it's not "I'm a good programmer" or "I'm good at financial models", it is "give me a team of programmers, and I can deliver the product you want, and be accountable for it".

  • Sinnerator on 22/01/2023 - 08:07

    OP Why so much talk about this when you already know what you need to do?
    <just in case, do not promote him, let him walk, replace him with someone who has a clue. And if he hangs around too long clearly articulate to him ALL OF HIS SHORT COMINGS as the reason he NEVER will be promoted.>

  • AndyC1 on 22/01/2023 - 08:31
    -1

    Call HR and ask for a face to face meeting with them to go over the situation.

  • Ocker on 22/01/2023 - 09:57

    Just make sure you have kept a good paper trail of his shortcomings as when he sues for unfair dismissal you will need solid evidence as to the reasoning.

  • JetLi on 22/01/2023 - 11:00
    +2

    Don't promote (due to underperformance) and let him walk - best outcome for you

  • MrThing on 22/01/2023 - 11:48

    Start a diary and begin performance management

    If they want a promotion keep knocking it back, maybe ur problem will resolve itself by them quitting

  • Switchblade88 on 22/01/2023 - 11:52

    Apart from the obvious "He's not meeting the KPIs", may I offer:

    Put yourself up for a promotion instead!

  • leiiv on 22/01/2023 - 12:03

    This kind of thing is very hard to judge objectively as it depends on which side of the story you listen to. It does not help that OP words and sentences are formed not in a straight forward manner, giving impression that he's not a doer too. You know, that kind of manager.
    For all we know, X may tell his own side of the story "Dealing with an Overzealous and Incompetent Manager Refusing a Promotion".

    But in any case, something does not add up. If you don't have a say on who can be in your team, then you don't own the team. That means you should not have power to fire people as well, and your KPI, evaluation , etc, does not hold a real weight. I think you should first talk to your manager to clarify the roles and responsibility.

    Another practical thing to consider is that he wants a promotion. Where would he end up if he got one? Will he still be in your team? Or is he thinking of taking over your position?

  • Guybrush57 on 22/01/2023 - 12:48

    Crack open a bear

  • Mumbles on 22/01/2023 - 13:07

    Is communication good between you and X? If so then consider dealing with them in good faith. Ask X to put forward their case for a promotion. Can ask them to write some points down and email them to you. Then you'll be able to respond in a meeting or email.

    Alternatively, you as his manager can take the leadership approach and spell out the duty description of the current role. If there are comparable workers at same level it might be easier to describe their responsibilities and duty descriptions. As well as spell out for the supervisor.

    The ideal would be everything is out on the table and that candidate X has all the information to make an informed decision.
    Option 1: management and employee X make a deal that if he exceeds duty description then he gets a promotion.
    Option 2: employee X decides that current role is beyond his ability and resigns.
    Option 3: employee X realises his actual situation does not meet company expectations for a promotion (or company expectations are unreasonable) and decides not to push for a promotion and intentionally stays at level (while job hunting for a new job that's more satisfying).

  • Jugganautx on 22/01/2023 - 13:37
    +1

    Just because someones a "great person" doesn't mean they should be valued any better than someone that works their ass ass off and actually has skill. This shit grinds my gears to no end when people say "he's a slack worker but oh hes a great guy though so."

    All the while these people have been coasting their whole life riding the backs of other people.

  • monkeybusiness on 22/01/2023 - 14:05
    +1

    Sounds like a common problem. I've seen this happen before too and often is when non technical people are put in technical teams. Usually goes like this:
    - Person A says they have a interest in data
    - There is a opening in the data teams and management thinks Person A is ideal for the role as it aligns with their interest and would be good personal growth
    - Members of the data teams (i.e the doers) starts working with Person A and it is very clear that Person A don't have the mindset and technical skills to succeed in a doer role (e.g You are in a data team and you don't even know how to use tools to analyse data e.g SQL). They know this person would never have gotten the role had it not been for management.
    - Management and hiring managers see technical skills as just another checkbox and can be picked up very quickly. This is fine if the person have a general apititude for learning tehcnical skills but many also do not. Hiring managers themselves don't appreciate how much experience is needed to start having the right mindsets to succeed. This is especially true if these managers never had to do the grunt work themselves before.

    Back to your case, there seems to be a lot expectation management that seems to have not been set. Sometimes you are dealt a bad hand and you just have to work with what you have. To manage this person you need to put yourselves into a "perople manager" role and show some leadership and mentor skills. You should have regular catchups with this person and explain the reasons why they are not ready for that promotion. You got to frame feedback in a positive and constructive manner and advise the reasons why you believe they are not ready. Most importantly, you need to work on a plan with them to try get them closer to that goal to be ready (even if deep down you don't belive they can)

    Also FYI a lot of people apply for roles way above what they are qualified for and hope they get lucky. Managers also at some point have to place faith on a candidate recognise they don't have all the skills but can learn the rest of the skills while they are in the role

  • lachhelix on 22/01/2023 - 14:13
    +1

    Imo the italicised bit

    "I'm sorry we can't offer you a promotion, unfortunately your KPIs we agreed together haven't been met"

    X is really convinced that he's done a great job despite not meeting any of the KPIs we have set earlier this year. When he asked me for a promotion this year, he was surprised that he wasn't getting one.

    If he's not meeting KPIs then it's really no loss losing him in the long term right?

  • Look Up on 22/01/2023 - 15:18
    +1

    X MBTI: ENFP
    Action: Cut him loose. Let him fail upwards at another organisation. He is a ticking time bomb waiting for the right situation to be exposed by people more cut-throat than you and your colleagues

  • shaybisc on 23/01/2023 - 11:21

    What does a senior analyst get promoted to?

  • freefall101 on 23/01/2023 - 13:18
    +1

    Sounds like you work in government, and get promoted out of the teams that don't want them anymore because it's easier than trying to fire them.

    Sounds like you also need to get on the same page with your manager, it seems a pretty unhealthy situation if he's just hiring for you and not listening to you.

  • lainey13 on 23/01/2023 - 14:42

    Feel better after that rant? I see no question being asked so I offer no advice. You know what you need to do, and I hope it gets easier now you've written it out.

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