I trained the new guy for three months — walked him through our systems, answered his panicked 10 p.m. Slack messages, and even rewrote the process docs he was too "busy" to read. Then, out of nowhere, he gets promoted. I got a "keep up the great work" emoji in our team channel. That's it.
When I asked my boss why, she said I "wasn't quite ready for leadership." She said this in front of the same guy who asks me what a KPI is every week. I realized in that moment: they weren't promoting the most capable person. They were promoting the person they were most comfortable with. And I? I made them uncomfortable — by being good.
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