When an employee wants a promotion, it can be difficult to tell the individual he or she is not ready.
Harvard Business Review shares the following steps to help you handle the situation in a compassionate, positive way.
- Shift your own mindset. Rather than approaching it as delivering bad news, view it as developing a shared understanding. Acknowledge your employee’s efforts, validate his or her feelings and let the individual know you have noticed his or her hard work. For example, you could say: “I see a lot of potential in you, and I believe in your ability to grow into the role you want.”
- Shift your reasoning. Highlight where your employee is now and what he or she must do to move forward. You could describe the employee’s current skills and then specify the skills needed to advance, focusing on potential training or projects.
- Create a roadmap. You and your employee can work together to develop a plan that will help him or her gain the necessary experience, as well as foster the learning and development the employee needs to advance his or her career.
