At one organisation I joined, some staff had waited up to eight years for a promotion. They weren’t underperformers. The system simply had no way to move them.

After a structured assessment, we cleared the backlog: more than 14 promotions, four moves into senior leadership, and job reclassifications that were years overdue. We also handed over from a Country Director who had led for 30 years to a successor who is still in post today.

Tech teams have the same problem in a different shape. Career ladders that exist on a wiki but not in practice. Senior engineers who leave because the only way up is out. Leads who are “too valuable” to promote.

This talk covers:

- How to spot a stalled pipeline before your best people do
- Running talent reviews and calibration that people actually trust
- Succession planning when a key person has been there forever
- What to do when the budget says no but the person deserves yes

For anyone who has ever asked “what do I need to do to get promoted?” and got a vague answer, and for the managers who gave it.