How to Kill off Ambition and De-Motivate Your Staff

A tale of how a recent experience has strongly reinforced my will to achieve FIRE and have more flexibility in the way I spend my time. 

Background 

Since starting at my company 7.5 years ago, I’ve been one of the stand-out performers in most areas. I don’t like saying that type of thing because it sounds big headed. But I’ve genuinely put my head above the parapet and done everything I can to succeed.  

By this method, I managed to be one of the quickest in the company to ever pass their professional qualifications, as well as numerous other factors including: 

  • Consistently high performance and quality of output 
  • Working on some of the most difficult projects in the company 
  • Built strong relationships both within the company and with other organisations 
  • Continually showed ambition and desire to progress 
  • Helping graduates achieve their professional qualifications 
  • Became the company expert in an industry specific piece of software 
  • Wrote company-wide guidance on software use 
  • Arranged various webinars for staff training 
  • Joined an industry-wide international panel at the cutting-edge of technology 
  • Attendance at various networking events with senior colleagues 
  • Giving numerous pieces of advice/feedback in annual reviews which the company has gone on to adopt 

The list goes on. 

You might be wondering why I’m basically writing a sales pitch for myself. Is my head really that big?! I’m getting to the point, I promise….. 

I’ve known for some time that a re-shuffle of personnel within the company was on the cards. A number of senior staff had recently left. Looking at my peers, I considered myself to be in a very strong position to be promoted.  

In addition to this, at each of my recent annual reviews I have made my desire to make this next step very clear. In turn, the Directors have assured me that I am on the right path and hinted at the next step. 

Bombshell 

You can understand why I was so frustrated when I learnt that 2 of my colleagues had been given the role I was after, without a word to me.

We receive an annual update at Christmas time from the Directors. This email enclosed details of these new roles and came as a complete shock to me! 

Merry Christmas, Mr Way!! 

My initial reaction was one of disappointment, frustration and (mostly) anger. I felt really betrayed by the system and couldn’t understand why this decision had been made. 

Unfortunately, this happened immediately before the Christmas break. This meant I had no time to get these feeling off my chest and was left to stew during the festive period. On reflection, this may well have been a positive considering my initial anger had time to diminish!!

Finding a Resolution 

Immediately on returning from the Christmas break, I requested a meeting with my Director. He had been the one in the annual reviews I mention above, and was not at all surprised to hear of my disappointment. 

My sole line of questioning in this meeting was “how do you see my future with the company now that XYZ has happened?”  

To my amazement, the only reason given (amongst much waffle) was that the 2 colleagues who were promoted were older than me and had been with the company longer. Deep down I think I knew this reason, hence the severity of my initial reaction to the decision. 

Still, I couldn’t quite believe that a Director was essentially telling me that they simply reward how long someone has sat in their seat. What does that do for staff morale? How are new members of staff supposed to be encouraged to work hard and stand out when they know decisions are made simply on a ‘time-served’ basis?! 

Knock-on Effects

Numerous graduates below me are currently very de-motivated and this decision will do nothing to encourage them to follow in my footsteps and work hard. 

I tried several different ways of asking the same question, but that was the only explanation I received. “Your time will come” was mentioned several times. 

At the end of the meeting, I had gathered that they still see me as one of the next in line for this role, but had decided to reward my colleagues first due to age/time served. I was very quick to point out that appointments should be made based on who is most suited/qualified for the job rather than any number of years! This seemed to fall on deaf ears… 

I would have absolutely no problem with others being selected over myself if purely based on performance. Even if I disagreed! The really disappointing thing is the lack of communication. It was well known that I had been pushing for this role myself for some time. It wouldn’t have taken much effort to quietly explain the decision to me prior to the dreaded email landing.  

18 Months Is a Long Time

During my meeting it was strongly hinted that I would receive the same outcome as these colleagues within 18 months. Hardly an inspiring timescale to an enthusiastic employee, determined to succeed. It was even quoted that “you have a full career ahead, why the rush?”.  

Little do they know 18 months is actually a significant chunk of my remaining pre-FI career!! 

In the back of my mind is the fact that these colleagues will now always have ~18 months longer in the next position, and so be considered ahead of me for future promotions too. It will be increasingly difficult to stand out from the crowd. Thoroughly demoralising!

Safe to say, my faith in the company is at an all-time low and the CV is being well and truly dusted off. 

Get to the Point 

What’s the point of telling you all this? 

Well, I just wanted to rant really. 

But more importantly, I think it serves a really good reminder of the reasons why we are striving for FI / FIRE. Having already amassed ~30% of my FIRE target, I’m in a pretty strong financial position. I can assess my options while knowing that I don’t need to rely on this job. If I really wanted to, I could sustain myself for at least the next 5 years without ANY income.  

If I was in the typical position of people my age, with no savings, I probably wouldn’t have even sat down to discuss the decision with my Director. 

Nobody should have to put up with such bullshit at work. We’re giving up a huge chunk of our time to these companies and should be treated with respect in return. It really doesn’t take much to make your employees feel valued.  

Summary 

Overall, I’m pretty upset with my company for their handling of this situation. I’ve made that known so all I can do now is see what happens next. 

Being in a strong financial position means I have the confidence to look for new opportunities in the meantime. Considering our current life plans (still unknown to my employer), this decision becomes more complicated. But there’s never any harm in some window-shopping! 

Fortunately, I’m quite well paid for my level and have a very comfortable working environment. Hence I’m willing to put up with a small level of incompetence in return. The current situation is testing that limit, but at least my options are well and truly open.  

The final outcome remains unclear, but I’ll keep you updated on any future developments! 

The Power of FI 

Hopefully this gives you all a reminder of the power of seeking financial independence. Whether you plan to quit work or not, having a good financial position means you’re in charge of your own destiny.  

This shows the true power of FI and the benefit it can bring to anyone, regardless of their individual situation. 

Do you have any stories about how you’ve improved your work situation through savings-induced confidence? Or, any advice if you were in my situation?! We’d love to hear your tales! 

12 thoughts on “How to Kill off Ambition and De-Motivate Your Staff

  1. Your story sounds like mine, almost to every item on your list of accomplishments. The difference is that I was promoted early and often, over older employees until I ran the company at an early age. Everyone of my thirteen direct reports was older than me. Most of their hundreds of reports were older than me. Nobody puts seniority ahead of talent. The real reason you weren’t promoted is your superiors do not see your relative value to be as high as that of those two senior people who were promoted. They told you it was seniority because that’s the easy, no fault, answer. But it wasn’t the truth. I believe you are the best but they didn’t. There are many possible reasons for this. They include past accomplishments by those two promotees you aren’t aware of, some needed improvement in your self promotion skill set, your likeability or some kind of undue influence from relationships outside of the work place. I’d consider changing jobs and getting a mentor who can help you with self promotion. It’s no good being the best if you don’t have everyone else realize it, and have them all love you at the same time. It is possible, I know, I did it.

  2. I think that the majority of people just equate time served with ability. Unfortunately this does not always follow. In my role as a social worker I have come across many colleagues who despite being qualified for a very long time are not actually that good at their job. In contrast I have met newly qualified social workers who are excellent.

    I’m lucky in that I am happy in my current role and am not pursuing advancement. At aged 50 I am thinking about (earlyish) retirement. Fortunately I am given a great deal of independence and left just to get on with my role, only seeing management about once a month. I get frustrated by idiotic management decisions, but because most of the time I can forget about them and do my own thing it doesn’t stress me too much.

    I think that the question has to be whether you can get another job that pays the same salary. If you can’t what’s worse – remaining in your current position and making quick progress towards FI or being happier, but maybe taking longer to achieve FI?

    Sometimes Jean-Paul Sartre is right – ‘Hell is other people’. FI gives you the power to avoid them!

    Good luck, whatever decision you make.

    1. A Way to Less

      Not seeking a promotion sounds like a much happier place to be, albeit with its own frustrations. I keep wondering whether this is the approach I should take.

      With a baby on the way and lots of other stuff going on in life, it’s tempting to sit back for a while and watch the account balances build. I find it difficult to fully commit to this approach though because I’m still keen to progress – I’m actually already doing the next job up so it seems a real shame not to push for that promotion at least before reconsidering.

      The other difficulty relates to your question. My company pay very well compared to competitors which makes it very difficult to leave! I think the level of unhappiness has not yet reached the level which would make the sacrifice worthwhile. It’s tolerable for now.

      I’ve not heard that quote before but it suits me very well!!

  3. playingwithfire.uk

    I’ve been there and know the bitter disappointment. I would consider moving elsewhere. It’s likely to lead to more pay and responsibilities. You story reminds me so much of me about 3-4 years ago.

    After initial success and many promotions I noticed I was ‘stalling’. I believe this was due to a boss who didn’t like me giving a bad mark. I went on to stay way too long with a company when my talents were taken for granted and I was given bare minimum to keep me on board. I stayed as I liked my colleagues and the project but it wasn’t benefiting me. Eventually I got a new job and a 30% pay rise.

    1. A Way to Less

      That situation does sound very similar. The difficulty is the convenience and pay at my current company. It would be very difficult to find somewhere as convenient location wise, not to mention the friend I have made at this place. Being able to walk to work is a huge positive for me, one which I would struggle to put a price on.

      Thanks for the input and we’ll see what the coming months bring!

    1. A Way to Less

      Company culture is very much to blame here. Unfortunately, those things don’t change quickly. There are some promising signs, but then something like this happens and makes you doubt whether progress is truly coming.

  4. That’s a super sad statement on how you’ve got a long career ahead of you, so why the rush… It’s basically saying they don’t value any of your contributions above average. I ran into similar headaches when I worked for other people and only lasted four years before I outgrew it and started my own business.

    1. A Way to Less

      I know your story Kim and really appreciate your opinion. Thanks for the input 🙂

      For me, it would be a difficult point in life at which to start up on my own. It would be a very big risk, especially with a little one on the way. Certainly food for thought anyway. Thanks again.

  5. Thanks for sharing this, I enjoyed your rant, which does neatly hammer home one of the reasons to aim for FI or FIRE – a seemingly happy job can turn rotten just by one action, which is outside of your control.

    @Steveark makes a very important point however – promotion is often not based purely on efforts and hard work; it’s based on your network of influencial people, people who know you and will tell/persuade others about your skills.

    Sounds like you might need to review your personal brand – https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephliu/2018/04/30/personal-brand-work/#46a29f347232

    1. A Way to Less

      It has certainly made me thankful for my FI fund so far. Although I’m nowhere near quitting numbers, I at least have enough to give me confidence in standing up to my boss. I don’t think I would have dared take this stance without the financial comfort blanket I’ve developed.

      Personal brand is an interesting concept and something I would have assumed was reasonably strong. Maybe this is a chance to take stock and reconsider how I’m seen by others. The first few paragraphs of that article sound very familiar.

      Thanks for the valuable input as ever Weenie.

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