Intrenion

Pattern: Gatekept advancement

Career progression depends on the explicit or implicit approval of a small number of powerful individuals.

Situation

1. In this condition, career progression decisions are made only after explicit or implicit approval from a small number of senior individuals.
2. In this condition, employees with strong performance records do not advance without the endorsement of these decision-makers.
3. In this condition, promotion outcomes vary depending on proximity or access to specific authority figures.
4. In this condition, advancement discussions take place in limited forums that are not widely transparent to the rest of the organization.
5. In this condition, formal promotion criteria exist, but advancement does not consistently follow documented performance metrics.
6. In this condition, employees invest time in maintaining relationships with those who control advancement opportunities.
7. In this condition, stalled careers are commonly associated with a lack of sponsorship rather than documented underperformance.

Assessment

1. This occurs because authority for advancement is concentrated in a small group that exercises discretionary control over scarce higher-level roles.
2. This occurs because formal evaluation systems require interpretation, and interpretive authority remains centralized in senior positions.
3. This occurs because scarcity of promotions forces selective filtering, which defaults to trusted relationships under uncertainty.
4. This occurs because leaders use advancement decisions to reinforce loyalty, strategic alignment, and control over future leadership composition.
5. This occurs because informal sponsorship networks transmit reputational information that outweighs standardized performance metrics.
6. This occurs because transparency mechanisms do not redistribute final decision rights, leaving practical power unchanged.
7. This occurs because employees rationally allocate effort toward relationship management when approval dependency determines career mobility.

Consequence

1. Without redistributing advancement authority, discretionary approval will continue to override formal performance criteria in promotion outcomes.
2. Without structural changes to decision-making, employees will remain dependent on a limited number of gatekeepers for career mobility.
3. Without alternative mobility pathways, stalled advancement will persist for individuals lacking sponsorship access.
4. Without reducing the concentration of interpretive control, perceptions of inconsistency and favoritism will remain structurally embedded.
5. Without expanding decision transparency or diffusing authority, organizational power will continue consolidating around those who control progression.

Decisions

1. We decide to allocate no more than two hours per week to internal influence building because this gives us a fixed ceiling on political investment instead of continuously increasing relationship management time to chase discretionary approval, and accept that slower internal promotion may result.
2. We decide to apply externally to at least five comparable roles each quarter because this gives us market validation and leverage instead of waiting for internal gatekeeper endorsement to determine our value, and accept that this may trigger internal distrust if discovered.
3. We decide to set a personal exit threshold of 12 months without measurable scope or compensation growth because this gives us a predefined trigger for action instead of repeatedly renegotiating expectations with the same approving authority, and accept that we may leave before a late promotion materializes.

Direct formulations

1. I will spend no more than two hours per week on internal political relationship management and will stop investing additional time even if it slows my promotion.
2. I will apply to at least five comparable external roles each quarter and will not wait for internal approval to validate my progression.
3. I will leave this organization if twelve months pass without measurable scope or compensation growth, and I will not extend that deadline based on verbal assurances.