Why You’re Not Getting Promoted (How to Finally Get Promoted and Stand Out at Work)

Why are other people getting promoted faster than you—even when you’re working just as hard?

In this episode, **Dr. Jason Wiggins—executive leader, leadership professor, author, and motivational speaker—**breaks down what really drives career growth, promotions, and leadership advancement in today’s workplace.

If you’re a Gen Z or Millennial professional feeling overlooked, this episode will challenge your thinking and give you a clear strategy to take control of your career.

Here’s the truth: hard work alone doesn’t get you promoted—visibility, measurable impact, and leadership thinking do.

Too many professionals stay stuck because their effort isn’t seen, their impact isn’t clearly communicated, and they’re operating at the wrong level. Meanwhile, top performers are solving bigger problems, positioning themselves strategically, and building influence before they ever get the title.

This episode shows you how to start doing the same—immediately.

🎯 What You’ll Learn:

•  Why you’re not getting promoted (even if you’re working hard) 
•  How to build visibility at work without office politics 
•  The shift from task execution to leadership-level thinking
•  How to create, track, and communicate measurable impact
•  How to build a personal brand that drives career advancement 

⚡ Practical Strategies to Accelerate Your Career:

•  Operate one level above your current role starting today 
•  Clearly communicate your value and business impact 
•  Ask for feedback that leads to real improvement 
•  Build strategic relationships based on trust and respect 
•  Position yourself in high-impact, decision-making spaces 

🔑 The 5-Step Career Acceleration Framework:

1.  Stop waiting for permission 
2.  Redefine your role 
3.  Own outcomes, not tasks 
4.  Make your impact visible 
5.  Get in the rooms where decisions are made 

If you’re ready to stop being overlooked and start getting promoted, this episode gives you the blueprint to stand out and move up faster.

👉 Follow on Spotify and Amazon Music for weekly insights on career growth, leadership development, and high performance
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Transcript

Welcome And Career Growth Setup

SPEAKER_00 0:07

Hello, friends. Welcome to a new episode of Your Motivational Gen Z and Millennial Expert podcast where we focus on the leadership blueprint, career growth, motivation, workplace success for Gen Z and Millennials. If you are into that, you are at the right podcast. So thank you very much for everyone joining us today. And we have got a terrific lineup for today. So when we talk about career growth, we talk about the ability to move up, to strive, to get more, and to be a major part of your organization. This is going to help you to get there. We're going to talk about some key points, and at the end, we are going to come up with some epic five steps that are going to get you where you want to go for overall success. Starting now, have you ever looked at someone's career and thought? Why then? Same company, same opportunities, just maybe with even less experience. Yeah, somehow they just keep rising to the top. And you're still waiting for your shot. Today, we are breaking down the uncomfortable truth behind why some people accelerate to the top and others stay stuck. Where are you? Are you stuck? This is going to help you move in the right direction. Now, what we want to talk about today is thinking about how promotions and growth are rarely just about hard work. Visibility sometimes equals or outweighs the effort. We always say work harder, try more, make yourself successful by showing that you can work 12-hour days. But is that really part of the visibility? So that's why when we say promotions and growth are really just about hard work, it's about ensuring that people know the work you are doing, the projects that you are doing, making yourself known around the organization for being someone that everybody knows they can count on. And then when they can count on you, that visibility will outweigh the effort. People will see what you're doing. They'll come to you as a sign of an expert. And that is going to be key in a lot of aspects. I can identify back in my early part of my career, I was working with Frito Lay at the time, and nothing more I wanted to be than was in management. I had already had an opportunity as the student body vice president at Washington State University. I loved the leadership aspect. I loved everything that it brought to the table. I enjoyed the stress. I enjoyed the hard work. I enjoyed the camaraderie of working with people. And then with Free Dolate, I was a merchandiser, salesperson who put the product on the shelf, did the ordering, made sure we had the correct inventory. And I wanted to be in management. I wanted to be a district manager, but I had to put my lumps in. I had to show the visibility part of what I was doing. So I started volunteering to oversee a depot that was about 40 miles south of where I was at in Washington State. And I managed this facility for several months. I lived in and out of a hotel for that same period of time, Monday through Friday. And it was it was great because it gave me some leadership aspect, it gave me the opportunity. But then I wanted to find out what is the next step. And then at that time, my district manager, who was great, and his name was Steve McPeak. Great guy. I really appreciated his hard work. And he told me, well, if you really want visibility, then you need to go into one of our larger markets, which was either the Portland or Seattle market. And at the time, I was living in eastern Washington. And long story short, I had no interest of going back to the ring. I know we've got a lot of great listeners in the Pacific Northwest, and uh, you know, you're great, but I'm sorry, the weather just doesn't work for me. So that was an opportunity for visibility. And I said to myself, I can't do it. I can't do it. So even though I was putting in the hard work, I was looking at the visibility, I decided that I was going to take my talents and efforts and visibility elsewhere. That is why it's gonna be the importance of understanding that promotions and growth are rarely just about hard work. It's about being seen, being visible, and demonstrating that you are a key asset and you can do more. And then sometimes people sit there and think, I'm gonna wait for my shank. I'm gonna wait to get to the top. I'm gonna wait for that opportunity, and the opportunity never comes. That's why that is the illusion of fairness in career progression. What does that mean? It means you sit there thinking about I deserve this, I deserve that. How many people do you know that always are saying, it's not fair, I haven't got my opportunity, I haven't got my shot. I know as a Gen Z and millennial, we might say that to ourselves once in a while. And maybe we're right. Maybe it's not fair, but the illusion of fairness and career progression is a real thing because people don't promote based on fairness, they promote based on results, visibility, and making sure that you are contributing, making a large contribution to the organization. That's what counts. Are you increasing the bottom line? Are you increasing the top line growth? Are you reducing expenses? Are you doing these key things that organizations want? Are you are you identifying a culture of success? Are you pushing initiatives? Are you continuing to promote yourself to be more valuable? Which is why we talk about talent alone doesn't guarantee advancement. Yes, you're talented. You might be great. You might have had to everybody tell you you're great growing up. And that's the thing about the illusion of our parents and the people around us. But the other day I was teaching my coaching my son during his little league, and we were watching, and and and I was talking to my wife, and she says, wait a minute, why do we keep talking to these kids and giving them the pat on the back every single second? This is the little league. And I said, I said, you know what? You're right. We do do that. And why are we trying to motivate them? We're trying to get them to be pumped up about being in baseball as we move forward. But I understood her point because this comes back to the point of coddling our children, coddling our future leaders. And that right there was a key point. Because remember, just because you're talented doesn't mean you're gonna make it. There's a lot of talented individuals in this world, but they can't live on talent alone. It takes visibility, it takes a little bit of luck sometimes. Remember, it is sometimes better to be lucky than good. You can have talent, but when those doors open, those opportunities open, we have to be prepared to take those, take those chances and move forward. Let's look at it this way. If it feels like the game is rigged, it's not. But it is being played at a level most people never learn. What does that mean? If it feels like the game is rigged, it's not. But it is being played at a level most people never learn. What that ultimately means is you think that people are playing at a different level. You think they're putting more effort in. You think maybe people are treating them better. That's not the truth because it is being played at a level most people never understand. What does that mean? It means they are not comprehending what it takes to get to the top, what the visibility is, how you can focus. It's about communication, it's about collaboration, it's about working with your intermix within your team to help each other. If you're just so concerned about what's in it for you, what's in it for me, you lose the main focus. That's why the game is not rigged. It's just playing at a different level. You haven't learned that the reason why people are successful is because they're taking their careers to the next level. They're doing things behind the scenes that you may not be aware of. So going back to what we talked about, have you ever looked at someone's career and thought, why then? Of course we have. But that's why we have to utilize the tools that I'm gonna show you at the end, these five tools that are going to help you make an epic climb from where you're at right now. I'd like to say, why do top performers exceed? What top performers do differently? Why do they perform at a higher level? Part of it is because top performers don't want to be seen. They make their value impossible to ignore. They're contributing. It's just not the star, a player out on the baseball field, the soccer field, the football field. It's the impact they're making behind the scenes. Are they cultivating their culture? Are they helping out others? Are they being a leader? They solve higher level problems. So, for example, if you lose a game and you're down, that person in the background, that player that may not be a star, is helping the other teammates rise up to the next challenge. And they think like leaders before they become one. They are looking at why the problem exists and how they can solve it. And they look at every opportunity as an opportunity to make an impactful level of communication. It's just not a, you know, you didn't do a great job, we'll do better next time. It's about making a quality impact within the individual and making it meaningful, having meaningful communication with your teammates, them up, bringing them up, putting your arm around them and saying, you know what? Wasn't a great game today. We didn't hit, we didn't score, we didn't kick the ball, we didn't pass. Whatever the element of a sporting event is, it's okay. It's just one game. And think of all the contributions you have made prior to that. And they build strategic relationships, not friendships. What does that mean? It's not about being a leader and a manager and being friends with everybody, it's about people respecting you for the level you're at. So that's what separates high achievers from those that are not able to make an impact. They solve higher-level problems. It's just not a task. They think like leaders before they become one. You don't have to be a leader. You don't have to be a manager, you don't have to be a high-impact individual to make a difference. You just need to believe in yourself, have that confidence, and become a leader. They make meaningful communication impact, and they build strategic relationships. Remember, top performers don't wait to be seen. They make their value impossible to ignore. Now, we all understand that we get held back. We get held back by different circumstances, different concerns in the world. We all have our own issues, we all have our own challenges, but we gotta call out the uncomfortable truth about what holds people back, taking a back seat to everybody else in your company. Well, I'll let them do this. I'll let them do that. I will wait for my opportunity to shine. No, that's not okay. The time is now. The time is now. You need to take back what is yours, and you've got to stop waiting to be recognized instead of advocating for yourself. Don't wait for somebody else to help you shine. It's your opportunity, and your opportunity is now the mistake that we all make that we can't make. It's waiting to be recognized, waiting for somebody to pull us up at our bootstraps and say, Jason, let's do it. No, what we have to say is Jason, internally motivated Jason, what is it going to take for you to get to the next levels? Anyone out there, I want you to ask yourself right now. It's a call to action. The call to action is what am I going to do differently? Something that's going to make an impact within my organization tomorrow, the next day. And I'm not going to wait for somebody to recognize me and wait to bring me up with them. And one of the biggest myths within an organization, biggest myth is confusing loyalty for growth. If you stay at an organization for 10 years and you don't go anywhere, that's not on me. That's not on them. That's on you. Want to be there at that organization. Or you're waiting to be recognized, or you're waiting for somebody to pull you up on your bootstraps and really help you get to the next level. But let's not worry about how long we're at an organization. Let's worry about the impact that we can make while we're at that organization. And if we're there for 10 years and we don't move up, we don't show the desire, or if we do show the desire and we still don't move up, then again, that's on you. It is up to you to help make your motivation, career decisions. That is why don't wait to be recognized and don't confuse loyalty with growth. You can be loyal to the soil. And there's nothing wrong with it. I have the greatest respect for individuals that have worked for the company for 25, 30, 40 years. I see all these things on LinkedIn from a lot of companies, and they're promoting the loyalty of their team, the loyalty of their production supervisors that have been with the company for 40 years, production of lower-level line employees that have stayed there. But what have they got in return? They got stable work. But did they get the growth opportunities? Did they get the additional learning opportunities, the continuous learning to help bring them up to the next level? If they were at that same job for 25, 30, 40 years, would they truly have? And if they are, fantastic. That is great. But if they're not, and they just kind of went through the motions for 40 years of your life at the same job, clocking in at the same time, same day, is that really, really the impact that you want to make? Because we have two large impacts in our life. We have where we spend half of our life at work and then half of our life with family, friends, and then the other half of that is sleeping. And let's talk about avoiding to risk to stay comfortable. You're afraid. I'm afraid. I get it. It's taken me a lot sometimes to get out of my shelf to want to be a big contributor and really spread my wings. I've had to look at different opportunities in my career where I was very uncomfortable. And I'm still uncomfortable in many aspects today. What I can say though is let that uncomfortableness help you rise to the top. Embrace those challenges. Don't think about it's uncomfortable. If you don't want to make that sales call and you don't feel like it's gonna be something you're good at, practice it. Run through it in your mind, figure out the best way to do it. And guess what? Sometimes you just have to be an actor. You just have to fake it to make it. And that's okay. You may not be good at it, but visualize yourself going into that role, going into the next element and getting past that uncomfortable zone. I like to always kind of compare it to when I was younger. I was probably 13, 14 years old, maybe 15, and I was so nervous to call a girl on the phone. Yes, this is when they had rotary phones, and I was very scared to do so. But I really had to work through the visualization, I had to practice, and I had to try to get through that. And it was difficult, and I don't really think I was very good at it and never really truly felt comfortable. But that was a large impact for me in my life. And then one of the other things is I watched a movie called Risky Business, and I forget the actor that was in that, and I shouldn't because he's very well known. But Risky Business. And I remember growing up, and you know what they said in that movie that really kind of helped elevate me and think when I got into a difficult situation, how can I get past that? I'll tell you right now. Sometimes you got to say what the bleep. I don't swear, I don't cuss. Sorry, I can't say the word. But sometimes when you get in that tough spot, you're at that point where you want to give up and you're uncomfortable and you can't do it. Sometimes you got to say what the bleep. And that's okay because that's going to help you resurrect yourself to get to the top and feel like you can't be held back, then that's what you have to do. And one of the other things that holds people back is overvaluing effort versus the outcome. It goes back to that visibility is better than effort. It's not about how much effort you put in, it's about the focus of the effort you put in and what the outcome is. If you're doing all this other stuff on the side that isn't beneficial to the outcome, then it's not worth spending your time on. Your time is worth spending on things that are going to contribute to what's important to the organization, what's important to elevating yourself in your career and really being able to progress. Staying comfortable is the fastest way to be in stuck. To be in stuck where you are now, to be in stuck where you are in a year from now, five years, ten. Do you really see yourself right now exactly where you are today, being exactly where you will be in 10 years? If you say you are and you say you're okay with that, and you're truly, truly, truly happy, then I say go with it. But if you are not and you want more and you want to progress, and you want to be a driving force within your organization, then it is time to make a shift. It is time to level up, level up, get to that next, next, next, next segment in your life. And that's the practical steps that we're going to talk about. Start operating one level above your current role. If you're not a leader, it is time to make that impactful way of doing things and moving forward. And that is to elevate your role. If you're a production person, start acting like a production supervisor. If you're a production supervisor, start acting like a production manager. If you're a production manager, start acting like the general manager. And so on and so on and so on. Start thinking at the next level because what happens? Most individuals think about what they've done before. A lot of great leaders that were leaders at one level within the organization, then they go to the next level, but they continue to try to be the same as they were at the previous level, doing the same things and not elevating their leadership style, they fail. They fail because they never got to the next level. But if you're one step ahead and you're already looking at that level, you're already focused on the making the difference, then remember the next level isn't giving. It's demonstrating. You are trying out for the role before you get it. If you want that role, figure out what you can do. You have all of this information on the internet. They can tell you how to get there, they can tell you what you need to do, they can tell you the tools that you need, the education you need, whatever you need. But you've got to make that impactful decision to run forward. Run through that brick wall you see, run through it, and don't let anybody tell you you can't do anything because we can do anything we put our mind, heart, effort, and make ourselves visible visible for. So let's talk about you know, you know, tracking and communicating measurable impact. Again, it's not about all the work you put in, it's about the measurable impact you make within your organization. Think about that last project that you did. Where are you focused on? Think about the wasted time that you had. I can think of so many different projects that they were time fillers. What impact was I making? I was working hard, but I wasn't really getting anywhere. It's like a hamster wheel. You they run in circles, run in circles, run in circles, run in circles, and never get where they want to go. Don't let that be you. So align your work with that leadership priority, that next level that you're desiring to get. So align the specifications. Talk to your direct boss and find out how do I make an impact? What can I do to help you succeed? It is so important that we stop always thinking about what's in it for us. Our job ultimately is to make our boss's job easier. I always like to use the reference for those that understand golf. At the end of the day, it is my job to be able to help my boss play golf all day. He should have the best golf game there is. Why? Because I should be doing the work. I should be contributing. I should make myself more visible to get to that next level. And ultimately, he should not have to worry about what I. Doing what my team is doing because he should be concentrating on the most important thing because I have got everything covered, and that is brushing up on his golf game. Now, currently, my boss doesn't play golf much, so I don't really think that helps, but he he's a tremendous hard worker, so he's gonna work, he's gonna do what he needs to help this company be continual growth and successful. But this is just a metaphor. The metaphor is your job is to make an impact to where your boss doesn't have to worry about what the company is doing because he knows that you are taking care of it. And then another great one is ask for the feedback. Sometimes we think we're our greatest and own enemy, and we don't realize what makes us shine. We don't realize what makes us stand out from our peers, or maybe stand out from our peers in a negative way. That's why we've got to continue to ask for feedback, ask for that positive feedback or that negative feedback. Let's not just concentrate on what how wonderful we are, because we are wonderful. We have a lot of great, you know, characteristics that make us who we are. I would say you do, but if you're gonna do you, you also need to understand the negative feedback so you can improve you. And then part of also getting to the next level is build your personal brand. This was not a just a Gen Z or an alpha or a millennial thing about building your own brand. Make sure that everybody knows who you are. For example, if you Google Dr. Jason Wiggins, you'll find everywhere. You'll find your motivational Gen Z and Millennial Expert Podcast. You'll find all the different types of stuff about the contributions that I have made, the positive impacts, but that comes down to branding. That comes down to focusing on who you are, make that website of yours. Maybe nobody's gonna listen. Maybe nobody's gonna look at it. It doesn't matter. It's personal branding, and it starts with you. And all of this, all of this comes from one major aspect. One major aspect. That's about the mindset of advancement. It's visualizing it, it's that confidence that comes from the action and not waiting. It's about taking the bull by the horns and running with it, running with what you're gonna do, moving forward. That's why I absolutely love my listeners out there. I can't not thank you enough because you are the type of individual that wants to be motivated, that wants to progress, that wants to be somebody greater than themselves. And that confidence comes from action. It's about not waiting. It requires somebody to be uncomfortable. It requires that growth to go, I don't think I can do this. But then you propel yourself to the next level to make it happen. And it starts with doing those actions to make yourself visible. And then stop comparing timelines. Stop worrying about somebody else who's done this a year before, or they're progressing more than I am, or they're doing this, or they're doing that. Why, why, why, why, why, why? It's all about excuses. And we can't have excuses. We need to start setting up strategies, and that's what we're gonna talk about. We're gonna talk about things that we can do at the end to really grow who we are. Stop asking for permission. No one waits to be promoted. They promote proof. If you're waiting to be chosen, you want to be the chosen one within your company, you are already behind. You cannot wait. You need to really define your role, define who you want to be, define the next level, and really get to the point where I can do this. I have to make the next steps to move forward. I cannot continue to progress in a way that is not impactful. And that's why the things that we're gonna talk about, and I want to make sure that every individual is listening very carefully. I've talked about the key points about keeping yourself relevant. And guess what? These are the five impactful characteristics that are going to move you to the next level. So get ready, stay tuned. This is epic. Number one, stop waiting for permission. No one promotes potential, nobody cares about potential. It's about what you can bring to the table today, tomorrow. Be impactful. Number two, free to find your role today. Decide what you want. Today is the start of a new day. What does the next level require? And are you able to answer the call? Are you willing to get down from the mat from getting knocked down, knocked out all your life? Are you ready to get back up from that boxing mat to step up and start taking your punches again? Or even better yet, are you willing to start punching back? Are you? So you have to start by redefining your role. What does that next level require? And then you need to act on it. Number three, own outcomes, not task. What does that next level require? So you've got to shift from completing work and driving the results. Own your outcomes, not task. Shift from completing work and driving results. It's about the action. Number four, make your impact visible. Speak in terms of leadership values. What are those values? The results, their efficiency, their growth, the reducing expenses, this top line growth. It's you know focusing on the important aspects of the company and really driving those values, those leadership values where you are making an impact. Number five, insert yourself into higher level positions. Volunteer, contribute, show up when decisions and where decisions are made. That is going to identify how you make an impact in the company. So these five key points, one more time. Stop waiting for permission. Redefine your role today. Own outcomes, not task. Make your impact visible and insert yourself into a higher level space. Your next level doesn't start when they promote you, it starts the moment you stop acting like your current role. So this week, this is what I'd like to see. I would like you to identify one area that you've been playing small. Yes, playing small where you have not made an impact. So you show up like a person who already has the role you want. It may not be perfect, but it's just intentional. So in this episode, I hope that I've made you think differently about your career. I'd like you to share it with someone who's ready for more. Because at the end of the day, the difference between people who rise and the ones who don't is very simple. One group, one individual, waits to be ready. The other decides they are ready. They're ready to take action. First and foremost, I want to thank everybody for all the continued listenership. And of course, the number one ranking on Million Podcast.com. The number one ranking for the top Gen Z show. And we're rated in the top five for the top millennial show from Millennium Pod Million Podcast.com. So thank you to Million Podcast.com for recognizing our show. And thank you, all the listeners and the viewers on YouTube for continuing to listen, share, promote growth, because we are all great in our own way and don't ever let anybody tell you. We get told from an early age that we can't do this, we can't do that. But as we grow and we build tools in our tool chests, we can do so much more. So thank you. Keep making those efforts, keep working hard. I am your motivational Gen Z and Millennial expert. And this is your leadership, blueprint, career growth, motivation, workplace success for Gen Z and Millennials podcast. So thank you. Take care. Bye bye.