I remember what it’s like to get the letter.
Mine came shortly after a brutal reorg.
Actually it was more like a chain of restructures.
The title was big. The salary matched.
It genuinely crossed my mind there’d been a misprint.
I said nothing and the bank balance soon told me it was real.
For a short while, I felt like I’d won the lottery.
Then I understood what was actually going on.
They needed me to be the glue – to hold together a department that was just as destabilised as the client base. Because of the brutal reorgs… of course.
But you can’t persevere through a punishing status quo when you’re told you’re a leader but then doesn’t set you up for success.
Here’s the truth bomb I didn’t realise at the time:
- That promotion was precarious.
- Which is why it came with danger money.
And here’s the strange thing: I stayed.
And learned a huge amount. Mainly about leadership not PR!
But you can’t stay forever in a role that tells you you’re ready … and then doesn’t let you lead.
Why This Happens
Organisations promote early for two main reasons:
- The person is genuinely ready.
- Or they’re talented, so trying to keep them.
But sometimes, the role is given without the systems, authority, resources or support to actually lead, or even grow into it.
In organisational design terms, that’s a mismatch – one where structure, strategy, and talent aren’t aligned.
You end up with:
- Leaders in name, but without real decision rights (or respect)
- Teams unsure whether to follow them, compete with or bypass them
- A leadership pipeline that looks healthy but keeps stalling and has business-critical gaps
Development is experiential.
You can’t grow into authority you never get to exercise.
I call this a precarious promotion – rewarding growth-readiness, then quietly capping it.
Why It’s a Problem for Companies
From an organisational development lens, “hurry up and wait” creates a growth choke point.
The title advances faster than the real scope or influence.
The leader in waiting arrives, then stalls.
Momentum is lost.
Confidence is eroded. And the ambitious talent you were trying to keep?
They know it isn’t serving them and start looking elsewhere.
Clearer this time about what they need (not just want).
What Works Better
Promoting early isn’t necessarily the problem.
Parking growth-ready leaders is.
Here’s what companies can do:
1. Design for Growth
- Structure roles with a staged progression of scope and authority
- Map the next step in responsibility, not just hierarchy – and collaboratively
2. Align Support Systems
- Mentoring and coaching tailored to the actual role
- Peer forums to share challenges and solutions in real time
3. Stage the Challenges
- No parking bays
- Give leaders-in-waiting visible, meaningful projects with decision-making power
The Leadership Development Lens
Leadership readiness grows in motion, not in limbo.
If you design the role and the development pathway together, you avoid the “hurry up and wait” pattern.
You keep leaders engaged, growing, and delivering – and you send the message that you take both talent and trust seriously.
If you’ve ever been handed a title without the backing to lead – or you’re tempted to retain talent, please pause. You already know how costly it is.
What’s one step you could take this quarter to divert a precarious promotion into a platform for real growth?
And cultivate the kind of leaders people want to stay for instead of a cohort that takes the title and leaves you behind.
