The Good, the Bad & the Ugly Behind the Desire for Promotion

To advance in their careers, good leaders ask to do more. 

The desire for the next role and a deserved promotion to a more senior leadership position seems to be a natural motivation in organizational life. In an ideal world, the best people and leaders rise and take on more responsibility and ownership for the decisions critical to organizational success. 

Leaders who stand in the promotion lineup do so for many reasons, some good, some bad, and some ugly. Not everyone who accepts an elevated role does so with positive intentions. Some even raise their hand for the wrong reasons, both personally and professionally. 

It’s worth exploring and clarifying the many motivations for advancement leaders have so as to shed light on whether you should throw your hat in the ring. 

Top of the list, of course, is for leaders to achieve the results and followership that will benefit the organization's long-term viability. Good people want to give back. When they believe they have the skills to push the organization forward through their influence, they often seek any chance to do so. 

Reaching a more senior leadership role gives them more power to effect change. If the desire for that power is to advance the organization and not just their own sense of self-worth, this motivation slides easily into the good category. 

In the bad category, consider primary motivators such as compensation, external reputation, social status, and the desire to finally achieve superiority over former peers. Leaving a lasting legacy so one’s work doesn’t get erased is also a lousy reason to desire promotion and often results in ineffective leadership. People who covet promotion solely for more compensation or for status make for ineffectual leaders. If we could uncover the truth, we might be surprised at how many leaders desire advancement for weak or superficial reasons. 

The ugliest justification for promotion isn’t as bad as it is self-destructive. Far too many leaders agree to be promoted out of a sense of obligation and responsibility. They believe, too strongly, that without their leadership the organization will falter. They take on an elevated leadership role not because they want to, but because they would feel guilty if they didn’t do so. Not surprisingly, the stress and pressure of putting the weight of the organization on one set of shoulders can lead to long-term depression and ineffectiveness. 

Decision-makers in organizations who help to select the next round of leaders would benefit from exploring why a leader covets promotion or feels the need to raise their hand. Leaders would do themselves a favor to survey their true motivations for advancement. As the poet T.S. Eliot so aptly noted, the greatest treason is “To do the right deed for the wrong reason.”