Can my manager stop me taking an internal promotion?

prowla

There is no job in a company which only one person can do; if the company puts itself in a situation where they think that is the case, then they are wrong.

If a manager blocks someone going to another role, then there is a distinct possibility that that person may simply decide to leave, in which case the company has lost them from both roles.

getmore4less

If you have been responding with options to this offloading then you have been doing their job.

Become very busy.

Why are management or training the only option good companies have roles for experienced non managers in things like strategy consultant product development.

Loopy28

Those sorts of job tend to be at our head office and I have no desire to relocate, so there are limits to what I can do in my locality, which I am fine with.

Dr._Shoe

What I would do is post on social media that I am hoping to get a move to training and that I've also been headhunted by a competitor. What a dilemma I have!

the firm might think that moving you were the lesser of two evils.

Savvy_Sue

Sounds like things have moved on, but my suggestion would be to talk to HR about the difficulty.

dotdash79 wrote: »

I've been a manager waiting for a staff member to transfer in from another department and had the existing manager blocking the move constantly, in the end the member of staff handed in his notice due to the delays and we almost lost a decent member of staff.

I was in a similar situation, where my 'old' manager didn't want me to move to another dept at a particularly busy time of year, but the 'new' manager was desperate to have me ASAP. I was torn both ways: didn't want to leave my old manager in the lurch because I knew I'd have to deal with them in the new job, and wanted to get into the new job. I left them negotiating for a while but it was going nowhere, someone from HR said to me "you know you've got the right to give a month's notice to your current manager, don't you?" That hadn't occurred to me, but that's what I did!

Loopy28 wrote: »

To give an update, I spoke to my manager and explained to her that I really wanted to apply for the role (it is an internal promotion) and she said she wouldn't block it, however, she did go bright red and I could see she was not happy.

Then she started telling me what a mess I would leave, it would let everyone down in the team and that they don't have anyone who can replace me internally and that if they recruit externally they will have someone who doesn't know the business. Also it was her who pressed for me to get my current position, which was also an internal promotion. Made me feel guilty and I ended up agreeing I wouldn't apply.

patman99 wrote: »

Think about it this way, what if you were to retire tomorrow ?. How would the department cope with your not being there ?. They would have to employ and train a suitable replacement. It happens in business all the time.

Never mind retirement - as you say, the company can prepare for that. Whenever I hear anything like this, I always ask "And what if you fell under a bus?"

Everyone should ask that question from time to time and take appropriate action.

There are times when I am made to feel pretty close to indispensable at work, but they know and I know that my services can be dispensed with, because they've had to do it. I've never actually fallen under a bus, but I did trip over a recycling box a few years ago, smashed my shoulder to smithereens, and sent in a Fit Note for eight weeks. And as I told them, that was just for starters: it did not mean I would be back after eight weeks!

There was quite a lot of panic, and I sent a few pre-emptive messages along the lines of "I know you'll need to do X, and you'll find the instructions in the file labelled Office Manual". No-one really knew that file was there but me, but was I glad it WAS there!

Loopy28

Thanks for the good advice. I am hoping to hear this week if I will be invited for an interview.

I am hoping it won't go against me that I kept saying I wouldn't apply but then did, although I did explain that I had realised I was holding back for the wrong reasons. Hope they understand and see it as a positive.

Tomorrow when I see my manager I've got to tell her, can't even think how to word it but if being blunt would be ' Remember that internal vacancy you put me off applying for, that I promised I wouldn't go for and you were pleased I wasn't? Well I realised that you were incredibly selfish and manipulative and put your own needs over my career progression. So I've applied'

Magnolia

Loopy28 wrote: »

Remember that internal vacancy you put me off applying for, that I promised I wouldn't go for and you were pleased I wasn't? Well I realised that you were incredibly selfish and manipulative and put your own needs over my career progression. So I've applied

Love it :rotfl::rotfl:

Might be a bit blunt but the sentiment is good:rotfl:

I might word it slightly different though:rotfl:

Something along the lines of:

I have thought about it long and hard and while I have loved working in your department I would really like to advance my career by taking this move.

Good luck - she sounds terrible really. Any boss worth their salt would be pleased for a staff member to advance up the ladder.

Loopy28

Haha don't worry it won't be that blunt!

The worst thing that can happen is I don't get this job and I have to deal with her being frosty with me. She has always been super nice to me. But I see how she is with other staff and once someone is in her bad books, they can do no right.

I have tried to give good feedback on staff she is negative about but she won't hear it. Things have been building up inside me for ages because she is so intense with me. When I have been out of the office, I have pretended my phone is playing up just so I don't have to take her calls. I've literally got home from work before outside office hours and she phones my mobile and then talks to me for 1 hour or more. I spend the time saying I need to go but until she decides it's the end of the call, I can't go.

Because she is my manager, it has been a difficult situation. The manager of this other department is much more professional. He also knows what my manager is like from personal experience as he used to her boss and she was always phoning him to complain about staff when he felt this was not justified. I think this is why he has worked so hard to ensure I am not being held back by her.

My manager went to work at another office a while back that was close to her home and decided I was needed at this other office. It was a 90 minute drive from me and she still insisted I was there for the whole day, without any allowance for the travel time. It was a long week of driving and long days. One day I arrived at 8.40am when the office opens at 8.30am and it was 'I was worrying you weren't coming etc'

I sound like a right wimp! But I am really not...

Magnolia

No you dont come across as a wimp - managing managers can be just as difficult as managing staff!

BritishBibliophile

I'm assuming you've already handed in your application, but if not then make sure you do BEFORE you talk to her, so that if she tries to talk you out of it you can explain that it's already been handed in and you won't be retracting it.

Think about what you say first, and remember all the arguments she used to persuade you to stay last time round, so you can counter-argue them.

Frankly, I'd turn the guilt back on to her, explain that while you know you promised her, you realised that she couldn't possibly mean it like that, as it would be to the detriment of your career and that would make you extremely unhappy. You'd much rather continue to work in a decent company, with a positive environment, than feel that you were being pushed in to quitting altogether. You really appreciate all the support she's given you, and you know that should you get the job then your replacement will be just as good as you so she has nothing to fret about (especially since she'll probably have a hand in choosing said replacement).

Good luck, it certainly sounds like the recruiter is rooting for you, which can't be a bad thing!