Techie reveals he was denied promotion even after mentoring and leading his team, for a strange reason. Netizens react: ‘Top positions are partly showbiz…’

A tech professional was exasperated at the lack of promotion and appreciation for his hard work, so he did what most Indian employees would dream of but wouldn’t dare to attempt: Washed his hands off. Taking to the subreddit Developer’s India, the Reddit user vented how he was promised a promotion if he could exhibit leadership skills – for almost a year, he led the team, helped members develop skills, and mentored juniors, only to be let down.

During appraisal time, he was shown a ridiculous reason why he was bypassed for promotion: He worked remotely and did not show up to the office and operates from a different city; hence, his visibility was “low”. Many people reached out to his junior, as he was physically available more.

But for almost a year, people from his team and other teams approached him for support, which he gladly offered, including the member, who was praised by the manager for "visibility". The lack of promotion, he admitted killed his motivation.


Feeling disillusioned, he said he now stopped taking the lead on new initiatives and began preparing to move to another company. His product owner noticed the change in his approach, prompting him to explain that he had lost motivation and would consider taking up leadership responsibilities again once he felt more positive about the situation.

“Missing this promotion also impacted my overall career because with my work experience I should have been promoted..." he wrote

The situation has left him increasingly worried about his professional future. He admitted he feared that his reduced involvement could put his current job at risk, while an unsuccessful job search could mean remaining stuck at the same level and potentially missing out on another promotion opportunity next year.

Redditors React

One encouraged him to look for better opportunities. "Don't worry, you will land a good job and things will turn out to be great! Feels really sad when things like this happen.” read the comment.

Another remarked, "Currently dealing with a similar situation. My manager is biased towards one peer. The manager wants other senior devs to become like him, take a lead, and overdo everything, but doesn't want to give the appraisal. That guy has been getting the top percentage hike consecutively.”

One commenter offered pragmatic advice that leadership was a lot about visibility, not just output. “Showing your face does matter, especially with stakeholders. When they see you regularly, they start building trust in your presence. On the backend, you could be giving 100% to your team, guiding everyone at every step, mentoring, reviewing code, and doing all the heavy lifting. But a lot of that is invisible to the people who actually matter when it comes to your growth. Unfortunately, leadership positions are partly showbiz…” the comment read.