A colleague in my group, with Shell 3-4 years, has a knack for ingratiating himself with our Team Lead and other more senior leaders. The guy’s sharp but so are a lot of others who just don’t seem to have that connecting charm.
And it works. He seems to be the fair haired child above the anxiety and worry of layoffs and being side-lined. Already been promoted in grade.
I guess whatever works but is that really what it takes to get ahead at Shell?
10 replies (most recent on top)
You turn back into a hag sitting in a pumpkin when the godmother retires or is forced out.
@b1
Have you considered delivering less work to make more time for schmoozing?
@ee is of discriminational against foreigners. They are many. More H1B visas and DEI needed.
@a7 do you have news about the computation team? Finally, someone with news. I have been asking one or two times.
@ba this may be true, but my experience with Shell was more often than not the person promoted was not usually the most qualified for the role. I feel like that is Shell’s main problem. They would rather promote someone they like more than the actual person who is most qualified for the role. That doesn’t send a great message to the workforce.
People promote people they like. It’s human nature and not exclusive to shell
I can confirm it is who you know and not how good you are. I know many, like myself, who refuse to play the game and get passed over for promotions. I don’t mind networking but I have boundaries. I won’t spend time schmoozing when I have work to deliver and I refuse happy hours and after work dinners.
It’s a lesson in surviving the office jungle.
Your peer today just might be deciding your career fate tomorrow.
If your colleague gets a broadening assignment in the computation team means destined for SE.
From my past experience (and the reason I left Shell), the ones who are great at networking or have a sponsor who is a letter grade are usually safe and the ones who get promoted quickly. Sadly, Shell is more about who you know than what you know. The better workers usually are the ones passed over for promotions because the team lead can’t let their best individual leave. In my time at Shell I was denied 5 promotions due to the timing not being right for my team lead to let me leave. I was able to leave Shell and get promoted for doing my exact same job I was doing at Shell.