Making Progression Visible: Why Unwritten Rules Matter
- May 3
- 2 min read
Most organisations believe progression is driven by performance. In practice, it’s shaped just as much by timing, visibility, trust, and informal judgment calls the things people tend to learn late, indirectly, or not at all.
After two decades working in complex organisations, and researching progression with senior leaders, I’ve yet to see a system where talent alone determines who progresses.
What really matters is how people are read: who is seen as ready, credible, and safe to invest in and when.
These signals are rarely written down. They sit in conversations behind closed doors, in patterns of sponsorship, in assumptions about “readiness” and risk. And because they’re unwritten, they’re unevenly learned.
Amy Edmondson’s work on psychological safety shows us that people perform best when they can ask questions, admit uncertainty, and challenge assumptions. But safety on its own doesn’t explain progression. Even in healthy cultures, people still need to understand how decisions actually get made.
This is where the unwritten rules matter.
Brené Brown says “clarity is kindness”. I’d add this: clarity about progression isn’t just kind it’s strategic.
Making expectations visible reduces wasted effort, prevents late‑stage derailment, and helps people make better decisions earlier about where to invest their energy.
What my research shows
Progression isn’t a simple know / don’t know divide. It’s often when people learn the rules that matters most. Early insight accelerates momentum; late insight creates catch‑up work and fatigue.
Sponsorship isn’t just advocacy. It’s deeply shaped by timing, visibility, and informal credibility signals and those signals are rarely applied consistently.
High‑potential talent is lost when people are navigating without a map. Capability isn’t the issue, lack of clarity is.
So what helps?
Surface the real signals: What actually influences decisions when progression is finely balanced and who understands that early?
Make sponsorship concrete: Be explicit about what sponsorship looks like in practice, who is responsible for it, and how it converts into opportunity.
Create clarity, not just compliance: Policies matter, but it’s the everyday norms and behaviours that determine outcomes. Those need to be open for discussion.
Psychological safety is foundational. But real inclusion and sustainable progression comes from making the invisible visible, so people can see the system they’re operating in and navigate it with intent.
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