It usually starts as a whisper. "They’re not quite ready." "I just don’t see them in that role." "They’re great, but not leadership material."
Coded language like this is everywhere in the workplace. It rarely names race, gender, class, disability, or background explicitly. But its impact is sharp, familiar, and quietly devastating. It’s how bias shows up not just in who gets hired, but who gets seen. Who gets trusted. Who gets promoted.
This is how the myth of the "natural leader" survives. And it’s time we broke it down.
What Bias in Promotion Looks Like
Unconscious bias isn’t just about who we favour. It’s also about what we expect leadership to look like. Years of seeing the same types of people in power—white, male, confident, privately educated—means those attributes become shorthand for leadership.
So when someone shows up with a different accent, or a different style, or a different skin tone, the doubt creeps in. Not because they’re less capable. But because they don’t fit an old, unspoken template.
The result? Talented people get overlooked. Feedback is vague. Stretch assignments go to others. And careers stall not because of lack of ability, but because of lack of access.
The Confidence Penalty
Let’s talk about confidence. Because it’s a trait that often gets confused with competence.
In many workplaces, people who speak the loudest, take up the most space, or seem effortlessly self-assured are seen as leaders. But confidence is deeply shaped by culture, upbringing, and lived experience. For some, being loud in a meeting feels easy. For others, it’s a risk.
Women, disabled staff, and people of colour are often penalised either for being "too quiet" or, conversely, for being "too assertive." Either way, they’re seen as not quite right for leadership. It’s a no-win situation. And it’s one rooted in bias, not behaviour.
The Cost of Coded Language
Terms like "executive presence," "gravitas," or "culture fit" are often used to explain why someone isn’t ready for promotion. But these phrases can be dangerously vague.
What does "executive presence" mean? A particular way of speaking? A certain dress code? Whose culture is being referenced in "culture fit"?
Unless we’re specific, these terms become catch-alls for bias. They reward familiarity over skill, style over substance, and confidence over contribution.
How to Interrupt the Pattern
If we want fairer promotion practices, we need to change the way we assess potential. That starts with clarity.
- Make expectations transparent. Don’t assume people know what it takes to get promoted. Spell it out. Publish it. Check if the criteria reward real outcomes or just image.
- Challenge lazy feedback. If someone is described as "not quite ready," ask why. What evidence is there? What development have they been offered?
- Use diverse panels. Who’s making promotion decisions? If it’s the same group every time, expect the same outcomes.
- Track progression data. Who’s moving up in your organisation? Break it down by race, gender, disability, class. The data will tell you what the culture won’t.
Leadership Doesn’t Have a Look
There is no single way to lead. Some leaders are quiet. Some are direct. Some are collaborative. Some are analytical. We need all of them.
The more we expand our idea of what leadership looks like, the more space we make for people who have been systemically pushed aside. And we stop confusing comfort with competence.
Great leaders aren’t the ones who look like the last person who had the job. They’re the ones who understand the people they’re leading—and create the conditions for everyone to succeed.
Final Thought
Bias in promotion isn’t always loud. Sometimes it shows up in silences, side comments, and assumptions.
But the cost is loud. It’s seen in missed opportunities, wasted potential, and workplaces that don’t reflect the communities they serve.
So the next time someone says, "They don’t look like a leader," ask: Look like a leader to whom? And then ask: Why?
Until we answer that honestly, nothing changes.