The Silent Barrier to Advancement

Leadership literature often paints a picture of upward mobility as linear: work hard, achieve results, carry yourself with professionalism, and the doors of opportunity will open. But anyone who has navigated real-world leadership knows this is not always the case. There is a silent barrier to advancement that rarely gets discussed. Sometimes the very qualities that make someone extraordinary, such as competence, character, presence, and the ability to inspire others, can also trigger jealousy or envy from those in positions of power (Kim & Glomb, 2014).

This is not about poor performance, lack of effort, or missing skills. Quite the opposite. It is about what happens when someone shines so brightly that their light is perceived as a threat rather than an asset. In these situations, advancement can stall, opportunities may be withheld, and the individual may notice they are overlooked in favor of colleagues who underperform but pose no perceived threat to their leader’s sense of authority (Vecchio, 2005).

The Things Insecure Leaders Can’t Say Out Loud

Through my experience observing both great and ineffective leaders, I believe leaders who feel threatened by the success of others rarely acknowledge it because doing so would expose their own insecurity. They want to appear confident, objective, and above human emotions like jealousy. To admit that someone else’s brilliance makes them uncomfortable would mean revealing weakness, and for many leaders, that feels incompatible with authority.

Instead, silence becomes the shield. They rationalize their actions, frame decisions as strategy, or avoid the subject entirely, while quietly holding others back. By not addressing it, they maintain the illusion of fairness and control, even though ego is steering the ship. This unwillingness to speak the truth is what allows the silent barrier to advancement to persist.

Research shows that envy is a real workplace emotion that influences decision-making, leader–follower relationships, and organizational outcomes (Schaubroeck & Lam, 2004). More recent studies confirm its ongoing impact: transactional leadership often heightens envy while transformational leadership reduces it, with consequences for both deviant behavior and organizational citizenship (Chuang, Chiang, & Lin, 2025). Leaders may also feel jealous of employees’ competence, which damages trust and blocks opportunities (Yu, 2025). Further evidence shows that when the leader–member relationship is weak, employees are more likely to feel envied or judged unfairly as arrogant or undeserving, leading to frustration and disengagement (Tai, Narayanan, & McAllister, 2012; Bindra, 2025).

The Real Question: What Makes a Great Leader?

A great leader recognizes that someone else’s brilliance does not diminish their own. They understand that their role is not to suppress talent, but to cultivate it, even when it outpaces them. As management thinker Tom Peters once said, “Leaders don’t create followers, they create more leaders.”

Studies on authentic and transformational leadership show that secure leaders who elevate others create stronger teams, better engagement, and greater organizational performance (Avolio & Gardner, 2005; Bass & Riggio, 2006). True leadership is secure enough to promote others, confident enough to share opportunities, and wise enough to see that empowering strong performers makes the whole organization stronger.

For Those Experiencing This Reality

If you have ever wondered why doors have not opened for you despite doing everything “right,” it may not be about you at all. It may be about the insecurities of those holding the keys. While that can be frustrating, it is also clarifying. It reminds you to stay rooted in your integrity, keep doing excellent work, and seek spaces where leaders value greatness rather than fear it.

The truth is simple: the absence of opportunity is not always a reflection of your shortcomings. Sometimes, it is the reflection of a missing ingredient at the top, a leader confident enough to let others rise. So continue to do your best, and most importantly, have faith, because when you do, you become a magnet for new opportunities and the right people at the right time. In doing so, you will rise above the silent barrier to advancement and position yourself for the leadership spaces that truly deserve you.

References

Avolio, B. J., & Gardner, W. L. (2005). Authentic leadership development: Getting to the root of positive forms of leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 16(3), 315–338.

Bass, B. M., & Riggio, R. E. (2006). Transformational leadership (2nd ed.). Psychology Press.

Bindra, J. (2025). Workplace envy through the lens of leader–member exchange. Cogent Business & Management, 12(1), 2454980. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2025.2454980

Chuang, A., Chiang, C. F., & Lin, S. (2025). Full-range leadership, follower envy, and the effects on organizational citizenship behaviors and work deviances. Current Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-024-07272-y

Kim, E., & Glomb, T. M. (2014). Victimization of high performers: The roles of envy and work group identification. Journal of Applied Psychology, 99(4), 619–634.

Peters, T. (1992). Liberation management: Necessary disorganization for the nanosecond nineties. Alfred A. Knopf.

Schaubroeck, J., & Lam, S. S. K. (2004). Comparing lots before and after: Promotion rejectees’ invidious reactions to promotees. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 94(1), 33–47.

Tai, K., Narayanan, J., & McAllister, D. J. (2012). Envy as pain: Rethinking the nature of envy and its implications for employees and organizations. Academy of Management Review, 37(1), 107–129.

Vecchio, R. P. (2005). Explorations in employee envy: Feeling envious and feeling envied. Cognition and Emotion, 19(1), 69–81.

Yu, J. (2025). The dark side of employee’s leadership potential: Exploring leader jealousy in leader–member exchange. Frontiers in Psychology, 16, 12382953. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.12382953