The Middle East Promotion Reality: Why 4 Years of Waiting Won't Get You There

I still remember the exact moment I realized I'd been playing the wrong game entirely.

It was 2 AM in my Dubai office, celebrating what I thought was a career-defining quarter. Three weeks later, the promotion announcement came. It wasn't my name.

That night, staring out at the Burj Khalifa, I felt complete professional disillusionment. After 25 years in Gulf markets, I thought I knew the rules. I was wrong.

What I Learned Watching My Colleagues Get Promoted

The breakthrough came when I stopped focusing on my own disappointment and started studying how my colleagues were actually advancing.

While I was drowning in quarterly KPIs, they were playing an entirely different game. One colleague told me months after his promotion: "I started positioning for this role 18 months ago. The actual work was just table stakes. The real job was building relationships I didn't even know mattered."

That's when it hit me: I wasn't being overlooked because I lacked talent.

I overlooked because I didn't understand the system.

The Invisible Promotion Process

Here's what I discovered watching my peers succeed: senior MENA roles aren't awarded, they're orchestrated through an invisible 6-12 month vetting period.

While you're focused on performance metrics, regional leadership is quietly asking: "How does she handle pressure when the Saudi client threatens to walk?" "Will he command respect from the Dubai board?"

I watched colleagues get "random" invitations to strategy sessions, unexpected assignments, and casual dinner invitations. I thought they were just lucky. I was wrong—they were being vetted.

I finally got invited to what I thought was a social dinner, I realized leadership had been observing how I handled cultural dynamics and strategic discussions for three hours. I didn't know it was an interview until months later.

How My Colleagues Actually Got Promoted

Watching successful peers, I noticed three distinct patterns:

1.One colleague spent 16 months volunteering for cross-regional initiatives nobody else wanted. Unglamorous work, but it put him in rooms with decision-makers across Dubai, Riyadh, and Kuwait. When the VP role opened, he wasn't a surprise candidate, he was obvious.

2. Another systematically built relationships with administrative staff across Gulf offices. I thought she was just being friendly. But when leadership needed someone who could "hit the ground running" in Doha, she already had the operational network in place.

3. A third colleague simply asked his MD: "What would I need to demonstrate to be considered for regional leadership?" Then he methodically addressed each requirement through strategic project selection.

All had something I lacked: Advocates speaking for them in rooms they weren't invited to.

Your Month-by-Month Strategy

Stop waiting for recognition. Here's the exact approach I wish I'd followed:

August-September: Have the conversation. Ask your MD directly: "What would I need to demonstrate for regional leadership next cycle?"

October-November: Volunteer strategically. Ramadan planning, Vision 2030 initiatives, cross-border projects, anything requiring regional thinking.

December-February: Build advocates. Schedule learning conversations with three senior leaders across Gulf markets.

March-April: Create visibility. Present to regional boards, lead high-stakes client situations, solve cross-cultural challenges.

May-June: Signal intentionally. Let advocates know you're positioning for broader regional impact.

July: Recognize assessment. "Random" invitations to strategy sessions and leadership events mean you're being vetted.

The Reality I Had to Accept

If you're hoping for promotion this cycle and these conversations haven't happened, it's not coming. I learned this the hard way, decisions are made by August, even if announcements come in January.

But your competence isn't the issue. Your understanding of the promotion system is.

Why I'm Sharing This

After that missed promotion, I could have gotten bitter. Instead, I got strategic. I studied how my colleagues navigated advancement, built relationships intentionally, and positioned systematically rather than just performed excellently.

I used the same strategy and promote from employee to manager and then owner.

The next opportunity, You should be ready. Not just with better results, but with the advocate network that you have to build.

Your talent got you this far. Understanding how others actually get promoted will get you the rest of the way.

(3 Already joined)

Three of your peers have already joined my Dubai workshop waitlist. They're learning the exact positioning strategies that got my colleagues promoted 18 months before their announcements.

While you're reading this, they're already implementing the month-by-month action plan that separates those who get promoted from those who keep waiting.

Don't let them advance over you because you hesitated. The next cohort is filling fast, and strategic positioning almost always wins.

Join the waitlist below:

https://www.hanshorlings.com/retreats