Looking for some advice. I manage a team of 6 in mixed locations - NYC, Pittsburgh, and Wilmington. I'm based in NY. When I became manager of the team, I went from J to K, though I've been at the minimum of the salary range and my directs as J's make only a few thousand less than me, though I do make a slightly bigger bonus than them.
I was being asked by my director to nominate at least someone on my team for a promotion, but as my team is structured, their work responsibilities wouldn't change. EIther they'd become another manager (the strongest performers have little interest in becoming managers) or they'd handle special projects, but these things usually don't equate to a full-time role and we are getting destroyed hard on the day to day stuff as it is. . If promoted, I'm pretty sure they would make more than me as well even though I have a more unique set of skills from previous roles that I've integrated with this group.
I've invested a ton in my team, exposing them to new projects and building their skills and I'm happy to keep doing that, but at some point, it just doesn't feel right to promote because "just because". If it's an effort to push me out, I don't see it - I'm already a fairly cheap employee based on where my pay is, I've had a long history of getting Exceeds, and I'm constantly geting WOW awards from various colleagues.
on the top of imbalance, we also have L's that don't have direct reports and are basically individual contributors, though not close to a lot of the day to day stuff. I've begun interviewing elsewhere - it's a shame because I really like my team and job, but to be so low on the pay scale for this long while others are getting promoted just because doesn't seem right.