A career blocker is someone with positional authority, power, or influence at work, who is preventing you from achieving a goal that you’ve already earned. How can you confront them, and pursue your goals, despite their blocking behaviors?

• Choose your battles wisely but be willing to fight for yourself. Identify what’s important to you. Do you want to make more money? Do you want to work at a higher level and be challenged? Or are you most concerned about your reputation? Once you know what doors you want to open, it will be easier to figure out exactly who is blocking them and how.
• Have an open and honest conversation with your boss. Use the time to restate your desire for upward mobility and come armed with evidence to support your case. Mention your most impactful work and how it has contributed to the larger organizational goals, as well as any positive performance review feedback you’ve received and any milestones you’ve tracked in email threads with your manager.
• Seek advice from trusted advisors, including a mentor, sponsor, or ally. A sponsor or an ally can advocate on your behalf. Particularly if this person is a senior or respected person within the organization. It’s important to have them on your side so that they can call attention to your work when you’re not in the room and promotions or new projects are being assigned.
• Develop an exit strategy and know when to execute it. If your manager continues to block you, despite your efforts, you may need to build one as a last resort.