A lot of misconception of promotion floating on this forum, can share some perspectives.

1) Promotion has slowed down. This is unpleasant for some of us who have colleagues who enjoyed the rapid accelerated promotion in the 90s. Call it luck. It is life. No need to compare.

2) C grade is for people who perform at their job. It sounds unpleasant. But the number of hours spent teaching your students/consultations/competitions are all already paid to you in your salary. Don’t complain that others can wayang better. If you want to stand out, then prove to everyone that you are doing more. Use social media. Use the internet. Dont think small. But how many are willing to other than complain?