Be Careful What You Wish For: The Problem with Promotions

Ask just about any ambitious young person what they're working towards and they're likely to answer with another job title. Almost everyone is gunning for a promotion and it's not hard to understand why: more money, more responsibility and, hopefully, more interesting work. But, be careful, warns author Rick Smith on the Huffington Post today, promotions can have a dark side if they're not right for you. Smith warns against being swept up in the excitement of being offered a promotion and reminds those at the start of their careers to consider where a new job will take them and if it will serve them well:

A promotion is not an obligation, it is an offer. An proposal for you to engage in a different set of activities and behaviors. Far too often, people look at a promotion as a requirement along a specified career path. It is only logical that I accept the promotion - hey, it offers an incremental increase in money and prestige!

But if a promotion will lead you away from your...your core strengths and passions, over time your energy level will decline, your performance will decline, and your confidence (and thus leadership) will decline. Accepting a promotion that moves you in the wrong direction puts your success and fulfillment at risk.

Smith concludes with the reminder that we all do have the right to say no to a move up the corporate hierarchy, as well as the responsibility to consider if the change will really get us closer to our goals. He has a point, but is refusing a promotion a luxury those on the lower rungs of the career ladder can't afford? Have any of you dared to say no and, if so, how did your position at the company change after you declined?

Read More on BNET:

• Promotion? No Thanks
• Why You Should Take a Promotion Your Don't Want
• Is It a "Promotion" if It Sends You Down the Wrong Path?

(Image of the personification of the dark side by BeccaG, CC 2.0)