Why You Should Take a Promotion You Don't Want
Not everyone has to be ambitious, vying for the corner office or the powerful board position, right? Wrong. In today's corporate world it is no longer acceptable to sit comfortably at middle management and wait for pensionable age.
I recently interviewed a 40-year-old executive who had reached a reasonable six-figure salary level and was cruising in his job.
Tom (let's call him) had held his current role for five years and could do it standing on his head. Being a diligent and motivated individual he executed his duties exceptionally well. Every morning Tom got in at nine and left at five, having completed his to do list, confident in the knowledge he had contributed to the successful working of a business.
Tom had worked hard through his 20s and 30s and slogged through a part-time MBA to manoeuvre himself into a position where he felt he had acceptable work-life balance. Both he and his employer knew he was capable of much more.
His bosses were pushing to promote him, offering him interesting opportunities, often international postings sweetened with expat terms. Yet Tom was sitting opposite me in real fear of losing his job.
He knew his employer would not allow him continue indefinitely in his current position. It was upping the ante with almost monthly proposals about "what next". He didn't want to leave -- and nor did his company -- but when he was honest with his immediate boss about his career ambitions (or rather lack of them) he was told they were adopting an up or out policy. So should he leave, lie or lie low?
In the current market this may seem an outdated question but it's a real problem for talented managers who do not want to rule the world. With business embracing talent planning in a much more meaningful way than ever, it is no longer seen as acceptable to settle into one role in middle management. If nothing else, direct reports will grow restless waiting to fill 'dead men's shoes'.
We are now working in businesses post-'War for Talent'. This has propelled structured organisational design to the forefront of corporations. The Toms in business need to adapt or lose out.
Most people approaching 30 worked through the dotcom bust and the most noticeable effect on their corporate behaviour is the amount of control they take in their own career development. Organisations are striving to put in place more and more sophisticated talent management systems to support this new generation. There is no place for self-satisfied middle management.
I found it hard to help Tom --I hate to see potential wasted, but likewise work-life balance is much discussed and not much valued.
Since we met Tom has been offered redundancy and has had to accept he may need to take a step down or work for a different type of business if he wants to secure his work patterns -- it's been a real blow to his pride.
The take-out for me is that you cannot rely on your employer to protect you. The up and coming generation is right. No-one owes us a living and if you want the big corporate jobs you need to play their game.