Careers used to be predictable.
There were paths and ladders.
The hierarchy worked—for some.
As downsizing, restructuring, and delayering took hold in the late 1980s, old ladders became largely inaccessible. Some rungs disappeared. The space between others became leaps. Individual aspirations and company needs were evolving. Terms such as “work-life balance” were overheard. Organizations began to weigh breadth of experience against depth of expertise during talent reviews. The world of work was changing.
Careers today happen in that world—a world that continues to change. The environment is more global, more multigenerational, more dispersed, diverse, and complex than ever. Hierarchies continue to flatten. Organizational structures flex. The value people place on work is changing.
Employees play multiple roles—from individual contributor to peer to leader and back, sometimes in the same day or assignment. Roles emerge and evolve. Carefully written descriptions no longer define job boundaries. Teams form and disperse based on projects. Feedback comes from multiple sources. The ladder, if it’s still there, may be harder to see and tougher to climb.
Is This the End of the Career as We Know It?
Every industry is changing. Internal workplace structures are changing as well. Up—the promotion path and perhaps even a ladder or two—may still exist and could still be a goal—for some. However, disappearing hierarchy resulted in fewer promotional opportunities. The route to promotion may take new turns. Someone who wants to manage others can still get there. And with the right mix of experiences, likely will arrive better prepared to take on the role.
Flattened organizations and limited career ladders don’t spell the end of growth OR careers. Opportunities may be different, but they are still there. The next change frontier means changing the conversation and the mindset about careers.
Let’s Be Honest
Up was never for everyone. It still isn’t. Managing others is not for everyone. Not everyone wants to move up or take on more. That doesn’t mean a rewarding career is out of reach.
The message has been out there for a while now that individuals own their careers. What does that really mean? We think it means that defining career success is up to each of us. Every time circumstances shuffle the deck, you can deal a new hand. That’s actually GREAT news! We are the only ones who can envision what success looks like. And, to add to that great news, as creators of our career success pictures, we’re free to alter them when and how we choose! THAT is what it means to own a career.
So how do we do it?
First it’s about being mobile.
Career Mobility…
… is essential for individuals at all levels. We all need agility and resilience that stable workplaces did not require. Mobility’s no longer just about physically moving to another building or town. It’s more than getting promoted. It’s sometimes just being willing to continue to learn, grow, and stretch.
… is about flexibility and agility. Like the navigation systems we rely on to reroute our travels based on traffic patterns, career mobility means flexing, adapting, and anticipating what’s next.
…involves a rich mix of experiences, roles, and options. Careers today require us to be open to exploring multiple possibilities. Great careers will be the payoff for employees who watch for and recognize emerging growth opportunities and are ready with alternatives when options fade or change.
Second, it’s about ownershift!
Ownershift—Who Does What?
We’ve all heard that employees OWN their careers. The organization needs to provide tools and resources, and managers need to support employees’ career development. It’s a partnership. Nothing new there!
What is new is talking less about the ownership and more about the ownershift—fine-tuning who owns what. And what each player needs to do to demonstrate commitment to the partnership.
Individuals must define what success means to them personally. They need to test assumptions, explore options, and apply insights gained. Ownershift requires building plans, following through, and being willing to do some introspection to consider what skills they have or need and what interests them and what they value most about their work. It means asking for feedback and listening even when it’s not all good news. Most importantly, it means being willing to take responsibility for the future. A career evolves within a network of support, but, bottom line, it’s up to the owner to shape it and live it.
Managers, coaches, and mentors provide support through conversations, sharing stories, listening, reacting to plans, offering feedback and connections. That support is vital to ownershift! Let’s call on-the-job learning what it is—development. Stretch assignments are growth opportunities, not just “extra work.” Debriefing completed stretch assignments make learning stick. What did you learn? How will you apply what you learned? The support role includes preparing individuals to learn, helping them focus on what they learned and then guiding them to apply the new capability. It’s a big role, sure. And it might mean shifting what you presently think it involves, but that’s what we mean by ownershift.
Organizations play a role, as well. Through its systems, processes, and tools, the organization delivers on promises of a development culture. However, the organization’s role doesn’t end there. The organization must ensure employees have access to the tools—that employees know where to find them, what they offer, and how to use them. The organization must thread the development message through existing communications and devise new ways to promote growth in all its shapes and sizes. Some employees tell us their companies still only celebrate promotions. Ownershift requires a change in that mindset. This book can help accomplish that shift.
How Will You Know?
Ownershift may take time. It may stall or suffer a few fits and starts, but you’ll know when you’ve achieved it. When career conversations are happening…when individuals talk about aspirations…when feedback is candid…and insights emerge….everyone involved will know—YOU will know—you have completed your ownershift!
Reprinted from “Up Is Not the Only Way: Rethinking Career Mobility” by Beverly Kaye, Lindy Williams, and Lynn Cowart, with permission from Berrett-Koehler Publishers (2017). For more information, visit http://bevkayebooks.com/
Dr. Beverly Kaye, founder of Career Systems International, is recognized internationally as one of the most invested, knowledgeable, and practical professionals in the areas of career development, employee engagement and retention, and mentoring. She was named a “Legend” by ASTD, a designation given to “pioneers and prophets in the field of workplace learning and performance.” She also has been named by Leadership Excellence as one of North America’s 100 top thought leaders. Kaye has spent years researching corporate strategies for developing, retaining, and engaging knowledge workers. Her book, “Love ’Em or Lose ’Em: Getting Good People to Stay,” co-authored with Sharon Jordan-Evans, has sold more than 750,000 copies in 25 languages and has reached Wall Street Journal and Amazon bestseller status. Their companion book, “Love It, Don’t Leave It: 26 Ways to Get What You Want at Work,” suggests that employee engagement is also the responsibility of the individual contributor. “Help Them Grow or Watch Them Go: Career Conversations Employees Want,” co-authored with Julie Winkle Giulioni, was published in 2012, and in 2015, Kaye co-authored “Hello Stay Interviews, Goodbye Talent Loss: A Manager’s Playbook.” Her newest book, published in September 2017, is “Up Is Not the Only Way: Rethinking Career Mobility.” These books are the foundation for Career Systems International’s successful practice in career development, employee engagement and retention. Visit the Website at www.CareerSystemsIntl.com.
Lindy Williams is a senior consultant at Career Systems International. Drawing on 25 years of corporate experience, Williams offers a front-line perspective to discussions of needs analysis and potential solutions to organizational challenges. Her extensive background in training, human resource development, and career development enables her to partner with clients and internal subject matter experts in leveraging critical internal support processes while building innovative approaches to manage today’s issues while preparing for tomorrow’s opportunities.
As a senior consultant for Career Systems International, Williams has worked with organizations ranging from banking and financial services to engineering firms and government agencies on the design and implementation of new approaches to managing change, developing and retaining talent, and creating development-focused, resilient work environments. Her clients have been awarded the Workforce Optimas Award and the ASTD Excellence in Practice Award in recognition of programs she helped them develop. A speaker, workshop facilitator, career coach, and author, Williams has been a conference presenter for the International Quality & Productivity Center, the Association of Corporate Travel Executives, ATD, and SHRM. Clients have included EY, the U.S. Navy, Philips Healthcare, the FDA, Ingersoll Rand, Bloomberg, Department of Defense, McDonald’s, Morrison Healthcare, and NetApp. Williams co-authored “Up Is Not the Only Way” and is a contributing author to “HR in the 21st Century” (Wiley @ Sons).
As vice president of Global Delivery for Career Systems International (CSI), Lynn Cowart leads a team of international consultants in their work with the business strategies of retention and engagement and career development. Prior to this role, she spent 10 years as a senior consultant with CSI, and was so passionate about the work and the company that she decided to go permanent in January 2015. Cowart has extensive experience working with senior-level executives in multiple industries, helping them achieve their long- and short-term, individual and organizational goals. Her corporate background includes senior HR and financial positions with GE, Martin Marietta, and Lockheed Martin. She is the co-author of “Up Is Not the Only Way.”
