I recently attended an off-site meeting for one of our major clients where we discussed how to deal with people who are doing a good job in their current capacity but don't have promotion potential. To the client this seemed like a big problem. To us, it's an opportunity for corporate America to take a lesson from the arts.
Picasso wasn't interested in becoming a curator. Meryl Streep is an extraordinary actress, but that doesn't mean she wants to or would be any good at running a studio. Why does corporate America insist on taking your job away from you if you're good at it and serve it up as a promotion?
In Bang! we advocate horizontal advancement versus vertical ascension. If people are doing a wonderful job, they most likely love what they are doing. Promotions often propel people into an area that is not their bailiwick but it's taboo to ask for your old job back. A self-imposed demotion, no way.
It's no wonder those people look so happy on the red carpet. Actors and actresses are rewarded with higher salaries and juicier roles not new positions. Moving up the ladder can easily lead to a place where one's greatest gifts are never used. Our advice... stop promoting people, reward them for the great job they do and see just how far they (and the company) will go.
What's your point of view on the subject? We would love to know!
Related Stories: | Topics:Leadership, guest hosts: kaplan thaler + koval, United States, Pablo Picasso, Meryl Streep, 4, B |
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Recent Comments | 3 Total
February 3, 2004 at 8:22pm by Scott Palmer
How do you continue to give employees the juicy salary increases they expect if you don't promote them? Year after year, people expect that their salaries will go up. Without giving them more responsibility, I can't justify the raises. There are folks that have told me they don't want to go any higher, but they are told that there are financial consequences for making that choice.
February 4, 2004 at 3:11am by Curt Rosengren
I love the idea behind the horizontal advancement, Linda. I have seen SO many people who once loved what they did but have been promoted into a role that leaves them dreading Monday morning (or at the very least counting down the days till Friday).
One of the things that has kept looping back through my mind recently is exactly this concept - that UP isn't necessarily the optimum place to go. We have it ingrained in us from the get-go that climbing the ladder is what our careers are all about. And that's fine, if climbing the ladder continues to be a wild, juicy, fun-filled ride. But for many the fun starts to grind to a halt and work becomes a chore.
Maybe the best direction for any given individual isn't up, but around, or over. It requires a bit of a paradigm shift (OK, a lot of a paradigm shift), and it requires a healthy dose of introspection and self-awareness to know what the best option is, but it can make a huge difference in how people feel about their work.
Scott, that's a tough question. I'm looking forward to what Linda and others have to say on it. I think one thing that would be valuable to look at is the assumption that all employees want is a big fat raise every year. Korn/Ferry recently came out with some statistics that 76% of the executives they surveyed would rather have more job satisfaction than more money. That's pretty powerful.
Maybe part of what you can do is to start focusing on "fulfillment raises" (that's a clunky description, but the idea just popped into my head just now). Incorporating the idea that what drives people really is more than more money and more status.
Maybe it's about incorporating a program to help your employees identify the best opportunities for developing a career path within your company that would light their fire and keep them excited and engaged. Career development efforts generally seem to focus on how to move up the ladder, not what feels personally rich and fulfilling.
I'm a big believer in passion in the workplace as a competitive tool. Perhaps it's a concept worth exploring further for your company.
At the end of the day, I guess, it boils down to the question of what it is that really drives people. If it's purely money...well, you're hosed. I personally believe that money is only a part of the equation, and a small one at that. It's simply the most easily measurable measure - and so the one most frequently used.
By the way Linda, re asking for one's old job back, I read an article a while back on The Granite Rock Co. and their CEO's commitment to having passionate employees. They have a policy where people can return to their former jobs within 30 days after a promotion, no questions asked. The idea is basically giving people a no-risk opportunity to stretch themselves and grow.
Curt Rosengren
Passion Catalyst (sm)
blog.occupationaladventure.com
February 4, 2004 at 12:21pm by Rob Poznanski
I have a few thoughts, so please bear with my random thoughts on this topic.
There is one thing that drive me in business, being challenged! A promotion is not always bad if you can keep the person you are promoting in charge of what he is good at and challenge him/her to find new ways to be better at the job he is given. I think something that gets missed in corporate america is MENTORING the next leader. What ever happened to training the next leader of the company or division of the company? Or the CEO of a major corporation. A part of getting promoted should come with training your successor to be BETTER than you.
I don't think the arguement should be to keep those who are good in their position, but to give substantial incentives for doing a good job to make them not want to leave that position. All of us young executives see is the guys at the top with the big house, nice car, great suits. Why would we not want that?
We all want a little extra money at the end of the month to take that vacation, pay off a bill, donate to a church or charity, invest or have a little fun in life. Nothing wrong with that.
Bottom line, We are all hired to do a job, and we should all know the limitations/ advancement potential/history each job role brings (ie. how high this position will reach, etc.) but I feel companies should give ethical incentive(s)to go above and beyond your hired call of duty to expand that position into something that the company would suffer without. While doing that, training the next best employee.
I am a young executive, 33 years old. I hope to train the next CEO of a major corporation. It would be an honor.