Manage the opportunities change offers.
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Where do people go when they’re promoted? Is there even such a thing as a promotional ladder in your company? What do I mean?
At a recent tradeshow, I was checking people’s cards and was stunned by the change in job descriptions. More job titles were team, project, or process oriented instead of traditional professional, functional, or departmental titles. One title I saw on a card was ‘geek.’ So, what is this person’s boss title: ‘head geek.’ This got me thinking. Where do people go when they’re promoted? This is especially critical if we believe that the career ladder is dead! career ladder is dead!
One of the most dramatic changes is the loss of our cherished work metaphors. Gurus are now searching for the right workplace metaphors, illustrations, or examples. What are common work metaphors? The pyramid describes an organizational structure. The ladder characterizes career growth and stability. A stream describes process flow. A vertical or pyramidal structure implies longevity and stability. I hearing more often the cliff metaphor as in controlling the downside by not falling off the cliff.
The organizational structure was also a symbol of loyalty, strength, and institutionalization. If you review each of these words, you’ll understand how much they go against today’s recessionist grain. Competitive companies are virtual, flexible, and loose. Institutionalization and stability are negative. Loyalty has largely changed.
Life Lesson Earned: Managing your career is based on understanding your work context and your company’s promoteability model. Your work/career/job metaphor will be the basis for your decision making about work. If you work in a lattice organization and you want to work in a ladder organization, then sooner than later, you’ll reach a career impasse and be ready to move on.