The End of “Climbing the Ladder”? Embracing a Playground Mentality for Career Development
Gone are the days of staying at one employer aiming for a C-suite ascent. Where does career development go from here?
Are we done with “climbing the career ladder”?
The days of staying at one organization, in the same functional space, and progressing vertically through leadership tiers feel like ancient history in today’s world. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average tenure at an employer is now only three years. And COVID certainly made people reevaluate staying on a single career path, as two-thirds of survey respondents say the pandemic forced them to reconsider what they want to do for work.
We’re seeing a huge disruption in career arcs for knowledge workers. So what will a career even look like in the future? And how can organizations adapt?
Loyalty, loyalty, loyalty
Before we go any further, let’s squash the “People have no loyalty anymore” narrative by considering the cultural and economic shifts we’ve seen in recent years:
The pension plans of our parents’ and grandparents’ generations, through which you were guaranteed post-retirement income from your employer based on factors like years of service, are pretty much non-existent in today’s world
The rise in entrepreneurship and the gig/creator economy, made possible by tech platforms like TikTok, Shopify, Etsy and Fiverr, makes it easier than ever for people to make money in creative and flexible new ways outside of a traditional 9-5
Employers using mass layoffs as a first line of defense against the faintest hint of economic uncertainty sends a message to people about their organization’s investment in their long-term careers
The sentiment is essentially, “Why should I show loyalty to my employer (by investing time and energy to go above and beyond) if my employer has no obligation to show loyalty to me?”
The Career Playground
I really like the metaphor of careers as a playground from this Microsoft WorkLab article. It doesn’t outright reject ladder-like progression (plenty of ladder-like structures found at playgrounds after all), but it widens the aperture beyond monolithic and rigid career blueprints.
Choose a starting point, somewhere that interests you, and explore. Move laterally along the monkey bars, slip down the slide, swing up to new heights, or all of the above.
Work is more nimble than ever. And people’s priorities have changed to value flexibility and work-life balance over climbing the ladder. In a 2022 survey, 71% of people said they would choose working remotely over getting a promotion. Millennials and Gen Z in particular have not been shy about pivoting into new frontiers and investing in new skills that align with how they want to grow personally and professionally (btw I am SHOCKED that a “Millennials Ruined the Career Ladder” think-piece hasn’t dropped yet).
When I reflect on my own career, my experience feels more like a playground than a ladder. Even while working for the same company for eight years, I changed roles on average every 18 months. I took a sabbatical for three months. Even as I climbed the ranks to manager, I was able to move laterally and lead two very different teams. Now, as a leadership coach, I have flexibility, autonomy and the ability to channel my curiosities into creating something of my own. Who knows where this venture will take me, but my priorities remain growth and exploration.
I think my experience reflects the kind that today’s growth-minded individuals are seeking: learning new skills, pursuing work that aligns with personal purpose, all the while maximizing flexibility, autonomy and balance. We want to shape our own bespoke career path, not have a one-size-fits-all model forced upon us.
Lesson for Leaders: Invest in the Whole Person
Do the changing sentiments and habits around career progression spell doom for employee retention? Not necessarily. But they will require leaders to re-imagine career development strategies to become more agile. It will also require organizations to invest in the Whole Person.
Curated Learning Journeys
The first approach I recommend is curated learning journeys for each employee. Instead of just sending employees links to your organization’s trainings and course catalogs, take time to develop customized development plans with each person based on their near-term goals and the desired skills that set them up for future roles. By championing this from the very top, curated learning journeys can help organizations proactively upskill employees for future job types while also creating stickiness for employees that their leaders are investing in the skills they want to learn.
Development Beyond the Workplace
Another way to invest in the Whole Person is to encourage and facilitate employees’ personal development beyond the bounds of the workplace. Say an employee is organizing philanthropic or service events in their local community. How can the organization amplify and get behind the employee’s cause? If employees want to become certified as fitness or yoga instructors as a side hustle, what if the organization covered even a portion of their training as a way to signal support and encouragement? What if they offered stipends for Masterclass or language learning programs?
“This sounds too expensive and time-consuming to retain employees,” some might say. Does finding, onboarding and training a revolving door of people sound cheaper and faster? Probably not. The idea is to empower people to own their career paths.
The battle for top talent is going to look very different going forward, as the motivators for Millennials and Gen Z (who make up half of the total workforce and growing) are vastly different from previous generations. The forward-thinking organizations who adapt to offer career agility will be well-positioned to attract and retain the top talent.