You’ve no doubt heard of someone who is absolutely terrific at sales. He or she meets and exceeds quotas left and right, month after month, year after year. So great is this person’s sales prowess that higher ups decide this individual is so phenomenal, they offer the carrot of going into sales management.
And then the cliff falls away: the qualities it takes to excel at sales are different than those needed to manage and lead others. So much so that many exceptional sales professionals fall flat on their faces within just months of managing other sales professionals.
Successful sales people often turn down promotions into management for this very reason: they are great at what they do, are highly valued and often highly compensated. What’s not to like and why should they change?!
But what if you’re not a salesperson? Few jobs offer the chance to make more money without a promotion. Few positions also offer the opportunity to learn more and try different things without a promotion.
What’s more, what if you would love a promotion, but there’s just no room in your company for it (there’s only one spot ahead of you on the company’s organization chart and you know for a fact that that person has no plans to leave any time soon)?
Enter the career lattice. Possibly more appropriate in today’s workplace where people often come and go relatively quickly, where hierarchies are being replaced with collaborative work styles, the lattice is a great career path for ambitious professionals who know they don’t want to – or don’t have the skills to – manage others.
The lattice works because it recognizes there no longer is one definition of career success (that of climbing up “the rungs” until reaching the highest position possible in an individual’s career). The lattice concept is valuable because it acknowledges that there are a number of ways to contribute and different paths to grow in a career and skills.
What This Means for YOUR Career
Embracing the lattice concept of on-the-job success essentially gives those with non-traditional ambitions a sort of carte blanche when it comes to crafting a career. No longer do you need to worry that you’re not “right” for the next step up the ladder: once you get all you can out of a position in terms of challenge, skills and experiences, you can choose to take the next step up, or take those skills and experiences and find another position that uses your talents while challenging you in different ways.
For example, let’s say you started in banking at the teller level at a small bank. You take a few steps up the traditional teller ladder, taking a few classes along the way to upgrade your skills. You then find another job as a teller, but in a multi-national bank, where you’re encouraged to learn international exchange or credit analysis. You may not be “moving up” (at least, not yet), but while you’re a teller you’re learning new things and enjoying a more engaging work experience.
Or you’re a newly minted CPA and you start out in taxation in a large accounting firm. It can take a while to move up, but perhaps you get interested in the firm’s state and local tax side, so you ask to move over to that group for a while. Such a lateral move now allows you to learn additional skills, helping you stay in demand and moving up later.
If you’ve been stuck in a rut for a bit in your current position and are looking to make a change, contact the Helpmates office nearest you to learn more about how we can help you move up – or sideways – in your career. In the meantime, take a look at our current openings to see if there’s one that interests you.
