For many organizations, the second most expensive thing that can happen is for its best and most capable people to quit and leave. Studies show that replacing a good employee can cost up to 150% of that person’s annual salary and benefits package.
Losing good people is costly. But I believe the number one most expensive things that can happen to an organization is for its best and most capable people to quit and stay. Disengagement is deadly. No organization can afford to subsidize people who are R.O.A.D warriors (Retired On Active Duty).
The smart approach—one that works to the benefit of all parties—is to foster a culture that makes career management everyone’s responsibility. A culture that emphasizes collaboration and accountability by everyone in the workplace. A culture that replaces old career paradigms with new ones better suited to the 21stcentury.
That’s the focus of Up is not the only way: Rethinking Career Mobility by Beverly Kaye, Lindy Williams and Lynn Cowart. I talked with Beverly Kaye about her decades-long work with career issues. Dr. Kaye is recognized internationally as one of the most knowledgeable and practical experts on career development and employee engagement.
Rodger Dean Duncan: In discussing issues related to career mobility, you use the term “ownershift.” What does that word denote for individuals, managers, coaches, mentors, and organizations?
Beverly Kaye: In the organizational career development field, many talk about “ownership” in terms of the responsibilities of the key players in creating a sustainable system in an organization.
If a career initiative is to be effective there are usually three stakeholders—the manager, the employee and the organization (senior management and HR leaders). Managers need to support the development of their employees. Employees need to take charge of their own career paths. And the organization must provide relevant information and resources to both of these constituencies. These messages are often posted on organization websites and emphasized in speeches and internal communications. The words sure sound great. But, alas, they’re not always put into action by the stakeholders. There are some not-so-subtle behavioral and programmatic “shifts” that need to be taught, put into practice and rewarded.
Individuals must shift their reliance on their managers to support their careers and instead reach out to others in the organization and in their extended networks for the help they need to realize their full potential. This mindset shift is not just “I own my career” (again nice words), but to the commitment that I’ll hold myself accountable to actively pursue the people, information and opportunities that are necessary to meet my goals.
Duncan: What role do managers play in this?
Kaye: The ownershift that managers need moves them from a vague notion of “support” as in, “I’ll schedule a meeting” to “I will actively recommend other opportunities on the job or elsewhere in our organization in order to further the growth of those who report to me.” These managers subscribe to the notion of letting people go to grow.
Organizations also need to shift from merely stating admirable intentions on their websites and in their recruiting efforts to putting their promises into practice. A key is to hold managers accountable for the development of their teams in terms of rewards and consequences. I rarely see organizations taking concrete action vis à vis this responsibility. They say “we expect,” but they don’t inspect. Career information is more available on the Internet than ever before, and many of the more successful companies have strengthened the internal resources they offer. One related “mind-shift” is to actively market the fact that they have this information and make its access clear and easy to find. Ownershift happens when all three stakeholders make the necessary shifts in their actions to support career growth.
Duncan: As they manage their careers, you urge people to turn in their telescopes and pick up their kaleidoscopes. What behaviors and practices do you mean to highlight with that metaphor?
Kaye: This metaphor paints the most immediate visual. We want to move people away from putting all their energy and efforts into achieving a singular goal. Instead, we encourage them to look at the bigger (more colorful) picture and its different configurations. We want them to know that one small twist of the kaleidoscope has a tremendous effect on what one sees—it always presents a new and different picture/scenario. When people become more aware of what is in their own periphery, their range of possibilities expands.
Growth in today’s business environment means bidding adieu to the old thinking about career ladders and restrictive career paths. The new way of thinking about career mobility means a continuing series of moves—up, down, laterally, around, and over. I think today’s organization chart should look more like an “orbit-ization” chart (although lacking sufficient graphic design skills, I wouldn’t know how to draw one) where individuals move frequently and for different periods of time, from assignment to assignment, from team to team. They orbit around a problem or a key person, knowing that orbits often change depending on the evolving needs of the organization.
Agility has become a hip cool word, drawn originally from the technical world. Being an agile “careerist” (my word) means seeing multiple patterns instead of the more structured career path with stop signs along the way.
Duncan: For a growing number of people, lateral career moves make more sense than they once did. What are some of the questions a person should ask when exploring a lateral move?
Kaye: Today, moving sideways doesn't mean you are sidelined. The lateral move is beginning to be viewed more positively. In fact, some organizations are already calling this kind of mobility a “lateral promotion” and are even touting the new catchphrase that “over is the new up.” In truth, serving in a variety of lateral positions enables one to have broader knowledge of the organization, and this is now an invaluable asset. Taking a role at a similar level broadens perspective and provides a more holistic view of the business. It activates a new and expanded network, and it builds agility which is crucial.
A career-focused individual would do a deeper exploration of a lateral opportunity if it’s a move they are considering. More than even asking others these questions, savvy careerists will ask these of themselves:
- What specific new competencies will I learn?
- How might this open new routes to other positions?
- How will this build my marketability in the broader organization?
- What are some specific learning opportunities that could be cultivated?
- How will this round out my résumé?
- What technical and management competencies are essential for me to have?
- What are some competencies that this opportunity will provide?
- How will this opportunity expand my network?
- Who would I most like to learn from?
- What part of this opportunity would be the most challenging for me?
- Who will be my manager, and what do I know about that person?
- What parts of this new experience am I least looking forward to?
- How will my own world expand?
If it’s carefully thought through and if one takes advantage of the expanded learning and visibility that comes with a lateral move, new opportunities will undoubtedly present themselves. Bottom line, a lateral step offers another perspective—a new lens and an opportunity to add to one’s skill reservoir or fine tune a particular capability that needs polishing. The person who gets hands-on experience in multiple areas learns functional interdependencies and gains a deeper understanding of just how the organization works. What could be better?
