Episode: 698

Episode Title: Success On Their Own Terms

Not everyone wants to grow their career by moving into management. That’s why one-size-fits-all career development doesn’t work. More on that, next on The Perna Syndicate.

Ep 698 show:

This is The Perna Syndicate—I’m glad you’re here! We’ve talked a lot lately about how younger workers want to grow their skills and see a clear career path within the organization. But does that mean they all want to move into management and leadership roles?

The short answer is no. A desire for development doesn’t necessarily mean that every employee is seeking a promotion up the corporate ladder. 

Managing people isn’t everyone’s definition of success. Some employees want to advance professionally by expanding their current role or making a lateral move into another department. Career growth should be defined by the individual, not by a predetermined pathway of what success should look like. 

That means we can’t create a vanilla, one-size-fits-all employee development program. Taking a more personalized approach will help retain top performers, which is critical to maintaining a competitive advantage and driving business productivity. 

It’s also worth considering ways to fast-track certain people to ensure they are rewarded for their skills and effort. The goal is to help each employee create their own path through their career. If their contribution is valuable to the organization, they need the freedom to define career success on their own terms.

Tomorrow: What’s more important to younger workers, higher compensation or better work-life boundaries? The answer might surprise you, next time on The Perna Syndicate. Take care and we’ll see you then!