I need / am supposed to offer regular career planning with my team, but many of them are quite happy and settled doing what they're doing - and I'm totally cool with that because they do it well and are enjoying their work. They have families, they have lives outside of work, and they want to just get on with the work rather than constantly climbing the ladder or doing performance review documents.
I myself am more interested in the work I am doing right now (i.e. building features that deliver more value to the business than the effort/time/money it takes to build them) rather than constantly planning semi-arbitrary "targets" every 6 months for a promotion I may not even want.
So - how do you manage people's career planning (including yourself) when they have no interest in progressing? Is it OK to just say, "I'm happy doing what I'm doing"?
The first step is creating enough trust and openness in the relationship to get past this communication impasse.
Promotion ladders are one (of many) tools for expressing what the company desires of its employees. For employees seeking advancement, they also work as a tool for discovering an employee's motivation. If promotion isn't the motivation - express what is the motivation. Figuring out that someone loves the puzzle of debugging, or takes pride in being the expert, or is a 9-5 journeyman who wants a stable, competitive salary for their contribution can be the key to having a fruitful conversation.
Once both sides are honest about motivation and satisfaction (the manager obviously also needs/wants something from the employee...) then there's space for adult-to-adult conversations about how and if those motivations line up.
In my experience, managers rarely turn away skilled, drama-free, reliable contributors. But we know our employees aren't totally truthful/open with us about these sensitive topics - so we don't take "I'm fine... leave me alone" at face value.
The key is to (1) make this arrangement explicit and regularly check in, and (2) find non-promotion ways of rewarding and recognizing good work. This will be dependent on the person, and isn't as clear cut as the promotions track.
I think it's great to just be happy with what you're doing, and focus on other things in life.
[1] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29939161-radical-candor
I've almost been fired for saying something like this (that my goal was to perform well in my current role). They wanted to get rid of me because I didn't meet their standards for "ambition". Now I had already been filling a role above my grade for 2 years and they weren't promoting me. I'm not going to continue trying to be promoted without hope, so of course I'm just going to try being successful in my actual role.
They are there to progress their career, as well as every body else. So, if your promotion, or having you moving to a different team gets in the way, rest assure they will make everything in their power to fight it.
Simply put, I don't pay any attention to the things discussed with my manager around my career. I attend my 1-1 because I have to. I honestly don't get any value out of it.
I have enough experience to know how to progress my career.
There are only two things that keep me working for a given company:
- working on interesting projects, making an impact
- being payed well enough
> The Peter Principle states that a person who is competent at their job will earn a promotion to a position that requires different skills. ... If the person is competent in the new role, they will be promoted again and will continue to be promoted until reaching a level at which they are incompetent.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_principle)
This is exacerbated by the "up or out" culture in many organizations.
Just because someone is great at their job doesn't mean their job should change, as is traditionally expected by promotions. You can recognise and reward their contributions and find ways for them to grow further _within_ that role, or in ways that extend that role without fundamentally altering it.
I like to combat this by giving my team goals to accomplish or lead some task on their own. Even if they are individual contributors they can still network internally to put their problem solving skills on display. An example would be if they took the initiative to have a discussion with HR/Sales/operations/anyone external about some pain points and how my team could help. Then spearhead the solution.
Note: I manage financial analyst so it’s a bit different but they have an inclination to become siloed with headphones on all the time similar to developers so it could apply.
Secondly - Make sure they see a copy of their review in which you praise their abilities within the team. That will help to reassure them that there are no penalties for not wanting to 'progress'. Slightly OT since it isn't IT related but I once asked a PC (police Constable, aka a British 'Bobby') why they had remained a PC for 25 years (I was curious). Their answer was - Mo' Money, Mo' Problems. In other words they preferred the day to day life and didn't want more Paperwork, more BS and ass-kissing (sadly a prerequisite for ladder climbing) and they really did not want the hassles of managing others. I did a mental re-take and thought fair enough. I am slightly ashamed that my initial ‘hunch’ was because they lacked the skills or abilities to gain a promotion (my bad and I was glad I asked rather than silently assuming/judging).
One thing to think about doing is exploring their responsibilities – Think about their specialities / preferences / interests. If they are a ‘people person’ consider making offering them the role of helping to onboard newcomers on the team. If they have an analytical mind, consider delegating some of the cost centre analysis work to them. Ensure any unofficial roles are noted positively in their next review so that they can see in black and white their value to the team.
They should investigate where that assumption came from, and, given there is data which conflicts with it, what should be done next?
The stakes are high: forcing a bad culture onto employees will drive some of them away from the company, and force others to be unhappy, or to take on roles they aren't suited for and won't perform well in.
A strong company culture would support both people who want to move up the org chart, and those who don't, without prejudice. The good news is that if leadership can get over the (clearly incorrect) belief that every good employee always wants a promotion, they can make a huge improvement in culture, retention, and productivity.
For example, how many people sit down and decide to become overweight and out of shape? Yet many of us arrive there by default. It is a similar process playing out in employment. Why many people avoid learning and growing. Not that they decided to atrophy, but more that they haven't tried to avoid it.
It's difficult to produce change in others, or to get them to see the rut. If you are self motivated, it's like speaking a different language. We expect the desire to improve to be intrinsic, and that if they have the desire that they will act in a way to produce results. But both are false assumptions. There are those with no intrinsic desire, and those who have the desire, but not the habits/discipline to take effective action.
My best results has been to push them down the path. Set the goals and routines for them. Get them moving fast enough that learning/growing in a specific area becomes part of the routine.
Depends where you are and what level. I think you owe it to junior engineers to help guide them. It may be that someone 1 year in the workforce is a highly productive engineer and doesn't need growth, but I can't say that is the norm. They may be mostly productive but some experience must be learned, so I would say you should push them to get out of their comfort zone.
Some companies do up or out until a certain level, usually around senior engineer. I don't really agree with that completely as I think a codified system like that lacks humanity, but it makes sense more or less.
100 percent agree on the 6 month targets... feels like groundhog day, adds tons of stress, does not benefit employees.
You need to constantly challenge yourself. If you don't want to advance either you need to change your attitude and jump into something that seems hard, or you need to find a new path that you will enjoy.
I don't want to go into management, so I'm trying to figure out how I can be the technical person in the company that is paid more than the CEO. I'll probably never get there, but it is a challenge that keeps me looking to see how I can be better.
Increase their compensation as their output increases. Be fair, don't penalize them for not fighting to climb the ladder.
Check in on their happiness regularly. Ask them very directly about their satisfaction at work. This is the conversation you force, not the topic of "why do you not want to progress." You can be really upfront with them – "you don't seem to have really concrete career goals, but you're a valued member of the team – does this work for you? Confirming that it works for us."
This is the easy stuff, spend your time on the bright but overconfident 23 year old who's complaining that they're not an engineering manager yet or the great engineer who's going through a divorce.
Heres' what I do. I look at the team's roadmap. What's coming up? It's unlikely the technology involved will be completely static over the months and years. To achieve the roadmap, someone will have to go off and learn about X or spike something in NewTech Y.
If that time to learn / spike things is part of the job (which it should be) then it seems like the career and roadmap planning dovetail, AND it all happens in 40 hours where people can have lives, spend time with their families, etc.
I had a career before software and I knew many people twice my age whom I was “better” than at our jobs, and no one ever thought to fire that person because they weren’t ambitious enough. It’s accepted in many industries that many people won’t get promoted this decade, nor will they be let go. That isn’t always good but I think on the whole it’s more good than bad.
Agree with everyone else here talking about the importance of communication up front. I'd add that it is the manager's responsibility to establish the culture of high quality communication. It's something that takes practice and deliberate effort, and the goal of clear and honest communication must be explicitly communicated.
Once we're on the same page about how a team member wants to contribute, then I simply support that by giving consistent, regular raises and staying in touch about how it's going. We're aiming for marathon employment with balance.
Apparently you've stumbled into a stable situation, and your instinct is to screw it up and inject instability into it?
Enjoy this boon that has come to you, and ride it as long and as hard as you can. There is no better situation to be in than with a competent group who knows what they are doing and experiences little churn.
But things do change. The company will change and the job will change. Someday neither one may be there in which case the worker needs to change.
Progression at work may or may not prepare for that.
I am not looking for a promotion at work in the foreseeable future but my situation is stable and gives me the foundation to pursue side projects which are outright radical.
It sucks and we all hate it but really the only way to keep most employees engaged is to not let them become still. "I'm fine where I'm at, leave me alone" pretty quickly turns into "I'm ready for something new, just not here".
Find goals that motivate them, things they can chase after. Keep them moving and growing. It's the only way.
Don't work harder than your desired title suggests. In fact, be slightly less productive than your peers with the same title without sacrificing quality.
Always go home on time and don't do any kind of overtime unless it's an emergency.
Make occasional appearances at group lunches and social events, just enough to seem like part of the team but not be too well liked or notable.
Be friendly, but don't buddy up with management.
Always be looking for different positions elsewhere or other companies you would want to reach out to in case you need to abandon ship.
Have fuck-you money saved up.
If you contribute code on GitHub, be anonymous about it.
Consider contract work so you can choose the kind of work you want to do (and create a business and hire yourself under your chosen title/role in case you need to go back to a W2 job).
Be vague, slow to respond, and not overly enthusiastic when management makes you do "reflections" and "self-assessments" that ask you where you want to advance in your career or "where you see yourself in 5 years".
When management walks by your desk, act relaxed and don't look like you are stressed or working very hard; even if your work is poor, management likes the perception of an employee that "works hard" for them.
Don't do things to make them think of you in particular if a peer higher in the hierarchy leaves. If there is an emergency, let seniors handle most of it unless you are the only one available to help.
Only participate in meetings when necessary and don't talk for the sake of talking.
Care about the users/customers of the service you are building, but don't care about the company itself more than you need to or emotionally invest yourself; every company is capable of firing you at the drop of a hat and they will not keep in touch unless they absolutely need to and are willing to drop the advancement bullshit to make you happy.
If a promotion is offered to you, thoroughly inquire about the responsibilities for the position, make note of the new responsibilities that you really don't like in particular and speak to your manager about making some exceptions because you "have strengths in some areas but weaker in these others"; use corporate buzz words during your one-on-one to talk about the promotion.
Again, always have your eye out for other roles and keep an exit strategy in your back pocket.
Working hard isn't a virtue in and of itself, and growth to no end isn't sustainable. There is nothing wrong with finding your place and performing adequately within it. I believe that my generation (Millennials) and later have been especially indoctrinated into the fantasy of the "dream job", the need to always be hustling and advancing, and working for paternalistic companies that "care" about the growth of their employees. It creates lots of shame for those who don't have the will to do what it takes to land the corner office. Most of our grandparents made their living doing things that weren't particularly prestigious and didn't live with that constant lack of satisfaction or sense of shame that they won't live up to their parents success. If you are contributing something to society in whatever amount and you are living the life you want to live, nobody really has the authority to tell you that you shouldn't be satisfied with that.
They were, without exception, great to work with, or have work for me.
We can't, after all, all be the boss, or the senior whatever.
Where possible, I'd try and focus on skills development within their current roles.. directly applicable skills where possible - if not, I'd look for indirectly applicable ( look at the training other teams in the business do.. cross skilling, or even just having a better understanding of other roles in the business is rarely a bad thing )
If there are no opportunities to learn and grow, you're going to get bored and leave. And most people will not let you know ahead of time, they will just leave. Even if they tell you, by the time they realize they're bored, you've already done them a disservice by not helping them earlier.
For someone who is happy, I think setting targets is overkill. They don't need to aggressively climb the ladder, but you do want to brainstorm with them opportunities to learn things they want to learn. Note this doesn't have to match with what the company "thinks" they should learn but it does have to intersect with actual business needs. Keep it lightweight but always have something they can work towards.
If they don't seem to be working towards it, debug what's stopping them.
1. Don't know how to start? Too hard? Help them get started. Break it down into easier goals/steps.
2. Current work is too much? Lighten their load or change the goal to help them learn how to do the current work better. Be more efficient, prioritize better, etc.
3. They aren't interested? Find a different goal that they actually want to achieve.
4. Temporary setback? Check in later.
You can't convince people who are comfortable where they are to climb, and every company needs those people (e.g. the guy who maintains the crazy Makefiles that no one else likes to deal with, but who doesn't care to revamp the build system even though its sorely needed). However, if you lay out the path for advancement, then everyone can either choose to go down it, or not. If folks decide to not go down it, or get jealous seeing other people advance down it, you can tell them that if they do the same stuff, they'll advance too.
Be careful how you adapt this to each individual as well. There are a lot of words spilled here about how developers with families are penalized because they can't "crush it" late into the early morning on weekends. The hard part will be managing to make things fair across developers of all backgrounds, as you need to make sure you entice valuable employees of all types to stick around.
And unless companies adjust salaries to keep up with market without arm twisting or requiring employees to run on a hamster wheel to "level up" and "prove they can do the job", the easier choice is to leave.
Imo yes, totally. But you can always try to be a bit better in what you're doing, especially in software development...the craft has a lot of room to grow. But if someone is happy being a dev or whatever else that should be totally cool, maybe even celebrated.
If your work involves higher table discussions / strategy, bring one / some of them into that sphere on the odd occaion. Rather than abstract the next level(s) up away from them, delegate some of that down which simultaneously exposes them to growth and progression.
> manage people's career planning (including yourself)
Ask for the same above you of the layer above.
Otherwise, talk to them like human beings not as subordinates, take a genuine interest, and you will probably know the answer to those questions that they themselves dont even know.
You could ask "what do you like about what you are currently doing?", or "is there anything you think that could make you happier?" (this question can have unintended consequences, as "more money" is a likely answer).
https://wardleypedia.org/mediawiki/index.php/Pioneers_settle...
Guide them into one of those roles?
So your choices are learn to enjoy where you are, or have an endless chase to find a company that listens to technical people at a strategic level.
The only thing I'd add is if you're good at something, teach it.