Paths That Are Not Upward

Career progression is discussed as a single axis, which means the only way to develop is to manage people, and the result is a population of managers who were promoted for the previous job.

Five directions

Up. More scope, more people, more budget. The one everybody means.

Deep. The same work at a level of mastery that becomes scarce. Frequently more valuable to the organisation than the promotion and almost never offered as a path.

Across. A different function using transferable capability. The route that keeps people in an organisation who would otherwise leave it.

Wide. Same level, more surface — new markets, new products, new kinds of problem.

And down, deliberately, which is a real and undiscussed option: somebody who moved into management and wants out, and whose alternative is resignation.

Why only one gets offered

Because it is the only one with a structure. Titles, bands and salary ranges are built along one axis, so a move that is not upward has nowhere to be recorded.

Because it is the only one that reads as success, and both parties are conscious of how it will be perceived.

And because nobody asked what the person wanted, so promotion is the default gift.

The cost of the single axis

Skilled people become mediocre managers, and the organisation loses the skill and gains a management problem. Two losses from one promotion.

People plateau and leave, having concluded that development here has one shape and they do not want it.

And nobody moves down, so somebody unhappy in management stays there until they exit entirely.

What an organisation can do cheaply

Name the deep path and pay for it. A senior individual track with real compensation is the single highest-return structural change available in most technical organisations.

Make lateral moves normal rather than a sign that something went wrong.

And make the way back explicit. Somebody who tries management and returns should not be treated as having failed, and stating that in advance is what makes the experiment possible.

What an individual can do

Ask for the direction rather than the title. "I want more of this kind of problem" is answerable; "I want a promotion" invites the one axis.

Take the lateral move that nobody offers, because internal movement is one of the things nobody tracks and asking is frequently all that is required.

And be clear with yourself about which direction you actually want, since accepting the default is how people end up managing.

The short version

For additional context on this topic, see The Wall Street Journal.