Forget the career, do the work. If you feel what you are doing is in line and you’re going someplace and you have a vision and you stay with it, eventually things will happen.
- Al Pacino
Would anyone purposely embrace practices that lead to cancer if they were avoidable? Given that smoking/vaping and a host of other unhealthy choices remain popular, the answer is probably ‘yes!’. And that may also explain why many institutions still embrace careerism over performance, over outcomes, over reliable results delivered consistently over time.
It begins innocently enough. Schooling conditions us to work through grades, structures and certifications. Offering new college recruits training and development in a structured program with milestones in a “you must do this to get that” spirit gets the ball rolling. Offering so called developmental assignments and rotations to junior/upcoming talent continues the ball rolling. Offering mentoring to high potential talent and recommended career moves keeps the ball rolling. All good, no? When do we go off the rails?
Leadership goes off the rails in a number of ways. Lets begin with not insisting on proven results (i.e. ‘did I make a difference?’) in a role before letting someone move on. This is endemic to the corporate world where ‘what is my next role?’ is often a more important question than ‘am I accomplishing anything?’ The classic scenario at many companies, especially multinationals, is allowing careerists, especially expatriates, to leave behind massive messes, as they are moved along out of mindless ‘they need their next role’ succession plans.
Fearing any sort of turnover is another place we go off the rails. Some turnover is good. It should be viewed like statistical process control – ok within a range. Too low? We may be too satisfied with mediocre results. Too high – obviously we need to look at that. What is acceptable? That requires leadership discernment. That’s hard. It’s easier to yap about turnover. This can lead to bad solutions like career rotations of mediocre performers. “We need to move Frank to a new role before he decides to leave.” Nah – maybe its ok if Frank leaves. He’s not done much in years.
‘Up or Out’ when its either implied or directly practiced is another root cause for the problem of careerism – up/out is great when applied to ambitious individuals who seek the next step – let them take the risk. In many disciplines, it is just not appropriate. We do need tenured experts in many, if not most, disciplines.
Another blinking careerism word: blocking: ‘Sally is blocking that role.’ Maybe Sally is outstanding at what she does. Maybe Sally, in that role, has expanded her responsibilities and is actually doing far more than the job description because of her influence. Maybe Sally should be recognized and rewarded for that. But no – some careerist minded apparatchik is likely to come along and demand movement. This will ruin an optimal situation of course. It’s an every day occurrence in many companies and institutions. Move Sally. She becomes unhappy. New careerist moves in. All of Sally’s good work is ignored and everyone suffers. Sally leaves.
Prized roles are another careerism feature. Most companies have them, and they are usually General Manager’ roles, with oversight of P&L. Pursuit of these roles has side tracked many careers of otherwise great talent that felt like the only way ahead was to secure a GM role. Could they be promoted in other tracks and deliver value in other ways? Of course. But they may turn those opportunities down, waiting for that coveted assignment, sometimes even taking a GM role in a lousy business just to say they had one.
Behaviors of careerists are not unlike rodents working through a maze to get their prize. While I am not calling them rats, I am pointing out they they are conditioned to their environment and pursue what they perceive as rewards. Rotate through 3 assignments in different countries and stand on my head for 6 months while rubbing my belly in order to be a Vice President? OK!
Behaviors are driven by mindsets and the by-products of careerism are flawed mindsets. In addition to those pursuing titles instead of outcomes, you have those embittered by the system, those with real talent overlooked for not checking the right boxes and an overall climate of cynicism when these things become routine.
What to do? As a leader, focus on fit for a role, building expertise, rewarding performance, and growing roles around great people. Ignore the org charts and the ‘what is next?‘ mentality and put performance first. There is a place for EXPERTISE in all functions, all roles, including general managers. Respected experts balance careerists. The military knows this and uses seasoned non-commissioned officers and warrant officers to balance the faster changing/moving Commissioned Officers career paths. As organizations grow they tend to take on more formal rules and structures; smart leaders in those growing firms will make efforts to not let ‘norms’ overtake performance.
Will companies learn? The best will. The cure for cancer seems closer to us than ever.
