Q: I don’t want my boss’s job. Does that mean I’ve reached the end of the road at my company?
Absolutely not. But it may be time to stop letting the organizational chart define what growth is supposed to look like for you.
For years, many professionals have been taught to think about careers like ladders. You do well, get promoted, manage more people, move into senior leadership, and eventually pursue the position above you.
But what happens when you look at the job above you and think, “I don’t want that”?
Nothing is wrong with that.
In fact, that realization can give you valuable information about what you do want.
Maybe you enjoy being a subject-matter expert but don’t want to spend most of your day managing people. Maybe you want greater influence without a larger team. Maybe you want more complex work, exposure to another part of the organization, or an opportunity to lead major initiatives. Maybe you’re ready to earn more, but you don’t want the lifestyle that comes with the next traditional promotion.
Career growth doesn’t always have to mean moving up.
Sometimes growth means moving across the organization to learn something new. Sometimes it means becoming the go-to expert in your field. Sometimes it means taking a stretch assignment that increases your visibility. Sometimes it means developing a skill that opens an entirely different career path.
The first thing I would ask you is: If you don’t want your boss’s job, what do you want?
Don’t answer with a title yet.
Think about what you want more of in your career. More autonomy? More money? More flexibility? More strategic work? More creativity? More influence? Less people management? Greater impact?
Once you’re clear about that, you can evaluate whether your current organization has a path that matches it.
Have conversations with leaders in other areas. Learn how people have moved through the organization. Look for opportunities that aren’t necessarily directly above your current position.
And if you discover that the only way to continue growing there is to take a job you don’t actually want, that’s important information too.
It doesn’t mean you need to quit tomorrow.
It means you can begin making a planned move instead of waiting until you become frustrated enough to make an impulsive one.
You don’t have to pursue somebody else’s definition of success just because it’s the next box on the organizational chart.
Coach Lani’s Next Move: Finish this sentence without naming a job title: “In the next stage of my career, I want more ______.” Your answer may tell you more about your next move than your boss’s job description ever could.
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