Career Growth Beyond the Ladder

When we talk about career growth, we often default to the ladder: What’s the next role, title or promotion?

Careers are becoming less linear. Roles are changing. Skills are changing. And the capabilities people need today may look very different from the ones they need a few years from now.

Research on motivation and employee experience points to three important dimensions of satisfying work: the opportunity to grow our capabilities, connect our work to something meaningful, and have agency in how we contribute.

That gives us a different way to think about career growth.

We can move our focus from: What role is next? to: What do I want to get better at?

Every project, new responsibility, relationship, challenge, and stretch can be an opportunity to build a capability. So how can organizations, leaders, and people managers have career conversations aligned to our evolving world of work?

1. Shift the career conversation from roles to capabilities.

Asking what skills an employee wants to build and what strengths they want to use creates a different conversation.

Instead of: What role do you want next?

Try:

• What do you want to get better at?
• What strengths do you want to use more?
• What experiences would help you build those capabilities?

This creates more possibilities.

Someone may not be ready for the next role. Or there may not be an open role that makes sense for them. But that doesn’t mean their growth has to stop.

Maybe they want to become a better storyteller. Could they lead the next executive presentation?

Maybe they want to strengthen their strategic thinking. Could they take on a project that requires them to think across teams?

Sometimes looking differently at the job we already have can show us new ways to grow.

2. Help people see the strengths they’re already building.

It can be surprisingly hard to know what we’re good at. We often see our strengths as ordinary because they come naturally to us.

Regular feedback, assessments, thoughtful questions from managers, and self-reflection can help employees build a clearer picture of their strengths.

This reflection happens during a one-on-one, after a project, or as part of a team conversation.

A few questions to get started:

• What do my peers often lean on me for?
• Where have I received recognition in the last six months or year? Are there any themes?
• What did my recent performance evaluation say about my strengths and areas of development?
• What strengths am I not using today that I’ve used in the past?
• What am I learning about my skills and strengths through this project or quarter?

The strongest leaders and employees prioritize time for reflection and learning on their calendar each week. They regularly ask the question: What am I learning about myself through this experience?

3. Make learning from each other easier.

Some of the best development opportunities are sitting right next to us.

Strengths mapping can help a manager understand who they can tap when they need a particular strength or skill on their team. It also helps teammates see where they complement each other.

Imagine one employee wants to get better at executive communication and another is particularly strong at it.

Rather than sending the first employee to a course, pair them together on a project. Let them prepare together. Give the other person an opportunity to practice and get feedback.

This extends learning beyond the classroom and builds it into the flow of work. Some of the most meaningful learning happens through relationships, experiences, and practice.

4. Create more ways for people to try something different.

If we’re serious about helping employees expand their capabilities, organizations need to make it easier for them to try something different.

Short-term projects, internal gigs, stretch assignments, and cross-functional opportunities can give employees a chance to build skills without having to leave their current role.

Workday’s internal gig marketplace is one example. Workday reported that, as of July 2024, employees who participated in its internal gigs were 42% more likely to move into new or different roles internally. The opportunity gave employees a way to build skills, gain experience, and explore what might be possible next.

You can read more about Workday’s findings here.

If we shift from What role is next? to What do I want to get better at next?, we open up a bigger conversation about career growth.

The ladder still matters. Promotions and new roles will always be part of a career. But they don’t have to be the only measure of progress.

Growth can also mean building a new skill, taking on a stretch, or using a strength in a new way. In an evolving world of work, career growth may be less about moving up and more about continually expanding what we’re capable of doing.

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Want to continue the discussion with Deepti? Reach out at hello@troophr.com.