How to think about career growth
Over my decade+ of managing people and teams, career growth keeps resurfacing as one area that a lot of folks grapple with (including myself). There are tons of online resources already, and your favorite LLM will happily regurgitate decent advice. So while I don't know if I can add much more to the discourse, I wanted to share things I've often told my reports.
💪 Own it
No one cares more about your career than you do – not your manager, not your company, not your peers, not your friends or family. So you have to own it. Accept that, embrace it.
🧠 You have agency
Most people under-estimate the level of self-determinism they have in their career trajectory and growth. Once you've embraced the idea that you own it, you can take charge. A lot of frustration stems from a sense of waiting or a sense of helplessness – I'm not getting promoted, why doesn't my manager advocate for me, the rubric is unfair, calibrations are opaque etc etc.
Don't wait for someone else to just "do the right thing". You have to take charge.
And don't get me wrong, sometimes you are at the mercy of the corporate machinery. And there will be decisions that feel unfair or opaque. My point is that even in those situations, you have agency: you can change teams, change managers, change companies, change industries, take a break etc.
I'm not saying these are easy choices. But there are choices that you control.
📈 Focus on growth and impact, not promotions
It's natural to seek external markers of success, the sense of validation that you feel only a promotion will give. But often people get too fixated on chasing that title, that promotion.
Promotions, by definition, are a lagging indicator. And promotions are a discrete event in time. Growth, however, is continuous. So, focus on your own growth and on continually increasing your impact. And if the organization has robust processes and mature leadership, promotions will follow.
📒 Keep track of your growth and impact
Once you're focused on your growth and impact, keep track of it! Don't over think the mechanics: how frequently, specialized tool or pen / paper etc etc. It doesn't matter. Do whatever works for you.
The most important thing is to be specific and try to capture evidence of impact, even if it's not easily quantifiable. For instance, if you helped streamline the onboarding process for new hires, it's hard to quantify impact. But you could talk to a few people and get quotes from them.
Keeping track does 2 things:
- You'll be able to look back on your own growth and impact over the weeks, months, quarters. So even if you don't get that promotion, you will know how you've grown.
- During performance review season, you don't have to scramble. And you'll make your boss's life easier.
📡 Communicate your expectations
Obvious but worth re-iterating: people can't read your mind. If you have specific expectations – timeline for next promo, compensation, role / responsibility – whatever it is, let someone know. Ideally your manager, but your skip or other leaders in the org could work too, depending on the situation.
Ideally, write it down. No one has to agree (and they likely won't, at least right away), but getting acknowledgement of your expectations can create space for a meaningful dialog. And you'd be surprised how effective "have you asked?" is, in terms of getting what you want.
There's obviously a lot more to career growth than what I've outlined here. Remember: own it! you have agency, exercise it!
