Promotions Can Be Bad
by Justin Lukasavige

Many people have goals of moving up in life and especially in their work.  While having goals is a great thing, have you ever stopped and thought about where you really want to end up?  What is the ultimate goal in your work?  Do you want to be a CEO or are your passions more aligned with being a department manager and working one-on-one with your employees?

In his book “Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don’t” Jim Collins points out that one of the biggest struggles companies have is making sure that each of its employees is working in the position that is the best fit for them.
Status and money can be very important to employees, but if they are not using their strengths in their work they are ineffective.  Promotions can be bad news in this case.

I have a friend who has been offered several promotions in the company he has worked with for over 15 years.  These positions range from management all the way up to Vice President.  He has turned every one of them down and still works in the position he started in when he was hired.

Hi passions lie in working one-on-one with customers most days.  A position as Vice President, while a better paid and more sought after position, would not be a good fit for his personality.  He has no desire to move higher in the company because it only moves him further from his passion. 

It may be time for you to determine your career goals.  Where is your stopping point?  Don’t be like many of the Career Coaching clients I meet with that feel like each day they are getting better at something they don’t like doing.

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