When it comes to building a career these days, a good many of us still labor under the mistaken impression that success will be measured by how high we’re able to climb the corporate ladder. The “ladder” model has been the standard of personal success in the corporate world ever since the first organizational flowchart was drawn. This traditional idea about work, and the workplace took root at the start of the Industrial Age, when structure was everything, and work was the only thing.
A good many of us can remember when a vast majority of American households were the traditional kind.He went off to work each day, and she stayed home to raise the children.You don’t have to look far to see that things have changed.
Today, only about 15 per cent of households enjoy the Ward and June Clever lifestyle. That leaves 85 per cent of the population on the sidelines when it comes to tradition in the workplace.The simple fact of more women and aging boomers in the work force has blurred the relationship between work and life and redefined what it means to build a career. In short, a saw has been taken to the “Corporate Ladder”.
Perhaps a more accurate depiction, than a ladder, of how today’s careers are built and talent is developed, might be a “Corporate Lattice”, where growth and the climb, are visible along many paths. This approach can be found everywhere. Executives who’ve climbed the ladder for years, but now insist on more family time. Working mothers who’ve been away for a while, and decide to return. Younger generations of workers who change jobs regularly, and hold few if any loyalties. The modern work force is complex, and born of nuance.
Today’s challenge is to fit work into life, and life into work, where maybe you reach a comfort level of responsibility and compensation, and stay in that position for a while, to balance work and life’s demands. Then begin the climb again, or not. This use to be known as a “lateral” career move, and not exactly a glowing description of your climbing skills in the corporate world. But today the term is more descriptive of the way things really are, as the desire to balance work and family has transformed the traditional career path, and reshaped the structure that was once the only path to success.
