You may feel like you don't need to manage people, but you worry about what it will mean for your career. Here are four ways to show others and yourself that it is not a step backwards: 1. Get rid of your own limitations. 2) You don't have to be a slave to your limitations. 3) Be able to demonstrate how you can manage without being formally managed. Ensure that your team is not affected by the transition.
People often think of career advancement in organizations today when they think of managing large groups of employees. What if you are looking to change your career and become a contributor rather than a boss? What are your peers and hiring managers going to think of you?
The Great Resignation showed that mid-level workers who have been in the workforce for a while are willing to quit their jobs. They are also reexamining what it means to have a fulfilling work life. According to Indeed and Forrester Consulting, people now consider feeling fulfilled and energized more important than having a sense or purpose in their professional lives.
Maybe you were a manager because your career success was dependent on being able to climb the hierarchy, rather than allowing you to apply your skills to technical problems or frontline projects. You find that you are less interested in being able to solve problems directly within your department, and more comfortable with having to influence others. Although it may seem like a backward step, you can reap the benefits of being a contributor to your own success and that of your organization. These strategies will help you communicate your motivation and make your decision. This will ensure that others don't get in your way of happiness and your future success.
Eliminate your limiting beliefs.
It is important to see this as a positive step in your career, and not a backward move. You don't have to be a failure to move away from leadership. You will do more harm to your team and yourself if you don't enjoy your current job but refuse to give way to someone who is more qualified.
Because he was consistently better than his peers, one of my clients was promoted to sales director at an enterprise software company. He didn't think about declining the promotion at the time. It was an opportunity to be acknowledged as a leader within his company. Over the next year, he began to realize that his work as a sales manager, designing compensation structures and giving motivational talks for his reps, and role-playing coaching sales conversations didn't excite him. He longed to be back in the trenches meeting customers every day and envied his direct report's daily activities that were directly related with their results.
To improve the situation, I suggested job-creating ideas. This included making more time for customer-facing work. This could be interpreted as micromanagement, even though he has not been promoted to a formal position. He would get in the way of developing and empowering his team.
My client instead considered how he could revert back to being an individual contributor, willing to push the boundaries of creativity more than before and solve problems in more innovative and masterful ways. This is similar to an actor performing a monologue in a movie or play. After learning the lines, they can then play with the part and take it in new and compelling directions while still delivering the same natural delivery.
It will be easier to accept and explain your move to be an individual contributor.
Do not assume that you must be relegated.
Many people who leave management will choose to take on individual contributor roles that are similar to those they held in the past. There are many mid-level or senior managers who don't manage others in organizations. It is worth suggesting a formal title or role that reflects your value to the company, even if you aren't directly leading a team.
Imagine an IT director in a Fortune 500 company. He was responsible for leading a large group of managers and their direct report. His company was migrating to cloud computing and needed an expert to help guide each business unit and function through the process. He also needed to coordinate with outside consultants. He was able to pitch himself as the director of digital transformion based on his technical expertise and the connections he had built up within the company through previous leadership. He not only landed the job, but he also was able to maintain the same level of compensation despite having no direct reports.
Working on high-profile strategic missions at the enterprise level is another way to be a contributor and retain your executive rank. Two VPs, for example, stepped down as people managers and were given the opportunity to coach them. One of them ended up leading the environmental, social, and governance (ESG), programs at a major media company, and the other was responsible for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), programs at their Fortune 100 company. They did not have direct reports. They were instead rewarded and appointed for their ability to create and execute an agenda with influence and work with their partners.
These leaders demonstrate that it is possible to work independently at the same level or higher than a manager as companies look into new structures and flatter hierarchies.
Demonstrate that you are capable of leading without formal management
Some might argue that individual contributors' work is not scaleable. Managers are perceived to have greater impact because they have many people executing their strategic goals. These assumptions need to be challenged. You will need to challenge these assumptions. You might argue that people who work outside of management have more to do with people management because they are required to manage multiple people, businesses, teams, functions and colleagues. To achieve results, the job requires greater skill and agility.
Show that you are willing to use your interpersonal skills and communication skills to guide others. One coder I knew was able to manage other software engineers and analysts for many years, but wanted to return to coding independently. He was aware that the company valued his leadership. However, he struggled to find managers while still having many contributors. He made a commitment to mentor others as a colleague, not a boss. He also pledged to work with the new manager in enterprise-level communications.
Ensure your transition doesnt impair your team.
It is important to create the right foundation for smooth transition when you are leaving management. It is important to build your team's bench strength before you move. You also need to develop a succession plan and keep your network active in order for outsiders with the right skills to replace you. Your manager might say to you, "I want to ensure that my move does not disrupt our team's success." I have some suggestions for my replacement, and am willing to work with them as they integrate.
It is as important to your reputation how you move as what non-management roles you hold. You can help the new manager by offering to work with them for the first few months. Once they settle in, you can then set the success criteria for your role as a contributor. My client, a software manager, spent a lot of time transitioning to coder mode. Because he was a previous employee, he knew that he could do the job as an individual contributor without any problems. He was keen to find the right person to take his place (and be his boss).
You might feel like you don't need to manage people, but you worry about what the consequences of leaving a leadership position will be for your career. These strategies will show others and yourself that it is not a backward step, but a positive transition that will lead to greater happiness and productivity for everyone.
