Supporting Diverse Career Paths Within the Company

I recently spoke with a rising star executive who said, “I am not interested in running a bigger business.” His sentiment - a clear departure from the traditional path of “moving on to the next big thing” - surprised me. The executive then explained that his desire was not to follow a typical career path; he craved something more meaningful and impactful. He was even willing to make a financial sacrifice to do something that energized him. This interaction sparked a realization for me: Top talent is no longer exclusively motivated by the next step in a linear progression. Many candidates seek non-traditional paths that align with their broader personal and professional goals. As leaders, we need to ask the right questions and take a more holistic approach to effectively manage our top team. Understanding what our people are truly solving for will allow us to unlock their best performance while maintaining their long-term commitment. Here are a few ways to think about managing talent: 1️⃣ Have broader conversations with your top team. Learn about their professional goals, such as: -testing a new function -mentorship from a more senior leader -professional development -coaching opportunities This approach will help you align their career goals with your organization’s vision in a more meaningful way. 2️⃣ Focus on multi-dimensional rewards. Beyond financial outcomes and status, other dimensions of benefits are increasingly important to your employees: -time -mental health -physical health -personal development -recognition -pride Take real steps to incorporate these goals while maintaining their professional growth. As we work through an evolving landscape of career progression, I encourage you to think about how your own leadership can evolve - and recognize that a linear trajectory is not the only way to advance. More importantly, if you are a leader, don’t make assumptions about what someone wants; ask them. Take the time to understand what your top talent truly values, both professionally and personally, and how you can help them reach their fullest potential, even if their path is not what you would expect.

I was chatting with a fellow SDR leader this week about AE readiness/career progression from the SDR org and was reminded about a program we ran at Klue. 💌 If you're SDR org is typically entry level, career shifters or folks that might not know what path they want to take after SDR - try this at your org. 🤝 ✨ ✨ SDR Career Day ✨ ✨ Reach out to every department head/leader from other parts of the org and ask them if they'd be open to hiring SDRs into their team. If the answer is yes, ask which skillsets they think would be most transferrable, and then ask for a volunteer from their team. Block off 3 hours for your team - yes, 3 hours - it's worth it. 👏 Have a representative from all the teams/departments that are open to taking SDRs come and present for 20 mins: - A day in the life of that role - Most transferable skillset from SDR experience - Open Q&A If empowers SDRs to learn and understand, guided by you as their leader, what path they might want to take that they didn't even know was an option. Klue's leadership was so open minded and supportive, knowing the SDR org was the "farm team" to the rest of the business - Nick Ross and I took that very seriously and intentionally. We had presos [and later promotions] from: 💪 AE [make sure to include an AE in this day - often SDRs don't truly know what a day in the life of this role is 👀 ] 💪 CS 💪 Support 💪 Content Specialists 💪 SDR Manager 💪 Sales Enablement The list goes on, but you'll never know what options to put in front of your SDRs if you as the leader don't go find out! ☂️

Not every higher ed staff role comes with a promotion path. But that doesn’t mean staff can’t grow. On many campuses, the reality is: 👉 Small teams 👉 Flat org charts 👉 Limited turnover That’s why leadership matters. We have both an opportunity (and an obligation) to help staff develop and grow. And it starts with one thing: knowing your people. ✅ What are their career goals? ✅ What kind of work energizes them? ✅ Where do they want to build new skills? ✅ What’s the next opportunity they hope to pursue—on campus or beyond? You can’t support someone if you don’t know what matters to them. In my experience: 👉 The goal isn’t to keep staff in place as long as possible. 👉 The goal is to help them build the skills, relationships, and experiences that prepare them for what’s next—whatever will fulfill them. Sometimes that’s preparing for their next job. Other times, it’s simply helping them continue to grow as a professional and as a person. And when staff know you’re invested in their development—not just their daily output: ✅ They engage more deeply ✅ They contribute more creatively ✅ They often stay longer—because they trust you’ll support their future, not just your current needs Here are a few practical ways leaders can support that growth: 1️⃣ Build real relationships—know your staff as people, not just job descriptions 2️⃣ Career conversations—not just at annual reviews, but throughout the year 3️⃣ Stretch assignments—offer projects that align with their interests and build new skills 4️⃣ Professional development—invest in training, mentorship, and cross-campus opportunities 5️⃣ Skill-building—help them gain experience that makes them competitive for future roles Bottom line: You may not be able to promise promotions. But you can create an environment where staff learn, grow, and leave more capable than they came. 🚨  If you want to dive deeper - I wrote more about this in my latest issue of The Academic Leader’s Playbook. You can sign up on my profile page. ----------------------------------------- ♻️ Repost this to help other academic leaders.  👉 Newsletter: The Academic Leader’s Playbook—sign up in my profile. 💬 Follow for posts about higher education, leadership, & the arts. #LeadershipGoals #HigherEdSuccess #HigherEducation #academicstaff #deans #provosts #academicleadership #staffdevelopment