The Corporate Ladder Mishap

Posted on February 15, 2018 by Ted Hawkins, One of Thousands of Executive Coaches on Noomii.

The Corporate Ladder Mishap
Climbing the corporate ladder in the US can be intimidating, especially if you have your sights set on a top tier management position. Without the right amount of support, you probably won’t make it.

As a professional coach, it is my pleasure to help talented individuals move forward in their careers. Employees are primarily responsible for taking control of their own careers. Most people think of moving up in a company as climbing up the corporate ladder. That’s a mischaracterization of the “game at hand”. It’s too linear, presenting the idea that it can be as neat as step by step, one step at a time. In most large and complex organizations, the reality is that it resembles more of a messy game of chess. There are many moves, many pieces you need to move around to get your move, some sacrifices you need to make to get to the next better spot, etc. The people who get stuck in their careers often don’t realize that they are playing this chess game and thus never learn the game.

Working with employees and connecting with supervisors has shown me that an equally as significant and common barrier to progression is the absence of an advocate and little guidance from senior managers. While employees regularly have a relationship with senior management, this connection rarely evolves into active sponsorship, and is thus typically unable to help the employee achieve their ambitions. Furthermore, managers are not always able to offer adequate direction and supervision. The manager may not have the time or the inclination to act as a sponsor, or they may simply not understand what is required of them in this role. With insufficient supervision and a lack of honest feedback, it is unlikely that an employee will be able to successfully navigate the many challenges to their progress.

To be truly valuable, sponsorship must have three core features. Firstly, the employee must be proactive in finding an advocate and must be receptive to criticism and guidance. Secondly, the sponsor must have adequate influence in the organization. This reflects the fact that the key conversations about the employee’s career will take place in their absence. The sponsor must be in a strong position to advocate for the employee. Finally, good sponsorship relies on mutual trust. The employee must trust that their sponsor is being honest in their appraisal of the employee’s work, is providing them with good advice, and will speak on their behalf to senior management. From the advocate’s perspective, they must trust that the employee is committed to progression, will perform well, and will take feedback and guidance on board.