The Career Conversation Isn't Dead. It's Different.
Why the most important question is one you now have to answer for yourself.
“What are my growth opportunities?” Or, “Is there a place for me to grow here?”
I used to hear these questions earlier in my career. Now? Not so much. And I have a hunch about why.
Managers used to sit down with people on their team and talk not just about how they were doing but where they were going and, just as important, where they wanted to go. But that, today, is not the case. Not nearly as much as it used to be.
Writing on Radical Candor, Russ Laraway says:
“…The single biggest problem with Career Conversations is that there are no Career Conversations. Often leaders think they’re having Career Conversations, but they’re really just having imposter conversations.”
The gist of what Laraway is saying is that you can’t drive a car by only looking in the rearview mirror. When managers mistake a look back at performance for a conversation about the future, their people are left wondering, what’s next?
The rules are changing for employees, too. It’s the message that your career is your responsibility. Already 74% of employees in a PwC survey see it that way, and a whopping 77% are ready, willing, and able to learn new skills. Employees are hearing that they are now the engine of their own growth, and the company’s responsibility is to help clear the tracks.
When money gets tight, as it can, professional development is usually the first thing to get cut from a budget. It’s the low-hanging fruit, the easiest way to cut costs today and save money for the business. The reality, of course, is that it almost always costs the company more in the long run. It’s not a surprise that in industries like nonprofits and journalism, talk of career growth gives way to talk of career survival. The most important question, “where am I going?” gets shelved.
Strategy: How to Drive the Conversation
The old way of career conversation, top-down, manager-to-subordinate has stalled out. If you’re a manager or an employee or both, it’s time to figure out how to get it moving again. The first reality is that the responsibility is now two-way, which means you and your manager must both change your approach.
For the Employee: Be the Driver
You’re waiting for your manager to have a map for your career. Chances are you’ll be waiting a long time. It’s time to draw your own.
Start with your own Vision. The most common mistake people make is waiting for the other person to ask. Do that, and you might be waiting a long time. Before you have the conversation, be ready with an idea of what you want. What skills do you need to build? What work lights you up? Answer those questions first, and you’ll go into the room with a point of view, not just a question.
Get it on the Calendar. You want this conversation, right? Then make the time for it. Block a 30-minute meeting with your manager and call it “Career Growth Discussion.” This is a meeting about the future, not the past. It’s different from your daily check-in and your last review. Send that message by giving it a special title.
Connect Your Goals to Team Goals. This is where the responsibility part comes in. You’ve got to make this growth important for your manager and the team. Don’t ask for a course. Propose a result. You could start with, “I’ve noticed that we could be more efficient with how we launch projects. If I build my project management skills, I can design a new process to help the team deliver work in a more reliable way.”
For the Manager: Be the Enabler
Even if you’re strapped for time and money, you still have an outsized influence on the growth of the people on your team. But your role is different. You’ve got to be a facilitator and enabler, not the director.
Explicitly Separate the Conversations. This can’t be a meeting about two years ago. If you and your people do annual performance reviews, start by saying that you’re going to look back at the past quarter or year. Then make a date to have a future-focused meeting about career growth. It’s very important to have different forums for different goals. Clear that with your people by using different words and different places to talk about different things.
Get Curious. Ask them to tell you about a project they were truly proud of, or a client they were happy to work with. “What made it meaningful?” is a great question to follow up with. Your job is to get at the “why.” Once you get there, you’ll be in the best position to help them grow in the right way.
Growth Doesn’t Have to Cost Money. I know budgets are tight. But that doesn’t mean that growth has to come to a halt. The most meaningful growth opportunities are not in a conference room; they’re in the work. Offer a stretch assignment on a key project. Facilitate a mentorship with a senior leader. Give someone a chance to lead a small but visible initiative. These things cost you nothing, but they’re priceless in terms of employee growth.
The question “Where am I going?” is one of the most important that any employee can ask. But the context has changed, and these conversations haven’t vanished; they are just waiting for a new catalyst. In today’s workplace, that catalyst has to be a partnership, one where the employee arrives with a destination in mind and the manager helps clear the path to get there.
When was the last time you had a truly great career conversation—as either an employee or a manager? What made it click? Share your story in the comments.
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