{"id":59878,"date":"2026-09-01T00:58:39","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T00:58:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mihcm.com\/?p=59878"},"modified":"2026-09-01T01:14:38","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T01:14:38","slug":"what-if-your-best-employees-dont-want-to-be-promoted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mihcm.com\/th\/resources\/blog\/what-if-your-best-employees-dont-want-to-be-promoted\/","title":{"rendered":"What if your best employees don\u2019t want to be promoted?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"59878\" class=\"elementor elementor-59878\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-a441c7e elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"a441c7e\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-48c7172\" data-id=\"48c7172\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8a93d6e elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"8a93d6e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><em><strong>Why career growth doesn\u2019t always mean promotion and what that means for modern talent management<\/strong><\/em><\/p><p><strong>By Rashika Fazali<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c9331d1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"c9331d1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>For most of my career, I\u2019ve unconsciously understood career progression in one direction.<\/p><p>Up.<\/p><p>You become good at your job.<\/p><p>Then you become senior.<\/p><p>Then a manager.<\/p><p>Then a head.<\/p><p>Then a director.<\/p><p>And onwards you climb until, presumably, you reach the mysterious upper floors of corporate existence where everyone spends their entire life in meetings.<\/p><p>We\u2019ve even built this idea into our language.<\/p><ul><li><em>We <strong>climb<\/strong> the corporate ladder.<\/em><\/li><li><em>We move <strong>up<\/strong>.<\/em><\/li><li><em>We reach the <strong>next level<\/strong>.<\/em><\/li><\/ul><p>So when someone is doing exceptionally well, one of the most natural questions we ask is: <em>\u201cWhat\u2019s next?\u201d<\/em> And usually, \u201cnext\u201d means promotion.<\/p><p>But what if your best employee doesn\u2019t want to be promoted?<\/p><p>What if they\u2019re ambitious, talented, highly engaged, and absolutely uninterested in managing anyone?<\/p><p>Does that mean they don\u2019t want to progress? Or have we simply spent too long confusing career progression with career promotion?<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a76fabb elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"a76fabb\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">We\u2019ve built a very particular idea of career success<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2f05c0a elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"2f05c0a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Imagine an exceptional software engineer.<\/p><p>They love solving difficult technical problems. They\u2019re curious. They\u2019ve developed deep expertise. Other people come to them for advice. They become extraordinarily good at what they do.<\/p><p>So eventually, the organisation rewards them. We make them a manager.<\/p><p>Suddenly, instead of spending most of their time solving technical problems, they\u2019re approving leave, conducting performance conversations, managing conflicts, attending meetings and dealing with eight other humans who have inconveniently developed feelings.<\/p><p>We call this progression.<\/p><p>But did that employee actually progress?<\/p><p>Maybe they discover they love leadership.<\/p><p>But we\u2019ve also taken someone away from the work that made them exceptional and moved them into a role requiring a completely different set of skills.<\/p><p>We rewarded excellence at one thing by asking them to stop doing quite so much of it. When you put it like that, it\u2019s a slightly strange system.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2697c07 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"2697c07\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Not wanting to be a manager doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019re not ambitious<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-667bddb elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"667bddb\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>This is perhaps the assumption worth challenging most.<\/p><p>We often associate ambition with hierarchy.<\/p><p>Someone wants leadership responsibility? Ambitious.<\/p><p>Someone wants to become a director? Ambitious.<\/p><p>Someone wants to run the company one day? Very ambitious.<\/p><p>But what about the person who wants to become extraordinarily good at their craft?<\/p><p>A musician can spend decades mastering an instrument without wanting to conduct an orchestra. A chef can want to become exceptional at cooking without wanting to manage a restaurant group. A software engineer can want to become a world-class architect without wanting fifteen direct reports.<\/p><p>These people aren\u2019t necessarily less ambitious. Their ambition simply points somewhere else. That\u2019s probably why we need to separate ambition from promotion.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-456c135 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"456c135\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Why career progression means different things to different employees<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f60f986 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"f60f986\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>One useful way of thinking about this comes from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.verywellmind.com\/what-is-self-determination-theory-2795387\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Self-Determination Theory<\/a>, developed by psychologists Edward Deci and Richard Ryan.<\/p><p>The theory proposes that human motivation is strongly influenced by three psychological needs:<\/p><ol><li><strong>\u0e04\u0e27\u0e32\u0e21\u0e40\u0e1b\u0e47\u0e19\u0e2d\u0e34\u0e2a\u0e23\u0e30<\/strong> \u2013 feeling that we have meaningful choice and control.<\/li><li><strong>Competence<\/strong> \u2013 feeling capable and developing mastery.<\/li><li><strong>Relatedness<\/strong> \u2013 feeling connected to other people.<\/li><\/ol><p>A promotion can absolutely satisfy those needs.<\/p><p>Greater responsibility may provide autonomy. A new challenge can strengthen competence. Leadership can create deeper relationships and belonging. But promotion can also do the opposite.<\/p><p>Imagine our brilliant engineer again.<\/p><p>Management gives them greater status and perhaps better pay. But they now spend less time doing the technical work that gave them a sense of mastery.<\/p><p>Their calendar fills with meetings, reducing their autonomy. And the problems they solve become increasingly administrative rather than technical.<\/p><p>From the outside, their career has moved forward. From the inside, it may not feel like progress at all.<\/p><p>That\u2019s the interesting thing about careers: progress is partly psychological.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f2a9ebb elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"f2a9ebb\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Why promotion isn\u2019t always the best career progression<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-27e2dda elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"27e2dda\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1344\" height=\"752\" src=\"https:\/\/mihcm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Why-promotion-isnt-always-the-best-career-progression.webp\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-59892\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mihcm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Why-promotion-isnt-always-the-best-career-progression.webp 1344w, https:\/\/mihcm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Why-promotion-isnt-always-the-best-career-progression-300x168.webp 300w, https:\/\/mihcm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Why-promotion-isnt-always-the-best-career-progression-1024x573.webp 1024w, https:\/\/mihcm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Why-promotion-isnt-always-the-best-career-progression-768x430.webp 768w, https:\/\/mihcm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Why-promotion-isnt-always-the-best-career-progression-18x10.webp 18w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1344px) 100vw, 1344px\" title=\"\">\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b3d7808 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"b3d7808\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gsb.stanford.edu\/faculty-research\/publications\/peter-principle-theory-decline\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Peter Principle<\/a>, proposed by Laurence J. Peter, argues that hierarchical organisations keep promoting people who perform well until they eventually reach a role requiring abilities they don\u2019t necessarily possess, i.e. promote them to their level of incompetence.<\/p><p>The classic example is easy to recognise.<\/p><p>Someone is an exceptional salesperson. So, we promote them to sales manager. But selling and managing salespeople aren\u2019t the same skill.<\/p><p>The best salesperson isn\u2019t automatically the best coach. The best engineer isn\u2019t automatically the best engineering manager. The best journalist isn\u2019t automatically the best editor. The best performer isn\u2019t automatically the best leader.<\/p><p>None of this means those people <em>can\u2019t<\/em> become excellent managers.<\/p><p>Many do.<\/p><p>The problem is assuming that management is the natural reward for being good at something else.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-dd15919 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"dd15919\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">What if careers aren\u2019t ladders?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5d71f54 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"5d71f54\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>This metaphor itself is part of the problem.<\/p><p>A ladder only gives you two useful directions.<\/p><p>Up. Or down.<\/p><p>Human careers are considerably messier. What if careers looked more like maps?<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3fc5433 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"3fc5433\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1344\" height=\"752\" src=\"https:\/\/mihcm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/What-if-careers-arent-ladders.webp\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-59896\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mihcm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/What-if-careers-arent-ladders.webp 1344w, https:\/\/mihcm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/What-if-careers-arent-ladders-300x168.webp 300w, https:\/\/mihcm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/What-if-careers-arent-ladders-1024x573.webp 1024w, https:\/\/mihcm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/What-if-careers-arent-ladders-768x430.webp 768w, https:\/\/mihcm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/What-if-careers-arent-ladders-18x10.webp 18w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1344px) 100vw, 1344px\" title=\"\">\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3ae4a94 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"3ae4a94\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ol><li>You could move <strong>upward<\/strong> into leadership.<\/li><li>You could move <strong>deeper<\/strong> into specialist expertise.<\/li><li>You could move <strong>sideways<\/strong> into another discipline.<\/li><li>You could move <strong>outward<\/strong> into new projects, markets or experiences.<\/li><li>You could spend time learning something completely new.<\/li><li>You could lead for several years and then return to specialist work.<\/li><li>You could even decide that, for this particular stage of your life, you don\u2019t want to move anywhere.<\/li><\/ol><p>And that last one is interesting. Because we\u2019re uncomfortable with professional stillness.<\/p><p>If someone hasn\u2019t been promoted for five years, we instinctively wonder whether they\u2019ve stagnated. But what if they\u2019ve spent those five years becoming exceptionally good?<\/p><p>Stability isn\u2019t necessarily stagnation.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2d4a746 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"2d4a746\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Our definition of progress changes as our lives change<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ca316eb elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"ca316eb\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>There\u2019s another problem with career paths. They often assume we\u2019re designing careers for static human beings.<\/p><p>We\u2019re not.<\/p><p>What someone wants at 25 may be completely different at 35.<\/p><p>At one point in life, someone may want responsibility, travel, and rapid progression. Later, they may value flexibility. Another employee may spend years avoiding leadership and suddenly discover they love mentoring people. Someone else may reach management and realise<em>, \u201cActually, I was happier doing the work.\u201d<\/em><\/p><p>That shouldn\u2019t necessarily be considered a failed career experiment.<\/p><p>Human priorities change because human lives change.<\/p><p>Relationships.<\/p><p>Children.<\/p><p>Health.<\/p><p>Financial needs.<\/p><p>Curiosity.<\/p><p>Confidence.<\/p><p>Experience.<\/p><p>Ambition itself changes shape.<\/p><p>Yet career frameworks can sometimes behave as though an employee selected their desired destination during onboarding and should now proceed obediently towards it.<\/p><p>Humans are rarely that cooperative.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f53815f elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"f53815f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">But then we need to talk about money<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cc22efa elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"cc22efa\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>There\u2019s an uncomfortable practical problem here.<\/p><p>Organisations can tell employees, <em>\u201cYou don\u2019t have to become a manager to progress.\u201d<\/em><\/p><p>Lovely.<\/p><p>But if the meaningful salary increases, status and influence are overwhelmingly attached to management positions, the organisation has already defined what progression means. The choice exists largely on paper.<\/p><p>This is why specialist career tracks matter.<\/p><p>If an organisation genuinely values deep expertise, there should be meaningful ways for specialists to progress in compensation, recognition, influence, complexity of work, and organisational impact.<\/p><p>Otherwise, we eventually force talented specialists to choose between <strong>doing the work they love<\/strong> \u0e41\u0e25\u0e30 <strong>advancing their career<\/strong>.<\/p><p>That\u2019s not much of a career path. It\u2019s an ultimatum wearing business casual.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a51981b elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"a51981b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Maybe employees don\u2019t need a career path. they need career possibilities.<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-59e96a0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"59e96a0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>A traditional career path says: <strong><em>You are here \u2192 your next role is here \u2192 eventually you should get there.<\/em><\/strong><\/p><p>Career possibilities ask something different: <strong><em>Where might you go from here?<\/em><\/strong><\/p><p>Maybe there\u2019s a specialist role. A leadership role. A project opportunity. A new geography. A different department. A mentoring opportunity. A new skill. A temporary assignment. A completely unexpected direction nobody had considered when the employee joined.<\/p><p>The organisation still provides structure. But the employee has agency. And psychologically, that matters.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4ff8a46 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"4ff8a46\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">What can businesses offer instead of traditional promotions?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-784fd3f elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"784fd3f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1344\" height=\"752\" src=\"https:\/\/mihcm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/What-can-businesses-offer-instead-of-traditional-promotions.webp\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-59907\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mihcm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/What-can-businesses-offer-instead-of-traditional-promotions.webp 1344w, https:\/\/mihcm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/What-can-businesses-offer-instead-of-traditional-promotions-300x168.webp 300w, https:\/\/mihcm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/What-can-businesses-offer-instead-of-traditional-promotions-1024x573.webp 1024w, https:\/\/mihcm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/What-can-businesses-offer-instead-of-traditional-promotions-768x430.webp 768w, https:\/\/mihcm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/What-can-businesses-offer-instead-of-traditional-promotions-18x10.webp 18w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1344px) 100vw, 1344px\" title=\"\">\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2ff09ba elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"2ff09ba\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>If promotion isn\u2019t the only form of career progression, organisations need to give employees other meaningful ways to grow. And importantly, these alternatives can\u2019t feel like consolation prizes.<\/p><p>Telling an exceptional employee, <em>\u201cWe can\u2019t promote you, but here\u2019s an online course\u201d<\/em> isn\u2019t quite the revolutionary career model we\u2019re looking for.<\/p><p>Career growth can take many forms.<\/p><ul><li><strong>Specialist career tracks<\/strong> can allow employees to deepen their expertise while progressing in compensation, recognition, and influence without moving into people management.<\/li><li><strong>Lateral career moves and internal mobility<\/strong> can give employees opportunities to explore different functions, roles or business areas without leaving the organisation.<\/li><li><strong>Stretch assignments and strategic projects<\/strong> can offer greater responsibility and exposure without requiring a permanent change in job title.<\/li><li><strong>Mentoring opportunities<\/strong> can allow experienced employees to share their expertise and develop leadership skills without necessarily becoming managers.<\/li><li><strong>Skills development and learning pathways<\/strong> can help employees build capabilities that open entirely new career possibilities.<\/li><li><strong>Cross-functional or international exposure<\/strong> can provide new experiences, networks and perspectives while allowing employees to remain within the organisation.<\/li><\/ul><p>And sometimes growth can simply mean greater autonomy &#8211; more ownership over decisions, more complex work, or the freedom to shape how that work gets done.<\/p><p>This is where <strong>internal mobility<\/strong> becomes particularly important.<\/p><p>Instead of thinking about career progression only as moving upward, businesses can help employees discover opportunities to move up, across or deeper within the organisation.<\/p><p>The goal isn\u2019t to eliminate traditional promotions. Plenty of employees want them, and leadership roles remain an important form of career progression. The goal is to stop treating promotion as the only visible evidence of progress.<\/p><p>Once businesses recognise that employees define growth differently, career development becomes less about constructing one perfect ladder and more about creating enough meaningful possibilities for different people to keep moving.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-dfb126a elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"dfb126a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">How AI is changing career development and talent management<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7d03872 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"7d03872\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1344\" height=\"752\" src=\"https:\/\/mihcm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/How-AI-is-changing-career-development-and-talent-management.webp\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-59914\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mihcm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/How-AI-is-changing-career-development-and-talent-management.webp 1344w, https:\/\/mihcm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/How-AI-is-changing-career-development-and-talent-management-300x168.webp 300w, https:\/\/mihcm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/How-AI-is-changing-career-development-and-talent-management-1024x573.webp 1024w, https:\/\/mihcm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/How-AI-is-changing-career-development-and-talent-management-768x430.webp 768w, https:\/\/mihcm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/How-AI-is-changing-career-development-and-talent-management-18x10.webp 18w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1344px) 100vw, 1344px\" title=\"\">\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8175d96 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"8175d96\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>HR systems have traditionally been very comfortable with structure.<\/p><p>Job titles.<\/p><p>Grades.<\/p><p>Reporting lines.<\/p><p>Competencies.<\/p><p>Succession plans.<\/p><p>Organisational hierarchies.<\/p><p>Career paths.<\/p><p>Humans, unfortunately, have never been particularly respectful of neat databases. And now AI is entering talent management.<\/p><p>AI-powered HR systems can increasingly help identify skills, recommend learning, surface internal opportunities, support career planning and potentially suggest roles employees might be suited for.<\/p><p>That\u2019s incredibly powerful. But it introduces an important question: <strong><em>Before AI recommends where an employee should go next, does it understand what \u201cnext\u201d means to that employee?<\/em><\/strong><\/p><p>Imagine an AI system sees:<\/p><ul><li>High performer.<\/li><li>Six years of experience.<\/li><li>Excellent technical capability.<\/li><li>Strong peer feedback.<\/li><\/ul><p>And recommends: <strong>Engineering Manager.<\/strong><\/p><p>Perfectly logical.<\/p><p>Except the employee wants to become a Principal Engineer or learn AI or work internationally, or spend more time mentoring junior engineers, or take on more complex projects without managing anyone, or right now, they\u2019re perfectly happy.<\/p><p>Data can tell us a remarkable amount about <strong>where someone has been<\/strong> but it doesn\u2019t automatically tell us <strong>where they want to go.<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3b528a8 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"3b528a8\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">AI shouldn\u2019t just build a smarter career ladder<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-793e32c elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"793e32c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>This is where personalisation in HR technology becomes much more interesting than simply recommending another course.<\/p><p>An intelligent career system shouldn\u2019t only ask: <em>What role is this employee statistically suited for? <\/em>It should also help understand:<\/p><ul><li>What do they want to become better at?<\/li><li>What kind of work energises them?<\/li><li>Do they actually want leadership responsibility?<\/li><li>What skills are they interested in developing?<\/li><li>Are they looking for progression, exploration, mastery or stability?<\/li><li>What opportunities exist inside the organisation that could give them that?<\/li><\/ul><p>And most importantly: <em>Has what they want changed?<\/em><\/p><p>The objective shouldn\u2019t be for AI to become extraordinarily good at pushing everyone up the same ladder. It should help us recognise that there are many different ways to move forward.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5c1e32a elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"5c1e32a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">How career development and internal mobility can improve employee retention<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-06e7d58 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"06e7d58\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Businesses spend enormous amounts of time trying to understand why good employees leave. People analytics and AI are increasingly being used to identify patterns associated with employee turnover.<\/p><p>But there\u2019s another question worth asking: <strong><em>Did that employee have somewhere meaningful to go without leaving the organisation?<\/em><\/strong><\/p><p>Someone may not want their manager\u2019s job. But perhaps they want a harder problem: a different project, a new skill, a specialist position, international exposure, a temporary assignment, a mentoring role or more autonomy.<\/p><p>If the only visible route to progress is upward, employees whose ambitions point elsewhere may eventually have to leave simply to keep moving.<\/p><p>Retention isn\u2019t always about convincing people to stay where they are. Sometimes it\u2019s about giving them more places to go while staying with you.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1257e4a elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"1257e4a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">What does progress look like to you?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-20a116f elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"20a116f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>As HR technology becomes more intelligent, we need to think carefully about this.<\/p><p>AI gives us an extraordinary opportunity to personalise learning, understand skills, surface internal opportunities and help employees explore possible career directions.<\/p><p>But intelligent career technology shouldn\u2019t simply become better at telling employees where the organisation thinks they should go. It should help organisations understand <strong>where employees themselves want to go. <\/strong>And that starts with a much simpler human conversation.<\/p><p>Instead of always asking talented employees<em>: <strong>\u201cWhat\u2019s your next promotion?\u201d<\/strong><\/em> Maybe we should ask<em>: <strong>\u201cWhat does progress look like to you?\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p><p>For one person, progress might mean leading 100 people. For another, it might mean becoming one of the best people in the world at what they do. For someone else, it might mean learning something completely new. And for another, at this particular moment in their life, progress might mean having more time for everything that happens outside work.<\/p><p>None of them necessarily lacks ambition. Their ambition looks different.<\/p><p>We\u2019ve spent too long trying to fit very different definitions of success onto the same corporate ladder. And as AI begins helping organisations recommend careers, identify talent, and shape employee development, that distinction becomes even more important.<\/p><p>The future of career development shouldn\u2019t be about building a smarter ladder. It should be about recognising that not everyone wants to climb the same one.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6e8e51f e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"6e8e51f\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b52cb2e e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"b52cb2e\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-46e9d24 elementor-widget__width-initial elementor-widget-mobile__width-initial elementor-widget-widescreen__width-initial elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"46e9d24\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"438\" height=\"438\" src=\"https:\/\/mihcm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Rashika-Fazali.webp\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-50712\" alt=\"\u0e23\u0e32\u0e22\u0e35\u0e04\u0e32 \u0e1f\u0e32\u0e0b\u0e32\u0e25\u0e35\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mihcm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Rashika-Fazali.webp 438w, https:\/\/mihcm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Rashika-Fazali-300x300.webp 300w, https:\/\/mihcm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Rashika-Fazali-150x150.webp 150w, https:\/\/mihcm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Rashika-Fazali-12x12.webp 12w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 438px) 100vw, 438px\" title=\"\">\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2bf8896 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"2bf8896\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>\u0e23\u0e32\u0e22\u0e35\u0e04\u0e32 \u0e1f\u0e32\u0e0b\u0e32\u0e25\u0e35<\/strong><br \/>Business Operations Lead &#8211; Data &amp; AI<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-09305db e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"09305db\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3ba8c89 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"3ba8c89\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><em>(<\/em><em>Rashika Fazali is the Data &amp; AI Business Lead at MiHCM and Deputy General Manager at Futura Tech Labs. She holds a Master\u2019s degree in Business Psychology from London Metropolitan University and has over 16 years of experience spanning the media, entertainment, and technology industries. Her work examines the human factors that shape organisations, brands, and communities, bringing together psychology, artificial intelligence, leadership, and broadcasting, combining psychological insights with real-world experience to help organisations build more engaged, productive, and human-centred workplaces.)<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Why career growth doesn\u2019t always mean promotion and what that means for modern talent management By Rashika Fazali For most of my career, I\u2019ve unconsciously understood career progression in one direction. Up. You become good at your job. Then you become senior. Then a manager. Then a head. Then a director. And onwards you climb [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":59881,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-59878","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mihcm.com\/th\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59878","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mihcm.com\/th\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mihcm.com\/th\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mihcm.com\/th\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mihcm.com\/th\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59878"}],"version-history":[{"count":38,"href":"https:\/\/mihcm.com\/th\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59878\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":59923,"href":"https:\/\/mihcm.com\/th\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59878\/revisions\/59923"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mihcm.com\/th\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mihcm.com\/th\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mihcm.com\/th\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mihcm.com\/th\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}