Up the Down Ladder
by Walter Sonyi, Jr.
 
According to the first rule of corporate physics, employees who are good at what they do (and mind their office politics) will eventually be promoted to management. Most of us don't question this trajectory—we're too busy being coaxed up the proverbial ladder with higher salaries and better titles—until we reach the top, look around and discover that we preferred the view from below. It's the classic "doing-versus-managing" dilemma.
"People are almost always promoted on the basis of their technical skills," says Don Andersson, a former CEO and author of the book “Hire to Fit” (Oakland Press). "They get pushed into management even if that's not what they're interested in." Indeed, the "M" word is the definitive mark of success in nearly all industries, whether the label is managing director, managing partner, project manager or managing editor. Hence the second rule of corporate physics: It's damned hard to climb down without forgoing the salary and prestige accrued on the way up—but not impossible.
Before you ponder a drastic career move, you'll want to make sure you're not suffering from a false sense of nostalgia. In other words, you may be more motivated by your frustration with your current position than by your desire to go back to doing. "It may be that you're simply overwhelmed with your new responsibilities," says Andersson. "If that's the case the solution may be learning some new skills for managing."
If you're certain that no management course, guru or best-selling book is going to help your situation, then try making subtle changes to your job description without changing your title. Peggy Klaus, a leadership coach in Berkley, California, says this is a common issue among her clients, who include executives from the likes of American Express, Cisco Systems and Goldman Sachs. "When a client decides they'd rather be doing than managing, I encourage them to try to work out an arrangement that, for example, reduces the number of people they are managing or allows them to focus more on strategy," she says.
Marcus Buckingham was able to work out this kind of arrangement with his employer, the Gallup Organization. "After spending many sleepless nights thinking about the people I was supposed to be managing, I carved out my own job category as a writer," says Buckingham, who has turned Gallup research into two best-selling business books, First, “Break All the Rules” and Now, “Discover Your Strengths” (Simon & Schuster). In both of these tomes, Buckingham makes the case for compensating all employees according to their performance instead of the number of people reporting to them. "Companies need to build more ladders," he says. "Athletes and actresses shouldn't be the only people making more than their managers."
Unfortunately, most companies are still short on ladders and not always willing to let their employees build new ones for themselves. "Most organizations don't have any kind of support network for helping employees make this kind of transition," says Andersson. This kind of move also flies in the face of company-wide salary tiers, which tend to favor managers and not contributors. "Savvy companies will protect people monetarily," says Beverly Kaye, an organization consultant and author of” Up Is Not the Only Way” (Davies-Black). "But you have to be brave enough to say what you need and stand up for it." Kaye recommends making any move down a diagonal one. By going to a new department you can reduce the awkwardness of going from boss to coworker.
If you decide to simply bid adieu to your current employer, don't think you need to rewrite your resume to downplay your former life as a manager. On the contrary, make the case that your management experience deems you a more effective contributor (and justifies the salary you're asking). According to Kaye, this rational should work in your favor because "so many contributors, producers and technical people fail when they don't have interpersonal skills," she says. "If you position yourself right, you can get the kind of job you want without giving up the benefits you've grown used to."
Once you manage to defy corporate gravity, take care not to be drawn back into a management position. As you move up your new ladder, consider where each step is taking you and remember that going up is almost always easier than coming back down.
Staff Review by: Joseph (Joe) Kran, Lawrence (Larry) Maglin, Walter
Sonyi, Jr. and Rick Spann
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