QUESTION: I should hold on to this job as I am peaking in my career.
Fact: You can become too expensive and may be replaced.
Sometimes, a person realizes that he has reached a point in
his career Where moving up will be very difficult because of his skills, and so he tries to stick on to the current role. The problem occurs when he does not add any, value to the company’s prospects as he is only trying his best to cling on to his job. An employee, who has been slotted in the same role for years, reaches a point of stagnation where he lacks new ideas, and does not have the energy or the vision to carry things forward. This employee might Continue in his position if he has a ‘godfather in the company. But, as restructuring and other organizational changes are quite common, he might also fall off the list of favorites and lose his job sooner or later. He might also lose his job because the company finds him expensive (due to periodic salary hikes).
In the case of a manager, there is nothing wrong in his holding on to his current job, as long as he is refining his skills. He should be building and strengthening his team, helping his subordinates improve their skills and, if required, helping them take on bigger roles and responsibilities. Clinging on to critical work..does provide job security in the Short term, but it becomes a liability for the management to keep the manager if it does not see any value in him. Then the management has to convey a clear message to him that he Is not eligible for promotion or even that he should take up another position. There are also managers who do not allow their subordinates to move out of their team, as that has an impact on the former’s comfort zone; in such cases, the employees feel suffocated and blocked by the manager, and start losing respect for him.
Companies are not static entities; their bars are being constantly raised. If one has peaked, then perhaps one has to go clown the organization hierarchy. If one is willing to take a pay cut, to move laterally or to shift to a lower position, then one can still have the job. Otherwise, in spite of doing one’s best to cling on to the current role, one will become obsolete and get replaced.
WHAT CAN YOU DO AS THE EMPLOYEE? If you are peaking and want A to cling on to the job, there is no harm. However, your tenure
is determined by your manager, not by you. Your current position will be safe provided you continue to prove that you are the right fit; for that, you have to be competent, capable and effective, and show better results.
WHAT CAN YOU DO AS THE MANAGER? You need to make sure that the right people occupy the right positions. If a person is capable and shows strong results, year after year, then there are no issues. But if a person has become expensive over the years and his performance level is static while his role has not expanded, then these are enough reasons to take corrective action. This might mean a pay cut, a transfer or a pink-slip. This will also provide you with an opportunity to place an enthusiastic and deserving person in that position, one who could bring new ideas to the team.
