Career Stages

An undergraduate degree or some specialized vocational training does not endow professional status; it provides some basic knowledge and the keys to start the journey. After completing an academic program, we may be learned in our specialty and we may have even acquired an understanding of complex theories, but we only have untested knowledge. In most cases we have not used the learning in solving real problems that require interaction with not only other professionals but also many people both within and outside the organization. To achieve professional status we go through three basic stages. If you haven't moved into a responsible management position after fifteen years in your specialty, chances are you will remain a specialist. I have intentionally avoided linking stages to the traditional way of years of experience because we all bring different experiences to the workplace.

Stage 1

We begin our careers as apprentices even if we have an advanced degree, whether our profession involves research, development, finance, marketing and its related functions, or many other functions and disciplines. As professionals we don't like to be referred to as apprentices but that's what we are. The term applies to all fields of endeavor whether our organizations involve banking, healthcare, fast food, the arts, or any other professional fields. We're generally given direction, we're in a learning stage, and we may or may not contribute anything of significance to the total organizational effort. We'll probably also be asked to perform some mundane tasks. In these early days we'll often question the relevance of our assignments. Stage 1 provides us the opportunities to gain the necessary skills required to build a successful career; it's an opportunity to begin applying what we've learned.

Stage 2

This is the time to become an independent as well as a major team contributor to the total organizational effort. This is the time that we make the decision to be proactive and to be the pathfinders in directing the future or the benchwarmers waiting for the next assignment. This is where experience fortified by additional knowledge allows us to begin to make major contributions. We've paid some of our dues by performing many of those tasks that we thought were well below our educational level but later found the experiences useful. Stage 2 focuses on continued growth in our field of specialization and should include ever-increasing responsibilities. We now justify our existence by being able to take on total responsibility for some part of a well-defined project. We should no longer be told what to do; we should be making the proposals for what needs to be done to fulfill the organization's purposes and objectives.

Stage 3

In Stage 3 we begin to play the role of coach, mentor, and teacher to those entering Stage 1. We are now also expected to demonstrate initiative at the departmental level, use our creativity to improve operational processes, and be fully cognizant of the impact our activities have on other organizational units. We no longer depend on direction from others. We now are not only problem solvers but also can become problem finders. We are in a position to influence and to shape the organizational unit's direction, integrate our activities with those of other organizational units, and focus our activities for the benefit of the whole organization. Our scope of concern now becomes much broader. Lifelong learning in our own discipline and related disciplines will continue.

The lines between these three stages are fuzzy. How long one might remain in Stage 1 and function as an apprentice depends on what that person brings to the assignment. If book learning is your only achievement, then apprenticeship may take several years. If your vocation and avocation were essentially the same it's conceivable that you might even skip the apprenticeship stage on your first assignment. If you knew from early childhood just what you wanted to be chances are you gained the equivalent of that apprenticeship experience by participating in related activities.

So when do most people make that transition to management? It depends on many factors. I have witnessed Stage 1 people from various disciplines performing according to Stage 3 requirements—the accountants who function more like financial controllers than as bookkeepers, the marketers who recognize the complete product development system, the engineers and scientists who focus on the end use of a product rather than the elegance of the technology, and the people who approach their workload from an organizational perspective rather than a narrow functional or discipline perspective. Their prior experiences coupled with their personal characteristics gave them a head start. They are willing to go the extra mile and take some calculated risks and make some mistakes. Making mistakes is part of the learning process in any discipline. Their actions may come from perhaps not knowing better or from just sticking their necks out and disregarding the potential roadblocks to meet their commitments regardless of the amount of personal effort and inconvenience. These are the people who do not know that some particular task may not be able to be accomplished. These are the people that drive the future of the organization in their particular discipline or organizational function.

Success in any endeavor depends not only on education and experience that translates into knowledge but on the personal attitudes and traits that we bring to the table. We need to ask ourselves whether we seek a professional career or a job. A professional career demands high levels of personal commitment. While you may be new to the issues facing managers, your professional life really provided you with many opportunities to witness how other managers function. You at least learned what not to do as a manager.