Possible Career Options

• Enrichment: Growing in place

• Lateral movement: Moving across or horizontally

• Exploration: Temporary moves intended for researching other options

• Realignment: Moving downward to open new opportunities

If you notice that three of these options (all but enrichment) raise the possibility of your talented people moving away from you, you’re right. If this makes you nervous, you’re in the majority. If you’ve built a strong, functioning team, you don’t want to lose key talent to other managers and other parts of the organization. Some managers are so fearful that they hoard their talent, failing to expose them to other opportunities. Ironically, that strategy backfires and some of the best people walk—often to the competitor.

GO TO Career

So why should you help your best people expand their options, even if it means they leave your team? Here are some possibilities:

• People love to work for someone who cares enough to help them with their careers. They’ll actually stay a little longer with a development-minded manager.

• Your efforts could save talent for the enterprise. This is truly your job.

• You will gain a reputation as a manager who cares about people and their development. That reputation will draw other talented people your way.

• You may gain personal satisfaction from helping others develop.