Ambitions and its rewards on the job

Dear Bob …

I just want a job.

[ Also on InfoWorld, Bob shares some tips on helps you shake up your job situation in “Escaping a dead-end IT job” | Get sage IT career advice from Bob Lewis’ Advice Line newsletter. ]

I’m employed at the moment, and my situation seems stable, so I don’t mean I’m out of work.

What I mean is that I constantly feel pressured to have ambition — to want to reach the next level, get the next promotion, pursue a career, and above all else, focus on trying to make my employer more successful.

To heck with that. I just want an old-fashioned job, where I go to work every day and put in an honest effort in exchange for a reasonable wage.

Why isn’t that good enough? We have plenty of people around here who are ambitious, and my manager seems to prefer them to me, even though the quality of work I produce is just as good.

Shouldn’t that be enough?

– Worker

Dear Worker …

Well … no. Or, rather, yes, it should be good enough, and it is. It’s good enough for you to keep your job and get your paycheck, which is what you say you’re asking for.

Your complaint is that you aren’t getting something beyond that: your manager’s attention, coaching, mentoring, and help progressing to the next level. Why would you expect it? You already said you don’t want it.

Good managers invest in their employees, to help them grow in their careers, which not so coincidentally should mean providing more value to your mutual employer. And it is an investment that takes real time, energy, and thought. Those who invest want returns on their investment. From what you say about yourself, investing it in you would not yield much return.

I wonder if you might have a different, subconscious expectation: that if you do your job well, promotions will result without your having to do anything else. That might have been the case once, but it certainly isn’t the case now. Doing your job well means you get to keep it (if you’re lucky and your employer doesn’t have too bad a downturn).

To get to the next level,  you have to take additional steps that demonstrate you’re capable of performing there. That’s the case in well-run companies, at least. It’s the poorly run ones that promote people based solely on their performance in their current role. That’s the basis for the Peter Principle, in fact: that managers rise to their level of incompetence and then stop.

So be happy. You have a job, you’re getting paid, and you don’t have the stress of career expectations. Some day that might change. When it does, let your manager know you’re ready to try for your next role, and ask for help getting there. When you do, you might experience a pleasant surprise: your manager’s help.

– Bob

This story, “Ambitions and its rewards on the job,” was originally published at InfoWorld.com.