Ditching Management Got Me Everything

Growing up in the 90s, it was all about getting a good job and climbing the management ladder. Manager, Director, VP, Chief of Something is what we should strive for by default. Lately, many rejected this dream for entrepreneurship, but that too ends up in CEO, CTO, Founder, etc. It’s all about being top of the food chain.

Are there alternatives? There isn’t enough space for everyone to make it to the top, so what’s left?

For Me

In the last year, I’ve had four different jobs at my company. I started with a team, part of the management dream. I moved into an Expert role because that’s what we needed. Pretty quickly, I realized it was a mistake and created a role for myself from the ground up. This didn’t work out either, and I finally went all the way back to be a member of that original team I was a leader of. It was here, going back down the ladder, that I got what I wanted.

Team Lead to Expert

The first move, in retrospect, I was kind of pissed. It was a “we need you” vs an “I want to” move. To be fair, I didn’t know I felt this way until after the fact. If I could do it all over, I probably would just stay put. But hindsight is 20/20, and (*spoiler alert*) I can’t say I’m upset in the result.

Expert to Architect

The next move was a conscious, thought-out decision. Long ago, I committed to these types of decisions going forward. But then, they needed me, so whoops. This move was a reassertion, if not overcompensation, of that commitment. While not perfect, it was much better than the last career decision, or lack of a decision, I made.

I created this new role because these were the problems I wanted to solve. I wanted to help my old teams and all the others. But this role was dependent on being in the office and my WFBed until noon schedule wasn’t helping. Worse, my extended WF<insert destination> trips were postponed indefinitely for this role. If you’d known me for even a month, you knew it wasn’t going to work out, but that didn’t stop my denial.

Architect to Contributor

Finally, I really started to think about what I wanted. I started asking the questions I should have from the beginning.

The answer: I want flexibility more than anything. I want to be my own boss, just like all those entrepreneurs, but not necessarily anyone else’s boss. The word founder, at least as often as it’s used in SF, irritates me. I want to contribute and be challenged but free of an office. I want WF<insert destination> to be the norm, not the exception.

So I found a way to make it work. My old team was short on resources, and I was in a unique position to jump in faster than any external hire could. My past roles and expertise in our product meant I was in the position to help the company, but also ask for what I wanted. So I did. And today, I did most of my work from a “standing desk” in a pool in Costa Rica (protip: sarongs are great splash guards).

For Employers

Companies have long fought the battle of how to keep Individual Contributors happy. They know better than anyone that there isn’t room for everyone at the top.

Software firms created a level system. Here you grow on paper and paychecks, but not on a management hierarchy. Software also provides the unique opportunity for lateral moves. You can switch teams and goals many times without starting from scratch.

Most everyone outside of engineers, well they’ve been a bit slower to adopt this concept. The result: employees find alternatives. They switch companies for better opportunities. They stick it out for bonuses and pensions that make it worthwhile. Or, they may decide a job is cushy enough to put in “enough” effort and go home at the end of the day to their “real” life.

Us Millennials (and I hate admitting I’m a part of that group) haven’t been at it long enough to give up the dream of making it to the top. But some of us are getting there, and once this realization hits, we’re not going to be happy about it. Providing flexibility in exchange staying put on the ladder could be a great solution.

Train us now. Make us experts so we no longer need the constant support of an office. Teach us how to learn rather than how to repeat. Create processes that disseminate information regardless of proximity. Keep us for a year, two, maybe even five, but provide the light at the end of the tunnel that will make us want to stay forever. We just might.

For Everyone Else

I like this. Anecdotally I can say several others do too. But is it enough for the masses? I think so, but I also think it requires a change in mindset. Our dreams will need to shift from relative (be the best), to individual (be my best). This shift is already happening in Start-Up World and even Corporate (Growth Mindset anyone?), but not for this reason. Doesn’t mean we can’t use it though.

Yes, it’s harder than being in an office 9–5, but it’s also more rewarding. No longer will we fight for the top 5 spots on the ladder without realizing what that means. We won’t be disappointed if someone else gets the job we never wanted. Now, we can get more of what we want in harmony with work, rather than from it directly.

I’m not saying you should hate your job. Nor is location independence the only option. It could be hours, side projects in or outside of your company, picking your manager. There are more options than might first come to mind. I keep hearing “do what you love” but don’t forget, you can do more than work. You just need to take the time to find it and fight for it.

Back to Me

In my case, this arrangement isn’t going to last forever. My unpredictable time zones and wifi quality aren’t the best for a customer facing role in a rapidly growing company, and that’s fine. But it made me realize this could work. Not just for me, but also those that aren’t so concerned with “making it” as they are with making what they want. I have no idea what I’ll do next, but the possibilities are exciting.

This originally appeared on jszem.com. Follow me here: @jszem and on Twitter for the latest in my adventures. p.s. despite timing, not an April Fools Day joke