Quiet Ambition Is A Real Threat To Your Organization’s Succession Planning

Flexible culture empowers employees

Imagine what the plot of the Emmy award-winning series “Succession” would look like if none of the Roy family cared about replacing their father as CEO of Waystar Royco. Not much of a plot is left, right? 

But this hypothetical lack of ladder-climbing hopes isn’t a work of fiction — it’s a business reality within many enterprises. For many employees, the race to the C-suite has been replaced by what Fortune’s dubbed “quiet ambition.” 

“Quiet ambition” is a growing trend in which employees retreat from the corporate grind to place more emphasis on their lives outside of work. While you may have already noticed this trend anecdotally, a recent survey by Visier investigated it further and confirmed that a significant number of employees aren’t interested in becoming people managers or climbing the corporate ladder at all.

What does this trend tell us about future talent pipelines? Can business leaders make the prospect of internal career advancement more enticing for current employees or will they simply have to hire from outside the organization? The answer probably lies somewhere in the middle.

The Driving Forces Behind Quiet Ambition

Visier’s survey painted a picture of professional apathy. Most employees aren’t interested in climbing the corporate ladder — and the divide becomes even more apparent when factoring in gender. Here are a few key findings: 
 

• Only 37% of individual contributors agreed they want their boss’s job someday. In fact, 41% strongly disagreed that they want their boss’ job someday.  
• Only 35% agreed that they want to enter the C-suite someday.
• 44% of men are interested in becoming people managers at their current organization compared to just 32% of women.

Where is this apathy coming from? Before business leaders can respond to this new trend, they must first understand why employees are less interested in climbing the corporate ladder. 

A tumultuous three years have led employees to re-evaluate the role work plays in their lives. Visier’s survey found that work-related accomplishments aren’t even in the employees’ top three motivators. Instead, they’re slotted behind maintaining their health, spending time with loved ones, and traveling. 

So, why are employees less interested in rising through the ranks? For many, it boils down to personal well-being — 59% of employees cited concerns about the increased stress and pressure associated with a promotion. Forty-four percent of employees also cited the increased hours that would accompany a promotion as a primary concern. 

A lack of interest in career advancement has real implications for businesses. Many existing C-suite leaders have retirement on their minds. If businesses don’t have a solid pipeline of interested internal applicants waiting in the wings, they have to spend more time and resources hiring externally. And external hires are always a gamble, presenting a greater risk for more senior positions. 

If businesses forgo hiring an unknown candidate, they’ll have to promote employees who aren’t all that interested in the role. This apathy ultimately comes at the expense of their direct reports, who will struggle to adjust without a fully invested manager. Or even worse, the new manager will simply quit, like nearly a third of respondents said they would do if they were made a people manager. 

How Can Your Business Respond to Quiet Ambition?

While reduced interest in reaching the next professional level may be alarming for some executives, there are several factors that your organization can control.

Increased compensation was cited as the strongest motivator for employees to change their tune about people management. In fact, 71% named it as the number one factor that would incentivize them to become people managers. This finding shows that employees are interested in making it to the next level — just as long as their increased responsibilities coincide with a pay increase.

While finding the budget for raises can be tricky, try to exhaust all options before writing off the idea. Increased compensation isn’t just an investment in a single employee —  it’s an investment in all the teams and direct reports whose success hinges on how invested managers and C-suite leadership are.

While compensation is important, there are also other factors at play when it comes to restoring your employees’ interest in promotions and people management. To drive interest, you need to look at your employees' motivations holistically.

For example, evaluate the level of support you offer new people managers in adjusting to their new responsibilities. Contrary to popular belief, a sizable number of Gen Z employees are interested in people management (55%), but 32% cite a lack of confidence in their abilities to manage due to their relative inexperience in the workforce. By offering greater support and training to these employees, you can prepare them to take the next step in their careers. 

Beyond just management, consider other qualities employees prioritize in the workplace. Employees see healthy work-life balance (55%), flexible working arrangements (41%), and a relaxed working environment (37%) as important in their roles. 

Female respondents especially valued this flexibility, as many have to juggle their job responsibilities with a disproportionate amount of caretaking responsibilities outside of the workplace.  Investing in a flexible, healthy workplace culture can empower all employees — especially women — to climb the corporate ladder within your organization. 

Rebuilding the Corporate Ladder One Rung at a Time

The pipeline from individual contributor to manager to eventual C-suite executive isn’t gone — employees may just need to travel a different route to get to the same destination. And that requires employers to repave the road to help them on their way. 

Your business can no longer assume all employees have a Kendall Roy “Succession-like” desire for career advancement. It’s a growing trend for employees to orient work around their lives, not vice-versa. To keep these individuals interested in climbing the corporate ladder, you must first offer the support and flexibility that they’re in search of. 

But first, you need to know what's motivating your workforce. Employees living in expensive markets are likely to value greater compensation, while younger employees are more likely to value managerial support — every workforce is different. Only by understanding the composition of your workforce and addressing their concerns can you continue to reap the benefits of a strong internal talent pool. 

Andrea Derler is the Principal, Research, and Customer Value at Visier.