For most women business leaders, it’s been diagonal moves that have made the difference in their career progression.
That’s according to a new Cigna survey of 1,000 senior women business leaders. The survey discovered eight in 10 believe career progression shouldn’t be thought of as linear.
Of those surveyed, almost 80 percent said they’d made nontraditional job changes, including lateral or downward moves, accepting lower-profile jobs or working for a younger supervisor with less experience, which expanded their skill sets or allowed them to experience new problem-solving opportunities.
Making such career changes led 86 percent of these women to their current senior management positions, per survey data.
“When it comes to furthering their career, many women in leadership have bypassed the proverbial career ‘ladder’ in favor of a less linear approach,” Lisa Bacus, executive vice president and chief marketing officer at Cigna, said via email. “While every individual’s path is different, allowing yourself the latitude to pursue new roles, unexpected opportunities, and mentor others along the way has been shown to unlock even greater potential for a rewarding and impactful career.”
More than half who’d made such changes said they did so to better position themselves for future career goals: 45 percent cited better ability to provide for themselves or their families, 44 percent did so to improve work/life balance, 41 percent wanted to learn a new skill and 40 percent sought to challenge themselves, per the survey data.
Other reasons: 28 percent said they wanted to reduce stress or the emotional toll a job was taking, 28 percent wanted to learn skills needed for a dream job, 24 percent sought to gain visibility within a company, 23 percent wanted different day-to-day responsibilities, and 22 percent sought to make a greater contribution at work.
While some might classify a lateral move as some degree of failure or change just for the sake of it, such a move can offer benefits of skill building, a clearer path for advancement, or greater appreciation and respect from a new company, per Motley Fool.
“Most commonly, my clients don’t want a lateral and they don’t see the opportunity in it,” career coach Priscilla Claman told the Harvard Business Review. “It’s one of the big career misconceptions which is the only way to have a career is to move up. Move up. Move up. Move up.”
Women might see lateral moves as risky, but such moves can be especially beneficial for women in industries where their hard work does not translate to the reward of a promotion, according to a study published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. In cultivating diversification, lateral moves can sow the seeds for career progression in an alternative way.
About 68 percent of respondents in the Cigna survey have worked in more than one industry; almost 30 percent have changed industries twice or more.
About nine in 10 women surveyed said the next generation of female leaders should be open to lateral moves, working outside their skill sets and changing industries. Minority women in particular believe these experiences benefit career development, the survey report notes.
Other findings from the survey:
- Important traits in career progression: 99 percent cited adaptability, 98 percent said determination and the desire to succeed, and 80 percent named confidence
- 70 percent credit their success in part to mentors, and 76 percent mentor at least one woman
