I’m a junior vice-president for a large Wall Street company, and every year one of the junior VP’s is chosen to oversee the incoming class of recent college graduates. It’s considered an honor to be chosen, and is described as a “promotion,” but it’s really just a side step with no raise in pay or title. The catch is that a successful term as the mentor to the college kids almost certainly leads to a real promotion to senior VP.
This year, I’ve been chosen for this position. I don’t want it. I’m not pedantic by nature, and I’m enjoying my current work, which I had hoped would be enough to get me promoted to senior VP. The new employees are slated to begin in just a few weeks, and I feel stressed about having to become a glorified babysitter. Yet no one has ever refused the position, and I’m afraid that rocking the boat will hurt my career. Where’s the line?
Your concerns are valid, but to answer the question you must evaluate what you want for the future of your career. This position sounds like a test for a junior manager whom the company elders consider to have senior management potential. So the question is: do you want to be a senior manager? Something about your tone leads me to believe that you think senior management is what you want — if only because that’s what you’re supposed to want — when you may in fact be happy working on projects, instead of leading them.
To help you make the decision, let’s look at possible outcomes should you decide one way or another.
1) You take the position, suck it up for a year of glorified babysitting, and then get your promotion. We’ve established that you won’t enjoy the year, but you will - at least you think you will — enjoy the rewards of promotion to a senior vice-president. As a senior vice-president, you will be responsible for more serious projects involving more high-end babysitting, but you’ll have a chance to shape the future of your company. And you’ll have a nicer chunk of change in your bank account.
2) You go to your bosses, explain your concerns and remain in your current position. This will inevitably raise some eyebrows, and cause your bosses to reevaluate your role in the company. The key here is to establish with them what you’d like your role to be. When you meet with them, explain what it is you enjoy about your work, where you see yourself in the future, and remind them of the good work you’ve done in the past that caused them to choose you for the position. And then prepare to sit in your current position for a while, because they’re going to be unsure of how to handle someone who doesn’t want the fast-track up through the company. If you’re happy to continue with your current work, then this is an acceptable compromise. But be sure that your ego can handle it when the person who does take the babysitting position advances through the company hierarchy faster than you.
What this comes down to is a question that constantly appears in this column: Can I say no? You can always say no if you’re willing to accept the consequences. You should only say no if those consequences will not hurt your long-term goals. If saying no keeps you from heading down a path that is not your long-term goal, then you’re safe.
Ultimately, this is for you to decide. It’s time for you to take a deep breath and look into your crystal ball and ask the ultimate question of your ego: What do I want?
Have a workplace-ethics dilemma? Ask it here, or email wherestheline@gmail.com
