What Does Professional Growth Look Like When There’s Nowhere “Up” to Go?

Over the years, I've heard versions of the same question from leaders of smaller nonprofit organizations:

How do we continue to provide professional advancement opportunities—and retain good people—when there are only so many places for them to go?

It came up again recently during a strategic planning engagement, and I was reminded of just how real this challenge can be for smaller organizations.

There may only be a few levels in the organizational structure. Creating a new position or title isn't always practical—or necessary. And while people should absolutely be compensated appropriately for their contributions, the budget may not allow for significant salary increases year after year.

But you still want your best people to see a future with your organization.

The challenge is real

Recent Gallup research found that one in four U.S. employees report lacking opportunities for career advancement. Organization size makes a striking difference: only one-third of employees at organizations with fewer than 10 employees say advancement opportunities exist, compared with nearly three-quarters of employees at organizations with 1,000 or more.

The nonprofit sector brings additional challenges. Independent Sector has identified limited advancement opportunities, along with compensation that can't always compete with other sectors, among the challenges contributing to nonprofit workforce retention.

For a small nonprofit, there's no easy way around the reality: the traditional career ladder may simply be short.

But perhaps the ladder isn't the only way to think about growth.

Advancement and growth aren't necessarily the same thing

When we talk about professional advancement, it's easy to default to promotions: a new title, a higher-level position, more direct reports.

Those things matter. But I'd encourage leaders to think more broadly about the question:

How can we help this person continue to grow?

One place I'd start is with performance management.

Individual goals should connect to organizational goals so people understand how their work contributes to what the organization is trying to accomplish. But I'd also make room for professional development goals that reflect where the individual wants to grow.

That requires a conversation.

What do they want to learn? What skills would they like to strengthen? What experiences would help prepare them for what they want to do next? And where might their growth also strengthen the organization?

The answers will look different for different people.

For one employee, it might be earning a certification or participating in specialized training. For another, it could be attending a conference, taking the lead on an initiative, facilitating a meeting they normally wouldn't lead, representing the organization externally, mentoring a colleague—or being mentored themselves.

Some opportunities require funding. Others require something that can be equally scarce in a busy organization: time and intentionality.

Don't confuse development with compensation

There's an important caveat here.

Professional development shouldn't become a way to avoid conversations about compensation.

Giving someone a stretch assignment isn't a substitute for paying them appropriately. Neither is sending them to a conference or giving them a new responsibility without recognizing the increased value they're providing.

Organizations still need to examine compensation and provide increases when appropriate and possible.

At the same time, compensation isn't the only way people experience growth at work.

Especially in a smaller organization, leaders may need to be more intentional about creating opportunities for employees to build skills, broaden their experiences, take on meaningful challenges and continue developing—even when there isn't another box waiting for them on the organizational chart.

Maybe the better question is: Where can you grow from here?

Not every organization can offer an endless series of promotions. And not every talented employee needs to become a manager in order to advance professionally.

What leaders can do is make professional growth part of an ongoing conversation rather than waiting until someone asks, “What's next for me?”

Talk about it during goal setting. Include it in performance conversations. Ask people what they want to learn and where they want to stretch. And then look for opportunities that make sense for both the individual and the organization.

You may not always be able to offer someone a higher rung on the ladder.

But you may be able to offer them meaningful ways to keep moving forward.

I'd love to hear from nonprofit leaders: How are you creating meaningful opportunities for professional growth when promotions or significant salary increases aren't always available?