Most of us think of career progression as a promotion, a salary increase or even getting greater responsibility as recognition or a signal that we are on the right track for what’s next. It is common to think of climbing the corporate ladder as the only option. But “up” is not the only way to grow. When you’re going up the corporate ladder, it’s critical that you gain the skills, expertise and experience that could propel your career forward.
A lateral move or stretch assignment might be the transformational role you need to take your career to the next level. These assignments, whether in a different function, location or foreign country, can provide unique opportunities at every career stage.
That’s how I took up the offer I received for an Expatriate (ExPat) ‘stretch’ assignment to become the Regional Director of the Oreo brand in the Asia Pacific based in China. I visualized what I would learn, the name I would make for myself and how I would stand out upon my return to the US. My goal was to create a game changer advantage that would accelerate my career growth.
Here are three strategic reasons why you should consider a lateral role as your next career move.
1. To reposition yourself
Everyone needs to reposition themselves during their career for a variety of reasons. For example, to stay relevant and competitive, to be engaged and motivated, to increase the value you add to the organization and to explore new career paths.
A lateral stretch role can allow you to start your repositioning. To take all the knowledge and life experience you have accumulated up until now to reposition yourself for maximum impact. In addition, it will give you the opportunity to build a new network, create new social capital and build the capabilities and reputation that will allow you to succeed in the new role and career.
One of my coaching clients, let’s call her Sue, a technology product senior manager, was looking to build her case for promotion to director within the next two years. As part of this process, she took a lateral regional sales role supporting a large cross-section of the business. With this goal in mind, she leveraged this role to increase the scope of her responsibility and demonstrate to management that she was already accountable for a larger business and “punching above her weight.” She also strategically worked to gain support and sponsorship from the sales leaders who were responsible for driving customer conversion and revenue generation.
Working to reposition yourself to reflect your new ambition is vital to achieving your goals. To change other people’s perceptions and build your reputation takes time, commitment and the ability to demonstrate your capabilities repeatedly. A stretch role offers the perfect opportunity for you to do so and craft a new story of how you want to be known. Thus, it will establish your new reputation, credentials and social proof.
2. To increase your career potential
Growth in any organization is usually tied to your past achievements and perceived potential. While the notion that women are promoted on performance while men on potential may be true, it may also be influenced by various factors, including functional skills, business acumen, interpersonal skills, strategic thinking, education and training. A stretch assignment will allow you to build upon these areas while raising your visibility and personal brand. When you embark on a stretch assignment, you will gain a new level of confidence in your abilities. You will discover new strengths you probably didn’t know you had, including the ability to advocate for yourself with assertiveness and confidence. This new confidence will also help you to gain a new perspective on your career and personal goals. A stretch assignment will allow you to share your experiences, connect with people you otherwise wouldn’t and work on your brand. A stretch assignment will also help you reinvent yourself by providing the space to discover new possibilities and new talents and even chart a new path for your career.
Internal and external hiring managers always look for applicants who can bring something new and different to their organizations. If you position it well, taking a lateral ‘stretch’ role will help you stand out among your peers by showing that you are curious, open to learning and growing and challenging yourself by going outside your comfort zone.
For example, a strategy director who wants to stretch his career into a marketing executive can use a lateral assignment to help accelerate the acquisition of knowledge, experience and exposure that will help him in the future. He could, for example, be assigned to new product development to help develop product concept ideas, brand positioning and route-to-market planning. This assignment can help build skills in market research, customer insights and commercialization, which are critical for success as a marketing executive. Exposure to different parts of a business can help you build a broad, overarching view of how the organization operates. This will expand your industry knowledge and help you understand how different teams contribute to the organization’s success.
3. To enrich your leadership toolbox
A stretch assignment will provide an opportunity to learn or sharpen critical skills that you would not learn in your current job, including adaptability, cross-functional collaboration, problem-solving and strategic thinking. You will be exposed to challenging new situations where you need to learn functional knowledge, category trends and industry dynamics quickly. These experiences will sharpen your curiosity, allowing you to connect the dots and find creative solutions to new problems. These mental exercises and work challenges serve as a boot camp for growth as you build and sharpen your strategic thinking skills. These are essential for career advancement. They will not only make you a more effective leader, but they will also put you on management’s radar to solve more significant and complex problems. A lateral role poses an excellent opportunity for you to step up and become a more strategic thinker, which will get you closer to increasing your scope and influence in the organization.
You may want to consider global functions that focus on garnering global alignment. For example, setting the direction of the business, building strategic partnerships with local country teams and their local agencies, conducting and managing global storytelling that requires increased collaboration and local execution, influencing cross-border remote teams and coordinating a robust go-to-market sales strategy working with teams globally. These experiences are not only increasing your functional knowledge and enhancing your capabilities, but they are also helping you build critical leadership skills needed as you learn to do more through others.
The world doesn’t belong to those who know the most but to those who learn the fastest. If you can learn and adapt quickly, you are likely to be more successful because you can keep up with the rapid pace of change and take advantage of new opportunities. This ability allows you to stay ahead of the curve and remain competitive in your field. It helps you to be receptive, open-minded, flexible and resilient, leading to greater success in both your personal and professional lives. As Arianna Huffington said, “Don’t just climb the ladder of success … chart a new path.”
Opinions expressed by SmartBrief contributors are their own.
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