Not Every Career Moves Up: Rethinking How We Define Success

 Part Two of a LinkedIn series on careers, growth, and recognition

Spend a few minutes scrolling through LinkedIn and you'll see plenty of reasons to celebrate. Promotions, executive appointments, professional awards, and career milestones generate congratulations and recognition. As they should.

But what about the accomplishments that don't come with an impressive new title?

What about someone who makes a lateral move to learn something new? Changes careers at 50? Chooses to remain a subject matter expert rather than move into management? Or retires and discovers an entirely new way to contribute?

Are these decisions any less worthy of recognition?

Success Doesn't Always Mean Moving Up
During my years in Human Resources and Learning & Development, I worked with people whose career goals varied considerably. Some wanted to climb the corporate ladder. Others found satisfaction in developing expertise, mentoring colleagues, or doing work they genuinely enjoyed.

Yet career success was often measured by upward movement.

In Part One, I explored how subject matter experts sometimes face a difficult choice between continuing work they love and moving into management to advance their careers. Those who move into management often receive greater recognition and financial rewards.

Still, professional growth can take many forms, and not all of them involve a promotion.

A Different Kind of Growth
My own career has taken several turns. After more than 30 years in the corporate world, I established Blackbird Learning Associates, a learning and development consulting business.
Retirement eventually opened another chapter. I began writing children's books and developing interactive programs for community groups, something I never would have imagined during my early career.
Each transition has brought new challenges, opportunities to learn, and experiences I might otherwise never have had.

Looking back, I see career growth as something that can continue throughout our lives, often in directions we never anticipated-if we choose to pursue it.

Rethinking Recognition
Retirement is often described as the end of a professional career. But for many, it opens the door to mentoring, volunteering, consulting, creative pursuits, or entirely new interests.

Some people simply choose to enjoy life beyond work. That's a meaningful choice, too.

I'm not suggesting we stop celebrating promotions or professional achievements. They deserve recognition. But perhaps we could broaden our definition of success to include the people who change direction, pursue new interests, deepen their expertise, or choose a different balance in their lives.

Not every career follows a straight line, and not every meaningful achievement comes with a new title.

Maybe it's time we recognized more of those stories.