It had been 2 years since she had joined this team. She planned her moves perfectly and that resulted in a promotion and the potential of another in the near future. At one point, this is what she thought she wanted to do for the rest of her working life, but now she felt stuck. She needed something more challenging.

Feeling overwhelmed and needing someone to talk to she turned to her trusted mentor. He mentioned an open spot on a team that would get her closer to her new career goals, but it would be a lateral move (a lateral is a move to a role that is a similar title, level, pay, and/or responsibility. people sometimes insert a judgy tone when someone takes a lateral. ignore that tone).

What was she to do?! She knew she was on track for another promotion on her current team, which would also mean a raise. This other position would get her closer to her career goals, but she knew she’d be waiting some time for another promotion. Ughhh.

After some thought, the decision was obvious. She needed to do what was best for her in the long-term and that meant taking a lateral. She made the switch and immediately loved her new role and team. It had not been a true promotion, but it was definitely an internal promotion.

If you’re bored of your job and the clearly planned out career path in front of you, jump off the ladder and join the rest of us on the jungle gym.

Yes. Even if that means saying no to a promotion or raise. Remove all antiquated ideas that progressing in your career is synonymous with moving up the ladder. That’s silliness. Moving up isn’t always a straight shot, but every move you make should help you. Consider making a lateral move and don’t feel ashamed for making one.

Here’s why…

It’s a lot easier to jump off the ladder when you’re closer to the floor. Waiting to change careers till you are a VP seems way more difficult. You will probably have to take more than one step down. And also, if you’ve been thinking about it for awhile, you’ve wasted a good portion of your career doing the wrong thing. As one of our coworkers says, ain’t no one got time for that!

And even the perfectly planned career ladder can fall over. You never know what’s going to happen. Think technology for instance. Your career could be replaced tomorrow by some super cool tech advancement. Or your company could downsize forcing you to look somewhere else. What would you do then?

You are a more valuable employee when you have varied experiences. Ladders are great, but you’re only moving in one direction. There are so many benefits to gaining experience from different areas. The potential for development should be most important.

Oh wait, you say that you didn’t plan your varied experiences? Oh that’s okay. Connect the dots. A very wise mentor once told one of us, “it doesn’t matter if you didn’t strategically plan every move on your resume. They’ve all shaped you. Tell the story like you planned it.” Connect your experiences and find themes (it’s all about branding – more to follow in September from a guest blogger). Use this to help you navigate your career jungle gym.

Here are just a few of the benefits of making a lateral move:

• enhance your skill set (skills are transferable – even your high school drama class may be helpful when you’re presenting to executives)
• you will get exposure to new leaders and colleagues
• you will have broader knowledge about your field and/or company which will make your more successful as a senior leader
• build your network within your company and/or field
• you may become more challenged and engaged
• exploring another area can help you refine what you really want to do

We’ve made a few lateral moves in our careers. One of us even took a step down to better prepare herself for a later move a few steps up in a different direction.

From our Experience: Ladders are boring. Jump on the jungle gym.

If you want to read more about the career jungle gym, check out Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In.

You’ve heard our experience, now let’s hear yours…