My life as an information technology sous chef: managing to grow professionally while in the same job

Most career development articles present advice on how to advance into management roles. I am among those information technology professionals who do not aspire to become supervisors and directors and are content with their current jobs. Choosing to stay in a role presents its own challenges, as there is a fine line between contentment and complacency. The information technology manager needs the plateaued employee to remain a productive member of the work team, to be willing to learn new skills for new projects, and to adapt to different organizational structures over time. The employee needs to maintain a professional network and keep skills updated in case a reorganization or budget crisis leads to an unexpected job search. In this paper, I will discuss what I am doing to remain a satisfied and productive employee in the hopes that others might benefit from my experiences. I will also share tips from a few information technology managers who supervise one or more plateaued employees. The paper presentation will include time for discussion with those attendees who also find themselves in a career plateau either by choice or by circumstance and with those supervisors who manage plateaued employees.