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DISCUSSION
GROUP
What's on your mind?
Packaging Horizons
THE BOTTOM LINE
Saying 'No' to A Promotion
It can be dicey at best: You're not ready to move up but you don't want to lose out. How do you handle the situation?
By Shayna Sobol
As a new hire out of a prominent Southern university, an ambitious young professional at International Paper proved herself fit for the fast-track. The higher-ups at the Memphis, TN-based paper and packaging giant couldn't have been more pleased with her performance. It's no surprise, then, that after only a year with the company, she was promoted. When she excelled to the point where another promotion seemed imminent, however, she put on the brakes.
At International Paper and other progressive companies, such young, successful account executives (like this young woman who asked to remain anonymous) often find themselves moving quickly through the ranks and directly into support and project management positions. For some, the move away from a job that requires maintaining a hectic travel schedule is appealing. To this particular woman, it meant giving up an aspect of her career she truly enjoyed.
"I understand that eventually I'll have to get some experience outside of sales before I can truly thrive within this company, but for now I want to be around people, to be at the very end of the sales cycle," she explains.
Was International Paper's newest star about to tread on thin ice with her boss? Perhaps. She believed, however, that it was worth the risk. "When I was told that our Memphis office would soon be paving the way for me to be a project manager, I hesitated at the idea of being behind a desk all day instead of out dealing with customers," she says. "I realized I was not ready for that yet."
True to its appeal when recruiting her on campus, International Paper again came through with just the right response.
"I have a unique situation," the packaging professional confides. "I have a boss who is nurturing and does everything possible to ensure my career progresses the way I want. He's the boss most people dream of having. He's supportive and open and he challenges me daily." She also realizes she may never have the opportunity again to work in such a positive environment for such an understanding manager, and strives daily to glean as much as she can about the company's environment and that supervisor's style of leadership. Basically, she confides, "I wanted to slow down and learn how to be a great manager before leaving this position."
More than money
Thanks to a direct and open dialogue between this employee and her boss, the situation came to an amicable end. The employee was allowed to maintain her position, while taking on a title change and greater responsibility. For others in similar situations, however, she suggests looking at the opportunity from all angles before making a decision such as she did.
"You have to evaluate whether the promotion is more important than your current position," she advises. "Is it a position that will benefit your career? Is it a position you'll enjoy? If not, you have to redirect yourself."
Of course not every up-and-coming professional faced with such a decision has met with such a positive outcome. The truth is, turning down an opportunity to advance within a company can seriously sideline a career.
Marilou Idland, human resource representative for Bemis' Paper Bag Division, also in Memphis, advises presenting an employer with alternatives to accepting a promotion that are mutually beneficial to the employee and employer.
"It's certainly acceptable in my mind, for instance, if an employee is unable to simply pick up and move to take a promotion," Idland says. "If the decision has more to do with not wanting to accept new responsibilities, it's much more delicate," she says. Either way, Idland suggests that an employee use the same creativity that probably earned her the promotion opportunity to come up with alternative options.
"First, ask for time to think it over," she continues. "Then if you decide not to accept the promotion, offer as many options as you can to handle the company's needs."
Shayna Sobol is a contributing editor to Packaging Horizons Magazine, based in Los Angeles, CA.
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