Managing career plateaus (sometimes intentional) and the importance of self-directed professional development. Presented at the ACM SIGUCCS Fall Services & Support Conference 2014 in Salt Lake City UT, November 7 2014.

1. My Life as an Information
Technology Sous Chef:
Managing to Grow Professionally
While in the Same Job
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Kathy Fletcher
Advanced Support Team
Information Technology Services
West Virginia University

2. • Public land-grant institution
• Research University
• Fall 2013 student enrollment: 32,348
• 5760 full-time employees (fac+staff)
• Information Technology Services
• Central IT support for campus
• Recently merged SSM, ATS, ROIT,
& Printing Services with original OIT
• Now ~ 220 employees + student workers

3. Why IT Sous Chef ?
• Supporting role
• Trainer
• Liaison
• Responsible for quality work
• Critical to success
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4. Same Job? Changing Job Titles
• 1985: Computer Consultant
• 1988: promotion to Computer Consultant, Senior
• Renamed: Computer Consultant III
• Renamed: Information Technology Consultant, Sr
• 2000: reclassified as Program Coordinator, Senior
(working title until 4/27/14: Manager of IT Training)
• 2014: no longer in training group after major re-org
• Now: (??)
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“IT Support Goddess”
“Advanced Support Specialist”

5. Same Job?
1985
• MVS, Wylbur, IBM JCL
• IBM 29 Keypunch, ADDS25
• SAS & SPSS
• Fortran
2014
• Adobe Acrobat, ETDs
• MS Office, Office 365, Lync
• Blackboard Learn 9
• Blackboard Collaborate
• Respondus products
• i>clicker2
• LISTSERV
• Qualtrics
• eCommerce
• WVU+kc (Kuali Coesus)
• SAS & SPSS
• SharePoint
• HTML, CSS, Web Page Design
• Windows 7 & 8.1
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2000
• Adobe Acrobat, ETDs
• Novell GroupWise
• MS Office, WordPerfect
• HTML, CSS, JavaScript
• SAS & SPSS
• Windows 98, DOS
• VAX/VMS, VM/CMS, XEDIT
• MVS, Wylbur, TSO, IBM JCL

6. Plateau
Career
• Possibility of
vertical promotion
very low (1)
Job
• Finds work boring,
no opportunities to
learn new skills (2)
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Professional
• Not improving skills to
avoid obsolescence (3)

7. Possible Causes of Plateau
• Organizational
• Fewer positions at each level
• Hiring freezes
• Employee Deficiencies
• No management experience/outdated tech skills
• Lack of “curb appeal” / poor interview skills
• Personal Choice
• No desire to manage others
• Retain benefits of current institution
• Tied to local area; unable to travel/work extra
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8. 8
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9. Possible Negative Effects
for Organization
• Outdated Skills Sets
• Need to hire external candidates with required skills
• Not able to respond to new technical projects
• Decreased Productivity
• Resistance to change
• Old-timers “retired on the job”
• Complacency, doing just enough work to get by
• Morale Issues
• Resentment of others’ promotions / new hires
• Boredom with job tasks
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10. 10
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11. Possible Benefits of Plateaued
Employees for Organization
• Retention of skilled employee
• Skills & knowledge
• Avoid costs of replacement
• Avoid risks of not being able to refill position
• Stability
• Institutional knowledge
• Long-term relationships
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12. Possible Benefits for Employee
on a Career Plateau
• Time to Learn New Skills
• Prepare to leave plateau (if there not by choice)
• Reduce boredom / contribute to unit goals
• Time to Self-Evaluate
• Determine what makes you happy
• Work Life Balance
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• Time with family
• Personal growth 12

13. My Personal “Grow in Place” Plan
• Skill Development: learn new software
• Classes at Vo-Tech Center; anything offered at work
• Lynda.com; webinars & MOOCs
• Conference Participation
• Write and present papers; assist with program committee
• Professional Organizations
• ACM, ASTD, AWIS, STC
• Serve on various University Committees
• WVU HR Training & Development
• MLA Professional Development Institute
• ACM SIGUCCS Mentoring Program
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14. Survey of Select* IT Managers
in Higher Education
• Created anonymous non-scientific survey
(asynchronous interview form) using Qualtrics
• Shared link with 47 IT managers via personal email
• 3 questions, no demographics
• What strategies have you used…?
• Have you encountered morale issues?
• Additional comments?
• 15 responses
• 9 contributed substantive suggestions / comments
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* Not a random sample; these were IT managers
that I know at WVU or from SIGUCCS

15. Managers’ Strategies
“ What strategies have you employed to maintain a plateaued
employee as a productive member of your team? ”
• Frequent conversations with employee
• Provide mentoring
• Assign challenging tasks/projects
• Provide training and learning opportunities
• Keep plateaued employee involved in new projects
• Options to serve on committees
• Allow more autonomy
• Allow to lead small teams
• Don’t take plateaued employees for granted
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16. Managers’ Perspective: Morale
“Do you encounter any issues with the morale of a plateaued
employee? Does this employee's attitude have any effect on the other
team members?”
Greater risk of problems if plateau is not by choice
[Employee’s] negative attitude serves as a barrier
to advancement
“Address attitude issue as soon as possible before
it affects the morale of the unit.”
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17. Managers’ Quotes from Comments
“No manager wants to lose a good employee, but my
goal is to help people to grow and achieve their career
goals even though it may be detrimental to the unit for
which I am responsible.”
“There is a difference between a plateaued employee
and a difficult employee who is not willing to
participate or engage in becoming a productive member
of the team.”
“Employees who choose to stay in a position can make
that choice for good or bad reasons, just as employees
who want to progress may do so with good or bad
intentions to others. The manager must take an active
stance with all of the employees to keep them engaged,
productive, meeting the unit’s mission, and informed.”
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18. Lessons Learned
• Those on a plateau not necessarily
less talented
• It is okay to not pursue promotions
• Invest in learning new skills
• Need to stay engaged and productive
• I am not alone
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19. Epilogue: On the Right Track
• https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/article/20140628013136-75054000-
how-to-choose-the-version-of-success-that-fits-you-best
• You welcome the next challenge.
• You enjoy what you're doing.
• You feel freer today than you were a year ago.
• There's something new to discover and explore.
• You are being true to yourself.
• External rewards are secondary to inner fulfillment.
• When you look around, your surroundings fit the life
you want to live.
Deepak Chopra, MD
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20. “Even if you’re on the right track,
you’ll get run over if you just sit
there.”
Will Rogers
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21. References
1. Sharma, Surajit Sen. Stuck on a career plateau.
http://www.hrcrossing.com/article/270059/Stuck-on-a-Career-Plateau/
2. Lee, Patrick Chang Boon. 1999. Career strategies, job plateau, career plateau,
and job satisfaction among information technology professionals. SIGCPR '99:
Proceedings of the 1999 ACM SIGCPR Conference on Computer Personnel
Research. (New Orleans, LA, USA). SIGCPR '99. ACM, New York, NY, 125-127.
DOI=http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/299513.299632
3. Lee, Patrick Chang Boon. 2003. Going beyond career plateau: Using
professional plateau to account for work outcomes. Journal of Management
Development, Volume 22 Issue 6, 538-551.
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22. DISCUSSION
Have you ever felt as if you were on a career plateau?
Have you managed an employee who was on a career plateau?
Any additional tips to share on managing plateaued employees?
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23. Contact Info
kathy.fletcher@mail.wvu.edu
304-293-8769
@ks_fletcher
http://community.wvu.edu/~ksf002
http://it.wvu.edu/
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