Careers used to be predictable. There were ladders. Each rung led up the hierarchy. Then individual aspirations and company needs began to evolve. Old ladders became largely inaccessible. Some rungs disappeared, and the space between others shifted from steps to leaps.

Today’s marketplace demands an agile workforce. Organizational structures have become fluid and flexible. As a result, career mobility has emerged as essential for individuals at all levels. No longer is mobility just about physical movement or assuming the greater responsibilities that come with a promotion. Career mobility today is about flexibility and agility. Like the navigation systems we rely on to reroute our travels based on unexpected traffic congestion, shortcut options, and last minute detours, a career mobility mindset will provide a foundation for resilience in a changing world of work.

Up Was Never for Everyone

Move up or move out. When those two options appear to be the only ones, dissatisfaction grows and engagement suffers. In decades of studying careers around the globe, Beverly Kaye, Lindy Williams, and Lynn Cowart have found that, in fact, there are more options. And rethinking career mobility can lead you to them!

Career mobility isn’t just about moving to a new city or country. It’s about stretching, learning, and transforming. Whether you’re working on your own career or you’re a manager, a mentor, or a coach helping others, Up Is Not the Only Way offers you six ways to build successful mobile careers.

Keep the same job but discover multiple ways to learn and grow while staying in the same place. If a new job in the same company is in the cards, experiment and test possibilities. Make a lateral move as a powerful way to develop new skills. If stepping back is the right answer, discover how it can be done without derailing a career. Pursue a promotion when it’s the right time and role. And if it’s time to step out the door, the authors suggest how to make an elegant exit that maybe leaves open the possibility of a return one day.

The book includes important questions to consider—about interests, skills, values, and timing—when choosing to enrich or make a change. For each option, Up Is Not the Only Way explores how managers, coaches, and employees can have rich career conversations and partner to determine the best courses of action.

Rather than narrowing aspirations to one dream job or role, Kaye, Williams, and Cowart encourage readers to take a “kaleidoscope” view—to be open to ever-shifting patterns of options, opportunities, and possibilities—to build a rewarding career.

Meet the Authors

Beverly Kaye is an internationally recognized authority and bestselling author on career development, employee engagement and retention. She has dedicated her life’s work to helping individuals and organizations grow in a workplace that fosters greater commitment, fulfillment, and humanity. A sought after, dynamic, and committed speaker, her presentations are known for engaging participants, stimulating learning, and inspiring action. Founder of Career Systems International (CSI) a talent management company, Beverly Kaye’s innovative and cutting edge thinking have helped organizations solve their greatest challenges in employee engagement, by creating impact with measurable and sustainable results. She was among the first to recognize the importance of career development as part of an organization’s development process.

Lindy Williams is a designer and senior consultant with Career Systems International (CSI). Her extensive background in training, human resource development and career development enables her to partner with clients and internal subject matter experts in leveraging internal support processes while building innovative approaches to manage today’s issues while preparing for tomorrow’s opportunities. She has held roles in operations and human resources before stepping out of the corporate world to work on designing and implementing award-winning development processes. Lindy is a gifted speaker, workshop facilitator, career coach and author.

Lynn Cowart is the Vice President for quality delivery at Career Systems International (CSI). She brought twenty years of HR experience working with some of the most successful and powerful names in business to her current role ensuring CSI delivers solutions that are simple, engaging, flexible, and business focused. She has spoken at many conferences and facilitated executive coaching, change management, and strategic staffing initiatives for mid and senior-level executives as well as career transition programs, retention and engagement strategies, assessment interviewing, and training for all organizational levels.

What People Are Saying

This book presents a new way of thinking about career mobility. I particularly like the idea of looking at kaleidoscope-type patterns for a career. As you turn the kaleidoscope, new patterns and new opportunities present themselves. I love the format of the book – it’s easy to scan and focus on important things with the ‘word images’ and the thought provoking questions are very helpful.”
Marian Wacek, 5-star Amazon review

Learn More

  • Sign up for the 30-minute private Q & A with the authors on Sept 21 at 12 PM (ET).
  • Buy your copy of the book, or share a review of it, on Amazon.
  • Visit the website to learn more, download a sample chapter, and find shareable content.