For so long, we’ve defined success as money, power, a fancy title, ascending to the C-Suite. It shaped our identity. But lately there seems to be a cultural shift. While there will always be those who glorify this traditional (and in my opinion outdated) definition, we’re now seeing more people embrace (and even celebrate) fresh takes on what it means to be successful.
Don’t get me wrong, there are still plenty of people who want to follow the typical path to the C-Suite, and we are still seeing too few women and people of color represented at those levels. And yes, there are a lot of messages out there which imply that if a woman doesn’t have "top of the ladder" ambitions, she's not doing enough.
What if we started changing that narrative? What if we celebrate people whose ambitions landed them somewhere else entirely? For some, job security is enough. There’s a stigma around middle management, but for some, that space is where just the right level of responsibility and achievement align with the balance they seek between work and life. And there are many good things to be said about the Power Middle.
We talk about the Power Middle a lot at Luminary, and why it’s so influential. Who do you think C-Suite executives rely on to keep them abreast of how employees are feeling and the health of their clients’ business? Even the most visionary and strategic leaders can’t come up with those visions and strategies without information. And it’s the Power Middle who holds all that necessary information. Leaders are there to help identify trends and guide decision making, but they can’t do any of that without the information and performance coming from the broader workforce, of which more than 50% are women.
The truth is, not every woman, or man for that matter, wants to climb the corporate ladder to the very top. But, they still want opportunities, to broaden their networks and skills, and to continue to grow in their roles. Just because they don’t want to end up in the C-Suite doesn’t mean we shouldn’t keep investing in them. Success can mean something different to everyone, and we should respect that. But why is it different for women?
Late in my finance career, I had taken on a new role in a new organization and was on a business trip visiting clients and meeting with my team on the ground. I always found it important to do as many one-to-one conversations as possible with our bankers to understand client feedback and challenges they faced in their role, but also career aspirations, and how they viewed their performance. Since I was relatively new in the firm, I really wanted to understand what was driving performance or lack thereof. In one of those meetings, I asked a banker how he felt he was doing, and his answer was simple: “I’m never going to give you grand slams, but I’ll give you consistent doubles.”
He continued, “I am a good performer. I’m consistent. I don’t necessarily aspire to be a manager, I’m not moving from where I live, and I like what I am doing. But I want to continue to be developed, I want to make more money, and I want to be recognized with new opportunities."
I was floored. Consistent doubles? Who wouldn’t want to hit home runs and grand slams? I went back and looked at his performance over the past several years. Not only was his performance consistent year over year and his clients loved him, but he also mentored and developed the junior talent locally, he was seen as a leader in that office and market (without the title or responsibilities), and he was loyal. He was a top performer and yet he had no aspiration to climb the ladder further.
As I reflected on our conversation, I realized he was ambitious, but in a different way. He wanted to be rewarded financially, to have new career opportunities, to have his managers and the company nurture his talent, invest in him professionally, and for him, that was rising. He is part of the Power Middle. But I also realized that a woman would likely never be able to say what he said to me. She would immediately be labeled as not ambitious enough and not as driven as her peers. She would be stuck in the middle.
There are plenty of people who would love to thrive in the Power Middle for the duration of their careers, and some who will only be there for a short time. We need to start celebrating women—and male allies—at every stage and every phase of their career. We also need to underscore the message that your career can ebb and flow during its many seasons. For those in the Power Middle, they must also recognize their power and influence and leverage it to their advantage.
If you’re in the C-Suite, how are you viewing your own Power Middle? Meeting with that one banker changed my perception completely. Think of your strongest mid-level talent. Where would you or your team be if they left tomorrow? If you’re part of that Power Middle, how are you demonstrating your value and contribution? How have you communicated your version of success?
Thinking back on my own 20-year career in finance, I knew that as I built my career, I wanted to continue to expand my role and influence, build new and hone existing skills, be offered better opportunities, become the best manager and leader I could be, and be compensated fairly while doing it. I was climbing the ladder, and quickly.
But these are also the reasons why I left banking to start Luminary, because I wanted to see more women taking back control and creating their own versions of success, not the one that is projected to us as a gender. The C-Suite is nothing without its incredibly powerful Power Middle, so let’s reframe the narrative and invest in them, especially your women and women of color.
Cate Luzio is the founder and CEO of Luminary, a global membership-based professional education and networking platform created to uplift, upskill, and propel women forward through all phases of their professional journey.
