A job is just a phase in someone’s life

(Clearbit is the name of the company where the author of this quote works):

It’s important to remember that Clearbit is just a phase in people’s lives. At some point everyone currently working at Clearbit will leave. Indeed, at some point, Clearbit won’t exist! Our goal is to try and make it one of the best phases of people’s lives, and set them up for whatever they want to do next.

Talking about Clearbit as a phase is an important idea to convey to your report before they share their career goals because most folks are used to keeping their true goals hidden lest they are looked upon as disloyal or having conflicting goals with the company. The manager-employee relationship is really a symbiotic one: the employee creates value for the company in exchange for growth opportunities that may or may not continue at the company.

The Manager’s Handbook

It’s bizarre and awkward to me that both manager and employee tend to play this game of pretending that the employee will only work at that one place forever.

Obviously that’s not true. Obviously they will eventually want to leave to grow further. But the employee feels like they need to show the manager they’re committed. And the manager feels like they need to show the employee that they can be happy and successful there long term. So they both pretend that particular company is the whole world.

A manager who is willing to suggest that the employee may want to leave for their own growth and success is showing they care about the employee as a person, not just a resource. That’s a manager worth sticking with.

And an employee who is willing to admit that their five year goal includes leaving is an employee that a manager can trust to be honest and forthcoming. As a manager, I can’t tell you how refreshing that is.

Can we stop playing this weird little game?