There are mobility differences in organizations that have an innovative career path because creating a new career path does not mean that the career path will be upwardly mobile. Employees might make a lateral move from a supervisor position to a managerial position and that may be considered a move to a similar position and can be an exception to upward mobility. I have observed these lateral moves where I work and these career moves worked out well for those employees as that is as far as they wanted to go at the time and were not ready to take on a hierarchical career path.
This allowed them to make a statement in the company with their expertise before moving up the ladder. The Hierarchical Mobility Path is one that can be a desired career path as this path leads to more responsibility and possible increased compensation. This career path would be an employee in an entry level position being promoted to a managerial position and then to a senior manager position or however the hierarchical ladder is for a specific organization.
The hierarchical mobility path can lead to promotions to employees that have less seniority than other employees and can be based on the education, skill and drive of the promoted employee. Two Vice Presidents in commercial lending, one has been with the bank ten years less than a fellow employee, was on the same career path and he was promoted based on his education and people skills to Senior Vice President Manager over the commercial loan officers. Any promotions that do not lead to these benefits are seen as the exception to the upward mobility path. Whether a move is lateral or upward within an organization, it is important to be able to have the ability to do either one. An employee that can train, learn and grow in a career path that works for them and the organization is very beneficial to both parties.
