What does a growing career actually look like for today’s generation?

This article was first published in the last edition of People Matters Perspectives. 

I have been thinking about career growth for a while, and my own definition of it has never really been about getting a bigger title or simply moving up the ladder. 

It is more about learning, taking on more responsibility, having the freedom to make decisions and creating work that actually has an impact, for me.

Interestingly, career growth came up in a recent conversation with a few of my friends. We were discussing where we see ourselves in the next five to ten years, what we would consider a successful career and whether the traditional markers of success still mean the same thing to us.

We started talking about autonomy, business impact, learning, compensation, wellbeing, empathy and even how differently our generation looks at stability compared with our parents' generation.

None of us had stopped caring about titles, money or professional success. But none of us saw them as the complete definition of growth either.

So, if career growth is not just about moving up, what should we actually be measuring?

Growth is more than movement

For me, there is a difference between career movement and career growth. Moving from one designation to another is movement. Getting a salary hike is a movement. Switching companies for a better role is movement.

Growth should mean becoming more capable in the process. One of my friends described career growth as learning more about how industries and businesses work while increasing his ability to contribute to them. That resonated with me.

If I have spent three years working but am doing exactly what I was doing in year one, have I really grown?

Experience matters, but experience and growth are not always the same thing.

Autonomy matters

Another theme that came up strongly was autonomy.

When we spoke about where we see ourselves in the next five to ten years, I expected the usual answers around senior leadership and higher compensation.

Those things came up, but what stood out was the ability to make decisions.

While a higher salary and senior title obviously help, what matters most is having the authority to make key decisions.

Similarly, to remain in the corporate world while reaching a position where a person can take important calls and hold considerable responsibility.

I understand that. There is a difference between having a senior designation and actually having ownership.

So, if I were measuring my own career growth, I would ask: Am I being trusted with more? More responsibility. More ownership. More complex decisions. That feels like progression to me.

Impact over tenure

This was probably the most interesting part of our conversation. One of my friends shared how, despite being among the youngest people in his previous organisation, his decisions had a significant impact on business performance. A region he worked on grew from around INR 2 lakh in daily gross GMV to INR 1.2 crore in daily gross GMV, which he attributed to the decisions he took.

That made the argument for business impact very tangible. Tenure tells me how long someone has been somewhere. A title tells me where they sit in a hierarchy.

Neither necessarily tells me what changed because that person was there.

Did they grow something? Solve a difficult problem? Build a team? Improve a process? Influence an important decision?

These questions can tell us much more about professional growth than years spent in an organisation.

Staying relevant is growth

Another friend spoke about his earlier experience in mechanical maintenance at a steel plant and how he did not want his career to remain tied to technologies and ways of working that were becoming outdated.

That made me think about how quickly skills are changing.

Having ten years of experience does not necessarily mean having ten years of relevant learning. In a workplace being reshaped by AI and new technologies, career growth also has to mean staying relevant.

• What can I do today that I could not do two years ago?

• Can I adapt when technology changes?

• Can I take my skills into a different role or industry?

For me, learning is becoming a form of career security.

Growth should be sustainable

The idea that constantly working longer hours is proof of ambition. I agree. I want to grow professionally. But, I also want a life outside work.

Those things should not have to cancel each other out.

If someone is achieving more but is constantly exhausted and unable to sustain that pace, can we call that complete career growth? I am not sure.

The ability to perform consistently without losing yourself in the process should count too.

Empathy becomes part of growth

Career growth also changes when our decisions start affecting other people. One of my friends spoke about having to communicate layoffs in a previous role. It made him realise how important empathy is when delivering news that can fundamentally affect someone's life.

Another spoke about balancing business requirements with the realities employees face. As we grow professionally, our decisions affect more people. So becoming better at understanding people should also count as growth.

• Can I have a difficult conversation without losing sensitivity?
• Can I understand what my team is going through?
• Can I make a tough business decision while recognising its human consequences?

These may not appear on a promotion scorecard, but they matter.

The definition is becoming personal

Our conversation also highlighted how differently our generation may look at stability. For previous generations, career success was often closely tied to stable income, job security and long-term employment.

We seem more willing to switch companies, take risks, pursue new opportunities and, for some, eventually build something of our own. 

That does not mean stability no longer matters. Perhaps we are simply defining it differently. For us, security may increasingly come from having skills that travel with us, rather than depending entirely on one organisation. So, how should we measure career growth?

After that conversation, I came away with a framework that feels closer to how I think about growth:

Learning: Am I becoming more capable?

Autonomy: Am I being trusted with bigger decisions?

Impact: Is my work creating measurable value?

Relevance: Can I adapt as industries and technologies change?

Compensation: Is my contribution being recognised fairly?

Wellbeing: Can I sustain the way I am working?

Empathy: Am I becoming better at understanding and leading people?

Purpose: Does my work mean something to me beyond my designation?

I don't think salary, title or tenure have become irrelevant. They still matter. But they cannot tell the whole story.

For me, career growth is ultimately about becoming more capable, more trusted and more impactful, while still being able to build a life that I value.

Perhaps the question we should ask is not just: "How far have you moved?" Instead, "How much have you grown?"