[dotdi]

> I had become the go-to person for making things run smoothly, for fixing urgent problems, for delivering. But every time I pushed toward more strategic and ambitious directions, there was a lot of can-kicking and “let’s think about it” that went nowhere. I was incredibly useful to the organization, but not necessarily valued, and at some point, I started feeling a sense of stagnation. Compensation was good, the actual job was aligned with my interests, but that sense of being just a useful caretaker was hitting my motivation. In the end, I had to move on to another role.

this hits home, hard.

[brabel]

I was reading that and thinking "some people are never happy". I mean, they got a nice job, nice compensation, recognition... the only thing missing, apparently, was that they were not part of the company's "strategy team"? In my experience, you can be the smartest person in the world, if the company already has a small strategy team (or top management) that is pulling all the strings and they're happy with that setup, you'll basically never be able to become a part of that, barring major changes in the company's org chart.

[necovek]

If someone is valued, they will at least get pulled into private, 1-1 conversations with one of those people pulling all the strings.

No matter if their suggestions would be followed, their opinion would be heard, which ultimately establishes how valued one is.

I've seen this happen more than once, and most often, that person was recommended as the successor for who they advised.

I've been on both sides, and I like being "valued" that way: otherwise, I just feel like I am not contributing with the best I can provide, and not enjoying the ride.

It's just who I am, and it's not about "never being happy" — we all aspire to some things, and this beats compensation to me.

[ZephyrBlu]

If you are happy being a worker bee it's great. If you want to take on more responsibility and have a seat at the table, it feels like you're being treated with kiddy gloves.

A lot of the kind of work the author mentions is done with the expectation that it will translate into more responsibility or influence at some point. If the company said "you're a great developer, but you'll never be more than that" the author probably wouldn't have invested to the same degree.

[UK-AL]

This is explicit strategy companies use. To be expected

[DiscourseFan]

Well yeah, the only way to get to that position is if you get in early on a startup, make one your own, or get along really well with the top brass and have the knack for it.