Why Organizations Need Two Paths to Progress — the Leadership Path and the Technical Path

In most organizations today, there’s only one way to move up: you have to become a manager/leader.

If you’re good at your job, if you’re technically strong, if you deliver results — you eventually get promoted. And that promotion usually comes with people. Suddenly, you’re not just doing the work; you’re responsible for others doing it.

But here’s the problem: not everyone wants to lead people. Not everyone can lead people.
And that’s okay.

The Single-Lane Problem

When leadership and management are treated as the only route to advancement, organizations unintentionally punish their best technical talent. The message is clear: if you want to grow, you have to lead people.

That’s how you end up with reluctant leaders — brilliant specialists who never wanted to lead a team but felt they had to in order to progress. The result?

  • They’re unhappy and overwhelmed.

  • Their teams suffer.

  • The organization loses both a great technician and gains a poor leader.

  • It impacts the bottom line.

The Case for Two Paths

The best organizations build two distinct growth paths:

  1. The Leadership Path — for those who want to lead people, shape culture, and develop others.

  2. The Technical Path — for those who want to deepen expertise, solve complex problems, and influence through mastery rather than management.

In these systems, technical experts can rise in seniority, pay, and influence without ever needing to manage people. They become advisors, mentors, and go-to experts.

Google, NASA, and Microsoft are well-known for this approach. Each has clear “individual contributor” or “technical fellow” tracks that carry the same prestige and compensation as leadership roles. They know that innovation relies on keeping brilliant minds engaged — not forcing them into roles they don’t want. 3M and Intel are the same, and I highlight them as case studies at the end of this blog.

Why This Matters

When organizations only reward people for moving into management, they build a culture where leadership becomes a promotion, not a responsibility.
When they create two equally respected paths, they send a different message:

  • Leadership isn’t about hierarchy.

  • Progress isn’t about people management.

  • Everyone can grow — just in different ways.

If you want to retain your best people and build a culture of trust and mastery, stop forcing everyone into one mold.

Create two paths: one for those who lead through people, and one for those who lead through expertise.

Both are leadership. Both are vital.

Thanks for reading,

Phil

Case Study: 3M — Two Equal Paths to Grow

3M is one of the best-known examples of a company that truly lives the dual-ladder concept. For decades, 3M has given employees two equally valued ways to advance: a technical career ladder and a management ladder.

Instead of forcing top engineers and scientists into people-management roles to earn promotions, 3M allows them to move up as technical experts, innovators, and mentors; earning similar pay and prestige as managers.

“Dual-Ladder Career Path: There are two career ladders — a technical career ladder and a management career ladder. Both allow equal advancement opportunities, enabling employees to stay focused on their research and professional interests.” Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth (source).

This system keeps innovation alive while ensuring great people stay in the roles they love — not the ones they feel pressured to take.

Case Study: Intel — Rewarding Expertise, Not Just Management

Intel’s culture is built on deep technical mastery, so it’s no surprise that they’ve formalized a clear technical career track alongside their management pathway. Engineers can progress through levels like:

Senior Engineer → Technical Leader → Principal Engineer → Senior Principal → Fellow / Senior Fellow

The Intel Fellow designation represents the pinnacle of technical contribution — and carries the same organizational influence as senior executives.

Intel’s model ensures that people who drive innovation through expertise receive the same recognition and reward as those who lead through people.

“At Intel, engineers can choose to grow as people managers or as deep technical experts — both paths lead to senior-level influence and recognition.” Intel Engineering Blog (source).

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Why Your Team Won’t Take Ownership (and Why It’s Your Fault)