How Doing, Connecting and Strategizing Plays Out in Career Progression

Organizations often define career progression through promotions, expanded responsibilities, and the oversight of larger teams and/or projects. While these milestones are important, they don’t fully explain what changes as employees move from an individual contributor (IC) to an executive leader. The greatest shift isn’t in what people do but in how they create value.

As discussed in the initial article in this series, employees contribute through three fundamental dimensions of work:

Doing;
Connecting; and,
Strategizing.

In all positions, people perform tasks, engage with others and plan ahead. The difference between roles over the course of a career is the balance of relative focus on each ability. This knowledge offers a route for employees to envision the next level in their career while providing a means for the organization to grow its talent pool by understanding how developing talent at every level is critical to its success.

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The Foundation: Doing

At the beginning of most careers, success is driven primarily by doing. ICs generate value with precise execution: completing tasks, addressing challenges and honing technical skills to produce consistently high-quality results. They build trust by yielding results and showing consistency and reliability. ICs may have the penchant to work with and assist others in suggesting new ideas and solutions, but the organizational focus rests predominantly on their execution. These workers typically spend most of their time performing tasks. They also build relationships and understand how their work impacts the organization’s larger goals. Early development of these skills lays a foundation for leadership opportunities later.

The Multiplier: Connecting

As employees move into management, the balance shifts from executing work to enabling others to succeed. While managers still need to understand the work, their greatest value comes from connecting people, building trust, removing barriers and fostering collaboration. By coaching employees and aligning teams around shared goals, they multiply the organization’s impact rather than relying on individual effort alone. At the same time, strategic thinking starts to develop and becomes increasingly important. Managers must balance daily operations with long-term priorities, anticipate future needs and align team objectives with organizational goals. Their success lies in effectively managing today’s demands while preparing for tomorrow’s opportunities.

The Differentiator: Strategizing

By the time employees reach senior leadership, the emphasis shifts yet again toward strategizing. While executives continue to execute and build relationships, their greatest value comes from setting organizational direction, allocating resources, assessing risks and making decisions that position the organization for long-term success. Rather than focusing on daily operations, they concentrate on future opportunities, market trends, workforce capabilities and competitive advantages. However, strategic leadership doesn’t replace execution or connection — it depends on both. The most effective executives stay connected to their people and operational realities while communicating a vision that others can successfully execute.

Work Progression Across Career Levels

This progression can be viewed as a continuum rather than a series of distinct categories. For example, an IC may create value through approximately 60% doing, 25% connecting and 15% strategizing. A frontline or mid-level manager may shift toward 20% doing, 60% connecting and 20% strategizing, reflecting the importance of leading through others. Subsequently, senior leaders often create the greatest value through approximately 60% strategizing, 25% connecting and 15% doing, focusing on long-term direction while remaining grounded in execution and relationships.

While these percentages will fluctuate and there is no concrete formula, the idea is that as ICs traverse their careers and move into higher-level roles, the progression from doing to connecting to strategizing also will shift along the way.

Preparing Employees for the Next Level

For organizations, this framework offers more than a leadership description — it offers a developmental roadmap. Instead of promoting individuals for their execution skills, organizations can foster all three capabilities throughout employee careers:

ICs can lead projects and think beyond what is in front of them.
Managers can foster coaching, influencing and cross-organizational skills.
Senior leaders can develop their strategic thinking skills while fostering trust and developing the next leadership generation.

In the end, career growth is about creating value differently — not doing less work. As responsibilities increase, employees transition from accomplishing work themselves to enabling others to succeed and, eventually, shaping the organization’s future. The most effective leaders never stop doing, connecting or strategizing. They simply learn when and where each capability creates the greatest impact.

Editor’s Note: Additional Content

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