The Perils of Long Tenure

Recently, the VP of HR at a company I know reached out to see if I could mentor some of their mid-level executives. During our conversation, she asked what I saw as their leading challenge from an outsider’s perspective. I told her it was tenure.

I, too, am guilty of spending 19 years at one company. While I could justify it with the diversity of roles, geographies, and markets, it was, at the end of the day, too long a tenure.

The VP herself was tenured and asked me to explain why I felt tenure was a challenge at their company. Here are some of my thoughts:

While long tenure can bring stability and deep internal knowledge, I believe the downsides far outweigh the benefits. Based on my personal experience dealing with tenured folks, here are my observations:

?Inward Focused: Their critical moments revolve around internal reviews, milestones, and networks. They remind me of ostriches burying their heads in the sand to avoid danger. They are often unaware of external changes or competitors and prefer internal debates over external networking.

Peter’s Principle: This principle states that in a hierarchical organization, employees tend to be promoted based on their performance in their current role, rather than the skills required for the new role. Consequently, they eventually reach a level where they are incompetent. For example, I once saw someone lead a market segment without ever meeting or planning to meet end customers. This “safe” choice led to chaos, internal disrespect, team non-performance, and eventually, the person being moved to an operations role.

Resistance to Change: I’ve encountered many instances of resistance to change. “Been there, done that, won’t work, let’s stick to how we’ve done things for the last 10 years!” This mindset reminded me of a company that stuck to outdated internal reviews, ignoring market changes and their declining market position.

Less Real Diversity: Organizations often forget that diversity includes integrating the ideas and creativity of new employees. This oversight can limit creativity and problem-solving capabilities. I once worked in a leadership team where I was the exception; all other leaders had worked together for over 25 years in the same company.

Complacency: Long-tenured employees sometimes feel unemployable outside their current company and do everything to secure their positions. They may take roles that don’t enthuse them but keep them employed or “rest and vest” if they have company stock.

Inability to adapt: When one overstays and gets used to the culture and complacency of one organzation, adjusting to a different organization is near impossble.

In conclusion, long tenure poses more dangers to a company and an individual. I would appreciate your thoughts and whether you have witnessed these behavioural patterns too. Apologies to all those long tenured friends or mine, some of you are exceptions to the rule!

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