Optimizing Your Leadership Pipelinesm For: Individual Contributors

Individual contributors - also sometimes called team members - outnumber leaders in one's organization, likely by a large margin. They satisfy one's customers, negotiate with one's suppliers, create and support one's latest innovations, and provide the manpower for one's most pressing business strategies. When most people think about individual contributors they tend to think about these individuals advancing their careers by moving into leadership positions. While this is true for many individual contributors, it is certainly not true for all. In a recent study of individual contributors and team members, one found that 62 percent of these individuals do not aspire to a leadership position.