Very normal - in fact, many employees these days are turning down or deciding not to pursue positions of greater responsibility, particularly responsibility for other employees, for a variety of reasons primarily revolving around the desire for work/life balance.

Interestingly, a number of years ago I promoted a woman to a supervisory position over a group of graphic designers which she reluctantly accepted and later stepped down from. She remained with the organization for several years after that, happy in her role as a designer - she really had no desire for additional responsibility.

In many ways it's *good* to have employees who simply want to do a good job in their current role. After all there are many fewer positions at the top than in the trenches - and often being in the trenches can be far more rewarding!

Absolutely - some people are happy without additional stress and they know it. Not everyone can or wants to move up the ladder. Thank them for being honest and see if they will assist you in your search. Their judgment is very sound. Use it!

Your employee's decision is one that may meet their needs or aspirations. It would probably be good to use this as an opportunity to learn about their goals and desires. In that discussion, you may find that supervisory roles are not their interest.

Once in the discussion, you can work towards an individual development plan. This would be a plan for the next few years of their career. There may be other ways to take advantage of their talents without advancing them to a supervisory role. In this way, you can retain a strong employee and keep them excited by providing opportunities for them to continue to grow and contribute.

This is not a bad state of affairs, it is just not in concert with your original plan.

Dwain Celistan
Career Acceleration Coach

Turning down a promotion may be the new normal to Gen X and Gen Y and Millenials who saw their parents take on tons of responsibility and stress, only to be kicked out the door when a company merged, was sold, went under or offshored, or reorganized. What you see as a lack of ambition may be someone who places a higher value on work/life balance, or whose spouse is entertaining an offer that would uproot the family, or is ready to kiss corporate life goodbye and employ his talents to serve the poor/sick/homeless or pursue a career change or, yes, someone who's been approached by the competition who after all want to steal your talent whenever possible. You can't read his mind, but making assumptions about his decision is folly. ASK. If he's on the way out, you want to make it a smooth transition. Of course he may feel he can't share his reasons with you yet but a star employee is likely going to behave honorably when he does leave.

Interesting, never thought of it like that