Latest / The Internal Move Podcast with Fexingo: Lateral Roles, Internal Transfers, and Staying at Your Company / Internal Transfer Career Lattice Strategy
Transcript
- Lucas: So the career ladder — climb straight up, get promoted, more money, more responsibility. That's the image, right? But more and more companies are rewarding people who move sideways, who build what's called a career lattice. And that's what we're talking about today — the lateral move that's actually a smarter long-term bet. Luna: The lattice. I love this concept. It's not just up — it's across, sometimes diagonal. And it can unlock opportunities you'd never see if you were just staring at the next rung. Lucas: Exactly. Let me give you a concrete case. I talked to a marketing manager at Procter & Gamble — call her Sarah. She'd been in brand management for six years, good trajectory, but she kept seeing supply chain issues derail her product launches. So instead of pushing for a marketing director role, she applied for an internal transfer into supply chain operations. Lateral move — same level, similar pay. Luna: And people probably thought she was crazy. Leaving marketing for supply chain feels like a step back. Lucas: Exactly the reaction she got. But her logic was simple — she wanted to understand the entire product journey, not just the advertising piece. And she used a six-month rotation program P&G has. So she wasn't committing permanently — it was a test. Luna: How did she sell that to her current manager? Most managers hate losing good people, even temporarily. Lucas: She framed it as a way to bring supply chain insight back to her team. She promised to share learnings, and she offered to train her replacement before the rotation. That made it a win for the manager — she'd get a more cross-functional employee back, not a departure. Luna: Right. And the new manager in supply chain — they're getting someone who already knows the company's products and processes. That's way cheaper than hiring externally. Lucas: Bingo. The rotation went well. Sarah ended up staying in supply chain for two years, then moved into a hybrid role — product supply integration — that combined both skill sets. She's now a director, and she says the lateral move was the single best career decision she made. Luna: I've seen a similar story at a tech company — a software engineer moved into product management laterally, same level, because he wanted to work on strategy. He took a six-month dip in title — they made him an associate product manager — but within 18 months he was back to senior level, and now he leads a product team. Lucas: That's the key — sometimes you do take a temporary step back in title or pay. But the lattice logic says you're building breadth that compounds. You become the person who can talk to engineering, marketing, and sales because you've done all three. Luna: There's actually data on this. A study from the Corporate Executive Board — now part of Gartner — found that employees who made lateral moves within their first five years at a company had a 15 percent higher long-term compensation growth rate than those who only moved up. Lucas: Fifteen percent. That's not nothing. And I think the reason is exactly what you're saying — breadth creates value that's harder to replace. A specialist is easier to hire externally. A generalist who knows your company's specific systems and culture? Much harder to find. Luna: But here's the question — how do you actually map a lattice? It's not like there's a chart posted on the wall. You have to figure out which moves are possible. Lucas: Right. So here's a practical framework. Start with your current skills — not just your job description, but everything you actually do. Then look for departments where those skills are valuable but applied differently. Sarah's marketing skills — consumer insights, project management, vendor negotiation — those are directly applicable to supply chain, just in a different context. Luna: And you can use your company's org chart as a starting point. Look at the functions adjacent to yours — the ones you interact with most. Those are usually the easiest lateral moves because you already have relationships and context. Lucas: Another tactic — look at job postings in other departments. Even if you're not applying, read them. What language do they use? What skills do they ask for? Then map your own experience onto that language. You might discover you're already doing half the job in your current role. Luna: That's smart. And it helps you build a narrative for the interview — not just 'I want to try something new,' but 'I've been doing X in my current role, which directly translates to Y in your department.' Lucas: Exactly. And once you identify a potential lattice move, you need to negotiate it carefully. Because lateral doesn't have to mean flat pay. Some companies will give you a small bump — five to ten percent — even for a lateral, especially if you're bringing unique skills. Luna: But some companies have strict policies — lateral means no raise, maybe even a cut if you're moving to a lower-paid function. How do you handle that? Lucas: You have to decide what you're optimizing for. If the move builds skills that will pay off in two years, maybe the short-term hit is worth it. But you can also negotiate other things — a signing bonus, a guaranteed review in six months, a commitment to a title upgrade after a year. Get it in writing. Luna: And don't forget about equity. If you're moving from a high-equity role like engineering to a lower-equity role like operations, you might lose out on grants. Ask if they'll do a make-whole grant or adjust your equity package. Lucas: Good point. The total compensation picture matters more than base salary alone. Now, one more thing — documenting your impact. When you make a lateral move, you need to be able to tell the story of why it made sense. That becomes your narrative for future promotions. Luna: Yeah, because a hiring manager looking at your resume might see a lateral move and think 'they couldn't get promoted.' You need to preempt that by framing it as strategic. Lucas: Exactly. Sarah's narrative is perfect — 'I moved into supply chain to understand the full product lifecycle, which made me a more effective leader when I returned to marketing.' That's a lattice story. She didn't stall — she expanded. Luna: I want to circle back to the rotation idea. Because not every company has formal rotation programs. What if you're at a smaller company where you have to create your own path? Lucas: Then you propose a pilot. Find a pain point in another department that you can help solve. Offer to spend 20 percent of your time on a cross-functional project. That's essentially a rotation without the formal structure. If it works, you have proof of concept for a full move. Luna: And if it doesn't work — you still built a relationship and learned something. No harm done. Lucas: Exactly. The lattice is about optionality. Every lateral move gives you more options, not fewer. And in a world where companies restructure every few years, having that breadth is job security. Luna: Speaking of job security — quick honest thing. A small group of listeners helps keep this show ad-free by supporting us through buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. And that's literally what lets us spend time digging into these frameworks instead of chasing ad dollars. Lucas: Yeah, we don't run ads, we don't sell your data, we just try to make each episode useful. If you've gotten something out of the show, that's the way to keep it going. No pressure, but it does make a difference. Luna: Alright, back to the lattice. One thing I want to add — when you're mapping your lattice, don't ignore the informal networks. The best opportunities often come from conversations, not job postings. Lucas: Hundred percent. Sarah's rotation came about because she had coffee with the supply chain VP at a company event. She mentioned her interest, he said 'we've got a pilot program starting next quarter,' and that was the opening. No job posting existed. Luna: So the lattice is also a relationship map. Who do you know in other departments? Who can you learn from? Those connections are your lattice paths. Lucas: Right. And you can start building those connections tomorrow. Pick one department you're curious about. Find someone at your level or one level above. Ask for a fifteen-minute chat about what they do. No agenda, just curiosity. Luna: And if you're nervous about being seen as disloyal — don't be. Internal mobility is a sign of engagement. Companies that discourage it lose good people. Companies that encourage it retain them. Lucas: So here's what I'd say to anyone listening — if you've been in your role for two years or more and you're feeling stuck, don't look at the next rung. Look sideways. Look diagonal. The lattice might have a path you haven't seen. Luna: And if you've made a lateral move that worked — or one that didn't — we'd love to hear about it. We're at fexingo dot com slash the internal move. Lucas: That's it for this episode. I'm Lucas. Luna: And I'm Luna. See you next time.