• Friday, March 29, 2024
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BusinessDay

N’golo Kante: Employee’s career growth and development

employee

Chelsea’s victory over Manchester City in the Champions League Final was several wins for N’Golo Kante. Suddenly, his life, person, and career became an embodiment of greatness, virtues, and expectations in several human endeavours. He was automatically shot into fame and god-like status in the history of the leather games. He got the rewards for deliberate efforts, plans, goals, and hard work.

His career growth and development represent expectations and understandings among employees and employers in a corporate environment where there is room for both or one, regarding how to make each one work for one and what each contributes to one’s career journey.

The 30-year-old professional French footballer and central midfielder started his career at the age of eight with JS Suresnes. After about a decade, he joined the reserve team of Boulogne. During the 2012-2013 season, he played in the third tier Championnat National. In 2012, he joined Ligue 2 side Caen. Caen later got promoted to Ligue 1. He joined Premier League Club, Leicester City, in 2015 for a four-year contract.

The Club won the 2015-2016 Premier League. On the 16th of July 2016, Kante signed for Chelsea, a 5-year contract which he renewed on the 23rd of November 2018. On the 29th of May, 2021, he was given the number 7 shirt left vacant since the exit of Ramires.

Kante has played many matches, scored many goals, and won many awards. He was named the man of the match as he won the first UEFA Champions League after defeating Manchester City 1-0 in the 2021 UEFA Champions League Final in Porto.

Employers and employees understand similar career growth and development. However, to most employees, it is an expected subjective and possessive expectation of employers to support them. To some employees, it is about all or one of promotions, increase in salary, new task or challenge, new team or location, improvement in skills, talent, and transformation.

To some employers, these expectations are optional regardless of the employee that deserves such support. Employers also consider some other factors. They are tools for rewards and politics since there is no law stipulating a compulsion to support an employee’s career growth and development. Even some organisations with such policies lack the will to follow through.

Employees often take their career growth and development into their hands by being deliberate about it, moving from one organisation to another once there is an opportunity. Spending longer years in an organisation is no longer fashionable. Spending shorter years is also no longer considered disloyalty or instability.

It has also been argued that staying in an organisation for long can limit exposure to several corporate cultures and interaction with others. It also breeds conservativeness and undue repulsion to new ideas and changes. Changes may be considered a treat. “This is how we do it here” is often preferred to results.

Meanwhile, achievements and enormous contributions by employees in short-term employment have displaced the focus on long-term employment as loyalty. Some employees have achieved more in short-term employment compared to those in long-term employment given the same opportunities. Achievements and contributions, no matter how short the employment, have replaced long-term employment. It is now a selling point in gaining new employment.

I share these same sentiments. Kante’s career growth and development from JS Suresnes, Boulogne, Caen, Leicester City, and Chelsea as well as his achievements and contributions to the Clubs and the sport expose these sentiments. It is also an example for employees to desire growth and development and not limit themselves regardless of their employers’ disposition.

Oftentimes, the present employment is usually not the best one can ever get. What is important is that your achievements and contributions in the course of your career and time with an organisation, no matter how short, is a victory to both the employee and the organisation just as N’Golo Kante’s avalanche of wins are victories for all the Clubs he has ever played for.

Adebayo Adekola is a Legal Practitioner and Head, Probate Services, Greenwich Registrars and Data Solutions Limited. 08165299774 and 08150373535.