IC work is the new career flex

The rise of the High-impact Individual Contributor (HI-C!)

Getting to the top of the corporate ladder used to be the goal. Like, “I’m a VP, I’m… kind of a big deal.” That was the signal that you had made it. Now, the real flex is going back to being an Individual Contributor.

But not just a regular, entry-level IC. I’m talking about employees with no direct reports who can do work that used to take a whole team (all while still getting paid like a leader). I’ve been calling this new role the High-Impact Individual Contributor.

And I’m not talking about this as a conceptual, hypothetical idea. I know this type of role exists because… I recently became one of them.