From the brands' pyramid to the professionals' career pyramid
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- 2024
Maslow's Pyramid, which represents the scale of human needs and how they must be satisfied to move on to the next ones, is a theory of the American psychologist Abraham Maslow that we hold very present in Soluble's day-to-day work.
There are two main reasons: the first is that our CEO, Ismael Barros, has relied on it to make strategic decisions throughout the life of Soluble. The second is that this reflection exercise led him to define the Brand Pyramid, a tool that —making a similarity with Maslow's Pyramid—helps to understand the needs of any organization and how they evolve. In addition, it offers an interesting path because it allows a parallel to be drawn with the professional trajectory of each person.
This last extension of the 'theory' is what we are talking about in this edition of Solublabla.
Conquering a level to reach the next one
Maslow advocates that, in order to conquer a step of the pyramid, we must first have the previous stage of the pyramid resolved. Therefore, without our physiological needs resolved and without feeling secure, we will not be able to address our social or effective links effectively.
Fortunately, in our bubble of Western capitalist societies, most of us are on the upper rungs, concerned about this recognition and the suggestive idea of "being happy", so indefinite and so easy be appropriated at the same time.
In this context, job changes are often related to reaching the level of recognition. We have already gained confidence and respect and are ready to pursue a higher state of awareness and self-fulfillment. A reformulation of 'professional success' in every sense of the word, which, in reality, is a destination—the summit—for which certain conditions must be met. And we represent those conditions, those steps, in what we have called the Pyramid of Professionals' Career.
From the base to the vertex
If we take Maslow's concepts and the brands' pyramid to our professional life, we could find ourselves with this representation of five elements: Work, Conditions, Environment, Projection and Being Able to Be.
- Having a job. It is the minimum necessary to achieve plenitude. The equivalent of physiological needs. Without this base, the rest of the needs cannot be satisfied.
- Working conditions. Once we have a job, the next stage is to have a position that offers certain conditions—salary, working hours, place of work—that fit our life plan.
- Environment. If we are lucky enough to have a job with conditions that satisfy us, a new need will be activated: to look for a good work environment in which we have quality links with our colleagues and a nice atmosphere.
- Projection. Then, having a job with adequate conditions and environment won't be enough. At that moment, we will look for growth. We will focus on achieving a career path and a bigger impact through a career plan and our recognition. The prelude to the top.
- Being able to be. The moment of self-realization arrives, the summit. At Soluble, we talk about 'being able to be'. It is one of our leitmotivs because it allows us to know ourselves, accept ourselves, and be congruent with our values and our purpose in a company that gives us all of the above.
At Soluble, we want people to be happier at work. That's why we desire our jobs to contribute to a fulfilling life, always pursuing authenticity. In life and in brands. Because it is a tool for living and working better. The ascent is not easy, but we count on the powerful engine of the essence of each person and each organization.
At Soluble, nothing happens because of a single person. To make this post possible, the intervention of Ismael Barros and Cristian R. Marín in the writing and Celia Santos in the visual design and animation was necessary. This post is an adaptation of a reflection by Ismael on his LinkedIn profile.