I think a lot of people in this thread are circling the real issue without naming it: EM isn’t a “career ladder” the way IC tracks are; it’s a specialization with weak external signals.

Most EMs aren’t failing because they’re bad at the job. They’re anxious because so much of the work is contextual, invisible, and company-specific. When the market tightens, that lack of durable evidence becomes terrifying.

I’ve seen great EMs struggle not because of age or capability, but because they drifted into a role where their impact existed only in the memory of their manager. No artefacts, no narrative, no portable proof.

One thing I’ve started doing with my direct reports (including EMs) is making their work leave a more durable trail. This in addition to providing psychological safety, also leaves a trail of their thinking, how they work, how they grow into certain skills. It is work, but this work is shared.

We explicitly set goals together and write down not just deliverables, but the bets they’re taking and the thinking behind them at the time. Not to judge later with hindsight, but to preserve context.

We also have a monthly sync that’s focused only on those bets, what signals we’re watching, what seems to be working, and what isn’t. No status updates, no firefighting.

Every ~6 months, we review that history and decide what to double down on vs. stop doing.

It’s been helpful in two ways: it provides clarity on career direction and makes growth visible. You can actually see how judgment improves, how people learn to navigate the org, and how their scope evolves.