The Rise of Portfolio Careers

It’s official – linear career paths are out, and portfolio careers are in. But what does this shift really look like in practice?

How easy is it to strike the right balance? And how can practice leaders support their teams to grow in this way without compromising their core responsibilities?

A portfolio career is a working style in which an individual earns income from multiple roles, employers or projects at the same time, rather than holding a single full-time position. Instead of building a career around one job or specialism, individuals develop a collection of complementary roles that together form their professional identity.

While this has numerous personal and professional benefits, it can easily shift from complementary to constricting if not managed carefully.

Multiple Roles and the Juggling Act

Many professionals in the practice management community are already building portfolio careers – often without consciously recognising it. After all, juggling priorities comes as second nature to you. When you act as a mentor, contribute to studies or take on non-executive positions, this all adds to your portfolio, building you as an expert in your field, as opposed to just within your specific role.

The Wider Value of Portfolio Careers

Portfolio careers benefit you, but they also benefit your practice and the wider healthcare community. They allow for a wider distribution of expertise, ensuring that knowledge and experience are not limited to a single organisation. They also create additional leadership capacity without the need for full-time hiring, which is particularly valuable in a resource-constrained environment. Perhaps most importantly, they encourage the cross-pollination of ideas, bringing fresh perspectives and innovation into schools and trusts.

Supporting Portfolio Careers Without Compromising Core Roles

For leaders, the challenge is not whether to support portfolio careers, but how to do so in a way that maintains operational stability. In other words, making sure the extras don’t become prioritised – and that people don’t overpromise and underdeliver.

 

Supporting others starts with creating opportunities within your own organisation. This might include giving staff the chance to deliver training sessions, present at leadership or stakeholder meetings, or lead on internal projects that stretch their skills. Practice managers can also support staff to take part in sector-wide activity, such as speaking at events, contributing to research, or joining professional networks.

This might include allowing limited time for external work, supporting professional development opportunities, or recognising the value these activities bring back into the organisation. However, this flexibility should be balanced with clear boundaries to prevent role creep.

Finding the Right Balance

Ultimately, portfolio careers represent a shift in how professional growth is defined.

For individuals, the key is ensuring that each element of their portfolio adds value rather than pressure. For organisations, the focus should be on creating an environment where this type of growth is supported but without it stealing focus. In fact, this is one of the rare occasions where supporting someone to work beyond the practice can directly benefit it. By enabling staff to build external experience and networks, practices are more likely to retain their expertise – and bring it back with them.