Stumbled upon Tamer Saleh’s (VP Engineering of Engine Yard) post: Jobs are temporary, teams are for life - which I found worth reading. If I were in a management/leadership position, that’s how I would see my developers - by helping them reaching their long term goals.
But company is all about bottom line right? Focusing on the individuals want seem inappropriate. Not necessarily. Paraphrasing my previous manager’s statement on our first one on one session: we (you and the company) will get the best of each other where there is big intersection between what the company wants to achieve and what you personally want to achieve careerwise.
A quote from Tamer’s post:
Do it right - know what your developers aspire to, work out how you can help them in a way that is also bring benefit the company, look after them and keep them motivated and challenged, so that they will stay long and happy. But also always have a succession plan - employees are temporary.
A manager with this insight is worth hiring and working for.