Here’s a question that you’re bound to get if you’re a sales manager interviewing for an individual contributor position: “Why are you taking a step back in your career?”

Hold up. A “step back”?

Hardly.

I’ve known so many top-tier sales professionals who have dabbled in leadership and found it’s just not for them. And you know what? It’s often a savvy career move.

Just because your job description no longer includes direct reports doesn’t make it a step back. And there are a lot — a lot — of reasons why you might want an Account Executive or other individual contributor role.

Here are just a few:

You don’t want your income based on the efforts of other people.
The autonomy to hire who you wanted on your team never materialized. (I.e. team members were forced on you.)
You know the compensation upside is way better as an individual. (It’s true. Compare the top Enterprise AE earning potential to Sales Managers.)
You’ve experienced the “corporate ladder” and all the games and politics aren’t for you.
You enjoy solving problems for customers directly and miss it.

That’s far from a complete list.

My advice for recruiters and hiring managers: it’s OK to ask about the transition. But you should go into it knowing how and why this is pretty normal. Otherwise, you’re going to put someone who’s probably a great candidate on their back foot.

Someone already recognized their incredible talents and moved them into leadership. You might actually be getting lucky that they’re considering the role you’re hiring for.