It depends on the organization. We've had leaders move back to IC roles (and are going through one of these transitions now, actually), but I think it requires

It depends on the organization. We've had leaders move back to IC roles (and are going through one of these transitions now, actually), but I think it requires the organization to be explicitly supportive of such moves. We call it finding your "zone of genius". We'd much rather keep a good person then lose them because they're best suited for another role.