At some point in our careers, I bet this thought has floated through our collective minds…

Work hard + Produce results = Recognition, Promotions, & Moolah

Makes sense, right?

Well, yes & no.

While this formula is a natural assumption, it doesn’t always work that way.

The blueprint of hard work equaling promotions and recognition works well in the early to mid-phases of your career. But after that point, it actually no longer helps you to advance. 

Instead, it keeps you stationed in the same place and that’s where career plateaus pop up. As you climb up the corporate ladder and step into more senior roles, you need to be much more than a heads down, hard worker to get noticed.

You need a different package of skills, tools, and ways of thinking to successfully land those promotional opportunities. More on that in a future blog.

Today, I’ll help you understand HOW and WHY we land on career plateaus in the first place.

This blog is a continuation of my recent post (5 Reasons You Feel Like the Best Kept Secret at Work…Part I) where I shared 5 habits that kept me, my brand, and my career progression stuck on a plateau for years. 

Now, here’s part II.

Habit #6: I didn’t quit being a doer

If you’re around me long enough, you’ll see that I love creating results in my career and in my life overall.

And there’s no better feeling than helping my clients achieve their goals and get to their next professional level.

I’m an action-oriented quick start and just the idea of crossing to-do’s off of my list leaves me happy, happy, happy. 

This was especially important in my corporate life as I was in a very busy job with high expectations. I was always running against a long list of deliverables. So, my approach of being a doer was a good thing…for the most part.

But, here’s the issue. 

Since I’m naturally prone to getting things done, I actually didn’t make enough time in my calendar to slow down, think, and re-prioritize.

I needed to quit being a doer all the time to use other strategies like delegating to my team or deleting things from my list if that was the right thing to do. 

Then I could give myself the space and time I needed to check in on what was working well and what I wanted change. 

I know that if I’d taken this approach, it really would’ve helped me to shift out of my career plateau much sooner and allowed me to make different decisions about where I wanted to go next.

Habit #7: I didn’t build my brand

Well, let me say that a little bit differently actually. I did build a brand, but it was completely by accident.

One thing I know for sure is if I don’t intentionally and proactively build my brand, they will define it for me. 

And that’s exactly what happened. 

Succeeding and achieving has always been important to me. It’s a source of pride and a value that was instilled in me by my parents at a young age.

Early on in my career I learned that the path to success was to put my head down and get to work.

Having this kind of focused work ethic (if you’re reading this, you’re probably just like me) became my brand. By default, I became known for this. And the interesting part is that no one came up to me and said, “Hey Cindy, you’ve got an incredible work ethic.”

Nope, it wasn’t like that. 

But people can only respond to what we show them. That’s how much power we have. 

We can shape someone else’s perspective of us without words, but instead just by how we choose to show up.

That’s why I’m such an advocate for helping you learn how to build your brand and understand why it matters so much.

Here’s what I want you to take away…

Whether you know it or not, manage it or not, believe it or not, you have a brand right now. 

The question is…

Have you defined your brand yourself or have you chosen to manage it by default and given your magical power away to someone else? 

Think about that.

Habit #8: I didn’t share my work

Are you one of those people who thinks her work should naturally and automatically speak for itself? After all, no one can question what you produce. Quality and results matter to you. 

Just because you know what you’ve done and how good it is, doesn’t mean that anyone else does. 

This was a huge lesson for me, especially as I moved into more senior roles where I reported to executives who spent half of their time in meetings and the other half on planes. They didn’t have time to wonder what I was up to.

My big lesson here was to always let the right people know what I’ve done, what I’m working on next, and how it connects to or advances their interests at the same time. 

Beyond that, it’s about being proud of my contribution and the value I bring to the party.

Be intentional about sharing both your wins and challenges with the right people and in a way that feels aligned and authentic to who you are.

Habit #9: I didn’t get promotable

I’ve always been lucky to have jobs magically land in my lap. 

And I mean really good roles with bigger titles, bigger money, and bigger responsibility. I’ve always been well networked and I’m a rock star at building relationships, so that always worked in my favor.

But this way of making career moves by default, actually got in my way. 

I wasn’t strategic about each role, project, or assignment that I jumped into. I said yes to the jobs that came up because they sounded good on paper or someone else thought I was the perfect fit. 

The opportunities weren’t bad necessarily, they just didn’t fit into a bigger plan because I didn’t have one.

My coaching to you on this one is always have a plan for your career. Give yourself space and permission to dream and imagine where you see yourself in 6 months, 1 year, or even beyond that if you can get your mind to that point.

Decide that the right career move fits into your bigger development plan & closes the gap on you being the candidate they have to hire.

Now, I know you might be thinking that you’ll box yourself in with a career plan, but that’s not actually the case. 

It doesn’t mean you have to be rigid and stuck at all. That wouldn’t be smart. None of us can predict the future so we need to be able to flex and flow as we learn more along the way. 

But having a plan lets you choose a direction, have a vision, and let each role that you take serve you. Let each role help prepare and grow you into a more ready candidate for where you want to go next.

Habit #10: I didn’t quit being a lone wolf

Like I said before, I’m used to figuring things out.

And once again, that’s not a bad thing at all. Because knowing how to navigate your way through challenges is a skill that most successful companies want to see from their employees. 

The downside is that it can become really easy to fall into a trap of figuring everything out on your own, all the time.

I built up an internal expectation that if I can process my way through the problem or if I journal enough about it, the best path will become clear. 

That does work sometimes, but not always right? Sometimes talking it out is the quickest way to remove the block. 

So, don’t be a lone wolf. Don’t be a solo player.

Go out and find your people. This could be your boss, someone on your team, a girlfriend, your partner, a coach you’re working with. Whoever you choose, go out and find your squad. 

Not only does this help you to build relationships and make connections, it also helps you to feel supported. Give yourself the gift of being supported through the challenges that come up at work and in life. And you can support those people through their challenging times as well. 

It makes everything so much easier. 

Now, your turn. Which of these habits do you want to shift first?

Leave a comment below and let’s keep the conversation going. I’d love to hear what you think.

And be sure to watch the video to hear me talk about this topic too.

Did you hear?? 

I made something special for you! It is my new FREE career guide, Get Promoted Playbook!

Learn the 10 strategies you can use to help position yourself for a promotion, even if playing politics isn’t your thing. Go to www.cindyharveyonline.com/playbook and grab your copy today!

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Cindy Harvey is a Leadership Coach and Founder of Amelia Dee, a career strategy company for women. She has coached hundreds of clients on leveraging the power of energy & mindset to create success at work as well as designing a magnetic professional brand to make their next career move a breeze.

 

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