No opportunity for professional growth? Here’s why that’s bad for your career.

If your career has plateaued, you may be in more trouble than you realise. As humans we are hardwired to be consistently learning and growing. Without opportunities to stretch and challenge us, we become stale, we lose momentum, and it can cause you to be overlooked and undervalued.

Opportunities for growth dry up for many reasons.

Perhaps you’re at that point where the only opportunity for progression is your boss’s job… and goodness knows how long you’ll have to wait for them to go!

Perhaps you’ve been pigeonholed, and your manager is unable to see your capabilities beyond what you are currently doing.

Or perhaps you’ve become a bit too comfortable in the role you’re in and have shied away from going after new challenges.

Whatever the reason, staying stuck for too long will be detrimental for your career … and ultimately your happiness.

Here’s why…

Your reputation is on the line. Have you noticed that people who are seen to be growing get more attention from senior leaders than those who are seen as hard working, focused team members who be relied on to just get the job done?

People who are growing get a reputation as someone to watch; they get more support and are more likely promoted. In contrast, people whose growth has stalled fall off the radar and opportunities dry up.

As a leader you’ve probably done it yourself – given more coaching and bigger opportunities to team members who are on the rise. So why wouldn’t it happen to you too?

Your confidence is at stake. Confidence comes from generating positive results with the actions you take – particularly those actions that stretch you. So, it’s obvious: if you’re not taking bold and courageous actions, you’re not getting the internal feedback that you’ve got this. Not only does this mean you’re not building confidence… it can undermine what confidence you have by letting seeds of doubt take root, too.

Sadly, a loss of confidence can often lead women to retreat to the tasks, activities and ways of working that are familiar and comfortable. And as a result – they get stuck. Stuck doing tasks that they nailed years ago; tasks that are seen as necessary but not valuable; tasks that provide no sense of pride or confidence.

Your job satisfaction is at risk. We spend too many hours of our life at work to settle for a role that has lost its spark. If you’re not loving your role right now, it’s likely part of the problem is that you’ve stopped growing.

Think about it. When was the last time you did something for the first time? When was the last time you surprised yourself with what you achieved? When was the last time you felt truly proud of your contribution?

Growth doesn’t need to come from a brand new job. More often, it can come from new challenges within your role. Challenges like presenting to the board, creating the department budget, having a difficult conversation with a team member, or heading a business-critical project.

If you haven’t had many moments that challenged your limits lately, it’s a fair warning sign that you’ve hit a professional growth plateau.

If that’s you … then I invite you to join us at our upcoming FREE workshop…

The 4 Pillars to Unlocking Life-Changing Professional Growth: How to break through the mid-career plateau that has you feeling stuck, undervalued, and maybe even on the brink of burnout. Click here to reserve your spot now >>>https://janebenston.lpages.co/unlock-growth/