Have you been wondering whether your career has stalled?  Our career, like our lives, go through natural cycles and stages.  At times we fly along with free flowing momentum where results, recognition and promotions come easily.  Then there are times when our career seems to hit a plateau and we find ourselves stuck with our career going nowhere fast and boredom sets in.

If your career has been stuck in a holding pattern for a while then it might be time to re-assess your situation and get things on the move again. 

Sometimes we are quite happy to put our career progression on hold for personal reasons.  Many women choose to mark time for a few years and focus more on the needs of their children.  They design their career choices around being available to the needs of their family rather than accepting roles requiring long hours, extensive travel and high degrees of professional development. 

But most often it creeps up on us.  Many professionals at first deny that their career has stalled, only recognising the tell tale signs of an ailing career when it is well and truly terminally ill. 

So what are the key signs that your career has stalled?

1.  You are experiencing ground hog day.   The first clue is that your role and responsibilities have not changed in a few years or more.  Each day is pretty much the same as the last. It is almost as if you are a permanent fixture who everyone relies on to get the job done but no one really notices the good work you do.

2.  You have stopped learning and growing.  If you cant remember the last time you learnt something new at work; a new task or process, a new technical skill, extended your leadership capabilities or did something for the first time, then your career has stalled.  I love the idea that we are either green and growing or ripe and rotting. Which one are you?

3.  You are not being promoted. If you have experienced the frustration, disappointment or even humiliation of seeing others promoted ahead of you … then this is a definite sign that your career has stalled!  Let’s be brutally honest here, perhaps it is time to stop blaming bad luck, an unfair system or jobs for the boys… and let’s start looking at what you can do differently to be noticed, taken seriously and get that promotion you have been working so hard for. 

4.  You are bored and dread going to work.  This should be a pretty big clue that some things need to change.  We spend much of our lives at work so the least we can do is to find something that we love to do. 

But it is a bigger problem then just being bored.  Unfortunately our effectiveness and our general attitude are negatively impacted when we don’t love what we do.  And a poor attitude and poor performance are the two biggest killers of career progression!

5.  You are too comfortable. Some people do their best work when they are comfortable and in a routine but most of us start to loose motivation when we operate purely from within our comfort zone for too long.  Innovation, inspiration and growth happens when we step outside our comfort zone and stretch ourselves to be more and achieve more.  Are you settling for less? 

If you are fearing taking on new challenges, then it is highly possible that you have settling a little too much into your comfort zone (a little like settling into a comfy armchair beside an open fire on a cold day) and what you need more than anything is to take on some new challenges. 

If you recognise any of these warning signs than now is the time to take action.  Shake things up a little, get some support, learn something new, take a new challenge, create a plan and get into action.

If your career has stalled there is a fair chance you have been operating on auto pilot.  Now is the time to take back control, create a vision for your career and consciously generate momentum towards more impact, better result and more fulfilment.