“If no one was watching — no promotion, no title, no approval — what would you still want to get better at?”
The Career That Fits You
Careers have stopped being ladders. Deloitte’s 2025 Human Capital Trends report describes the shift from jobs to skills: what matters now is the portfolio of capabilities you carry with you, not the rung you’re standing on. McKinsey’s 2024 State of Organizations research shows the same pattern — non-linear careers are becoming the norm, not the exception.
The question stops being “how do I climb?” and starts being “where do I actually belong?”
Sources: Deloitte, Global Human Capital Trends (2025); McKinsey, State of Organizations (2024).
The Career Alignment Lens
A simple frame I use with clients weighing a move. Three questions, asked honestly.
Where am I energised?
Which parts of your current role give you energy back — not which parts you’re good at, which parts you actually enjoy? Energy is the most honest signal you have.
Where am I effective?
Where do you deliver real value that other people notice? This is often different from where you feel productive. Ask the people who work with you.
Where am I evolving?
What are you learning that you couldn’t do two years ago? A role that doesn’t grow you is one you’ll outgrow eventually.
The sweet spot is where all three meet. If your current role scores low on all three, the question isn’t whether to move — it’s how soon.
A readiness conversation with yourself
Five questions for leaders weighing a move. Answer honestly. If you can’t, that’s information too.
- Skills: Do you have the core capabilities the next role requires, or a clear plan to build them in the next six months?
- Motivation: Are you moving toward something you want, or running from something you’ve outgrown? Both are valid — they lead different places.
- Visibility: Do the right people know you’re ready, or are you invisible to decision-makers?
- Timing: Is this the right moment in your organisation, your industry, and your personal life — all three?
- Alignment: Does this move fit what matters to you, not just what looks impressive on paper?
The promotion trap I see most often
The leaders who come to coaching after a promotion often tell me the same thing, worded slightly differently each time: “I got what I wanted and now I’m not sure I want it.”
The trap isn’t the promotion itself. It’s that most people chase the next title without interrogating the texture of the role — the kind of decisions, the kind of conversations, the kind of days. By the time they’re in it, they’ve built a career around someone else’s definition of success.
The work of career growth isn’t climbing faster. It’s getting clearer — on what you want the work to feel like, what you want to be known for, and what you’re willing to trade for the next level.
Potential Isn’t Fixed
Adam Grant’s 2023 book Hidden Potential made a careful argument: what distinguishes people who rise isn’t raw talent or innate intelligence. It’s character skills — the capacity to be uncomfortable, to absorb feedback, to keep going when things are hard.
The implication for your career is practical: the capabilities that take you to the next level are usually ones you don’t currently have. Your job isn’t to find the role that matches who you are today. It’s to build who you need to become next.
Source: Adam Grant, Hidden Potential (WH Allen, 2023).
Ready for what’s next?
Career growth doesn’t happen by accident. If you’re weighing a move, stuck at a plateau, or want a thinking partner as you figure it out, book a free discovery call.
Last reviewed: April 2026