Career slowdown: 7 main reasons

The leader has been working in the company for a long time, and the actions of colleagues, partners, investors have become predictable for him. He is no longer looking for new tasks for himself, but in the implementation of existing ones he adheres to a strategy proven over the years. And therein lies a serious problem: he is depreciated as an expert in his field. This fact can affect both future prospects within your company, and career development in the future.

A tip for those who have encountered this problem – do not be afraid of the new. Implement large-scale and innovative projects, offer your ideas, stay up to date with the latest developments in your professional field. If shareholders and colleagues do not support the initiative, go to the market, and the projects you have implemented will become a big plus in your resume or portfolio.

There is a stereotype that training always requires a lot of money and time. One of the obvious solutions is online education, and now there is a huge variety of study options. In the coronavirus era, educational platforms on the Internet have developed, and all the leading universities in the world, including Harvard and Yale, have launched distance learning programs.

Don't forget about coaching. A coaching system exists in many companies, but if there is no systemic program, find an individual mentor among colleagues or professional consultants – they will help you look at many aspects of your activity from the other side and will certainly contribute to your development.
Everyone, even the most experienced and professional leaders, have competencies that are well developed, and there are competencies that need to be improved.

To build an effective competency development program, take an assessment using the Hogan, TalentQ or SHL method . The results of the assessment will help to highlight one or more competencies that are most critical for your current activities and plans for further development.

The team plays an important role in career development. Even those employees who are very comfortable to work with can cause poor results for the entire team. A good leader develops his subordinates, retains the best and fires those who hinder the development of the company, because the lack of personnel renewal can be one of the reasons for stagnation.

The advice for a leader in this situation is to change either the team or yourself. If a top manager guides the company with an outdated sales strategy and is afraid to change something, the organization will not generate the required income. The leader must keep an eye on market trends and attitudes in his own team. It is necessary to regularly test employees, identify the "weak link" and support those with rich potential. These actions will help to increase the competence of employees and improve the climate in the company.

In recent years, more and more attention has been paid to emotional intelligence as an important component of a leader's success. Now it is no longer enough to be just a good expert in your field – it is important to be able to recognize your own and other people's emotions, manage them and adapt your behavior, since it has been proven that a positive emotional climate significantly increases financial results, and, accordingly, your personal capitalization grows.

Regular and competent exchange of feedback with colleagues, subordinates, clients, management is the key to your personal development. It is often difficult to understand how you are perceived outside, what qualities may hinder you in achieving your goals – in this case, feedback is indispensable. Leaders who ignore this tool, as a rule, face difficulties in retaining the team. They do not work well with their weaknesses and as a result can get an image of a leader who is better not to trust new meaningful directions.

We live in the era of social networks and other Internet resources, and any employer, when choosing a candidate for a key role, necessarily analyzes the information in the candidate's profile, checks the candidate's activity on the Internet and draws certain conclusions about professionalism. Of course, these conclusions are not always objective, but even in order to simply get into the sight of headhunters or a potential employer, it is very important to be visible in the market, in the digital space and in the business community. Speeches at specialized conferences, articles, blogs, comments in the media will help you receive tempting offers. And being "invisible", even if you are a cool expert, you most likely will not receive the desired offers.

For example, it happens that women in business are faced with a "glass ceiling". In 2016, Swedish scientists conducted a study that tracked the career development of men and women with higher education who were born in the 1960s and 70s. The results showed that at the start of the career of representatives of both genders, they were built about the same, but over time, the career growth of women has slowed down.

Of course, there are industries and segments where women are more likely to succeed: pharmaceuticals, medicine, retail, fashion & beauty, insurance and, in principle, any international companies.

What to do? If negotiations and initiative do not lead to anything, change your place of work. It can be very difficult to overcome stereotypes: you will spend a lot of time and energy, and it is not a fact that you will achieve a result. And in order not to go "nowhere", it is worthwhile to progressively work on your career throughout your life: actively develop and maintain contacts with headhunters and colleagues in the market, develop your personal brand, not stand still and constantly try new things.