Core employees often reach career stagnation. Employees caught in career stagnation often try to create the illusion of being satisfied with things as they are, although simultaneously they may find themselves frustrated by a lack of career prospects.
By definition, a career plateau is a point in a career where the possibility of vertical promotion within the official hierarchy becomes very low or absent altogether. If the affected employee is a core employee who, despite fewer skills pertaining to end-functions, enjoys a position due to organization perceptions of trust and loyalty, he or she also realizes that a similar position would be hard to attain outside the organization of the current employer. Perceptions of having failed to actualize one's self and having failed in one's career are quick to follow.
Stagnating employees often refuse to budge and often allow themselves to be overtaken by frustration. The immediate absence of opportunities for vertical advancement also prevents others from instilling encouragement.
If you are stuck on a career plateau, move immediately to free yourself of career barriers. Possible strategies for breaking free of stagnation include the following.
- Create your own personal mission statement and decide where you would like to be.
- Start taking responsibility for your own direction and growth, and avoid placing your hopes in an organization-provided solution.
- Constantly work to broaden your skill set; seek to enhance rather than advance.
- Talk with people who are already in the job roles you desire, and ask for suggestions on how to proceed to their level.
- Set realistic, short-term goals that will move you toward your ultimate goal.
- Always keep in mind that while your performance at your job is important, you have reached the phase where interpersonal performance is critical.
- Align your behavior, rights, and values with the company's values, goals, and objectives.
- Do not provide problems. Offer positive solutions, and take time to think through issues before offering suggestions.
- Be a team player, and put the spotlight on the group's efforts.
- Approach everything you do with a positive attitude, and be sure that each thing you do makes a difference, regardless of appreciation.
