Three warning signs your career is in peril

If your career is not going to plan, work out what went wrong and then develop a strategy to turn the situation around.

Do you feel your career has hit a rough patch? Don't panic, this happens to at least 50 per cent of executives at some point in their career. What you should know is that it doesn't come out of the blue. The trick is to spot the warning signs in time and to know what to do about it when it happens to you.
The three warning signs are:
1. It's all gone quiet. You're getting less feedback than you used to from people above and below you. Sadly this is unlikely to be because you've attained perfection.
2. Changes in your firm come as a surprise. You can't understand why nobody sought your opinion on the new hire, new initiative or new strategy.
3. You have less energy than you used to and you don't know why. Most executives have a strong sense of their own value. The flip side is it's easy to become closed and defensive when challenges come your way. But this retreating response could be the death knell for your car­eer if you're about to plateau.
Can you bounce back?
Definitely – a roadblock only requires a 90-degree turn. But once you're over the shock of the missed promotion or failed bid, you'll need to take a close look in your crucible moment at what went wrong and why.
If you've been going nowhere fast, these are the biggest career derailers:
1. A lack of self-awareness. You need to know what your personal strengths and weak­nesses are and how other people see you.
2. An inability to cope with change. Build resilience and develop the capacity to cope with the demands of your environment. This might involve some painful experiences when you question everything, but you will emerge with a surer understanding of who you are and where you are going.
3. A lack of 360-degree influence. You struggle to map out others' needs and interests, and the interdependencies with your own.
4. Poor communication across the hierarchy. You often think people understand you when they don't. It's not about what you think you transmit, it's about the message that is received. It's about understanding how to communicate.
5. Insufficient social capital. You have little ability to get things done through other people and fail to influence key constituencies, although you're not sure why.
So how do you turn it around?
The first step to coming back from a derailment moment is understanding what has happened. When the initial shock wears off, instead of just feeling defeated, defensive and angry, consider: "What does this tell me about myself and my development needs?"
Don't waste time working on your worst weaknesses though – you're better off avoiding situations where you're not in your strong suit and building a team around you that love the things you hate. There's a big difference between time wasted working on weaknesses, as opposed to valuable time spent working on one or two development needs – concentrate on the middle ground. Focusing on what you're brilliant at might be gratifying, but there's little growth in that.
Try something that's new and different, building on your existing skill set. Don't allow yourself to become indispensable in your current role. Too many of us are so busy milking the cow we forget to diversify.
Careers are an emergent process. You have to figure out the journey you're on. Who are you? Where are you going? What do you need to master to get there? Your development needs lie somewhere between your strengths and weaknesses.
Have the courage to confront the difficult questions. Are you in the right job? The way to know this is to think of the perfect "big win" day for you; would your employer agree? Approximately 50 per cent of us aren't in the best job for us, but typically lack the self-awareness and courage to do something about it. Have your mid-life crisis now by asking yourself fundamental questions about what success means for you in your career.
Finally, drop the idea that you either have it or you don't. Failure is an opportunity to learn. And careers are no longer ladders – the real survivors treat their careers like an emergent experience; a career is a maze to be navigated. That takes persistence and adaptability.
­Richard Jolly is an adjunct professor of organisational behaviour. The column was co-written by Randall Peterson, professor of organisational behaviour and academic director, Leadership Institute, London Business School.
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