What To Do When You Outgrow Your Job

Hint, don’t settle for ‘fine’. Instead, unleash your superpowers.  

I had a coaching session with a client this week who felt unappreciated, uninspired, and unchallenged by her work. Despite being in this role for many years, she felt that those in more senior roles didn’t see the amazing potential in what her role and her team could achieve. She worried that she’d soon feel resentful, and this would creep into her work. I’d had an almost identical conversation with a coaching client a couple of months ago… and a pattern was forming.  

In both cases I was talking to highly skilled, experienced professionals who have an incredible wealth of knowledge to offer. Without realising it, they’d simply outgrown their roles. Yep, they were too skilled.  

Perhaps if they were supported better by their managers, other opportunities might emerge for them where they currently work. Or they might not. In both cases, there was an opportunity for a reframe. Before we get to that, let’s look at the signs that someone (you?) has outgrown a role.  

1. You no longer feel challenged – in fact you can do your work ‘in your sleep’ so to speak.  
2. Your work no longer feels (or never was) aligned with your values, and may even in fact go against your core beliefs.  
3. You don’t feel as though there are opportunities to stretch your skills and knowledge, and to get outside of your comfort zone.  
4. You don’t feel as though your skills and experience are appreciated or utilised in your current role.  

These are some of the signals that it may be time to move on. The alternative is to stay and allow that sense of discontent to morph into outright seething frustration. This is never a good career move.  

What both of my coaching clients had in common was a sense of unfairness and frustration that they weren’t valued in their role. I encouraged them to flip this idea and focus. We rarely make significant changes in life when we feel comfortable. When we feel even a little bit appreciated and there’s just enough variety in our work, we are likely to stay where we are.  

In both cases, these professional women had so much to offer, it would be a crying shame for them to stay somewhere that was just ok. In the wise words of Roy Kent in Ted Lasso, “don’t you dare settle for fine”.  Rather than feeling frustrated, consider reframing. It is possible that you’ve outgrown your role.  

Once you get your head around this, a whole new perspective is available. Instead of focussing on what is wrong with your current situation, you can consider the possibilities ahead of you. You can start to catalogue what is important to you (your values) and what you can offer through your work (your ‘special sauce’). This information then becomes your pitch for new opportunities. Of course, if you want to get a serious edge, you’ll add strengths in the mix.  

Are you ready to consider a shift or change in your career, and you’d like to get clarity, confidence, and some skills in your toolbox? Strengths coaching is a powerful took that will supercharge your likelihood of success. Get in touch with me to find out more.