10 Ways to Break Up...With Your Job

A former client (let's call him Bob) returned yesterday. Bob insisted that his job was fine except:

1. He was underpaid

2. He was serving as a VP but didn't have the title

3. His boss was always looking for 110%

Even though asking for a promotion or a raise would be an obvious next step, Bob admitted that he hadn't tried. Eventually he admitted that he was growing stale. When he started this job, he was challenged to master new skills, hone his management style--and of course--lead through the pandemic. Now that his department was running well and the steep learning curve had softened to rolling hills, he just wasn't as excited about the job.

He felt safe complaining about the pay, the lack of promotion, and the annoying CEO. Admitting to wanting more challenge didn't feel safe.

Finding more challenges meant a new job and that is scary. Bob also admitted that:

1. He had made poor job choices in the past

2. It would take a lot of effort to master new skills

3. He felt a little selfish since a new job would take time away from his family

While Bob thought he was content because he liked the organization and his team--plus the pay wasn't horrible--he also realized that it wasn't enough.

Bob admitted that he can't thrive without continued career growth and progress. And he realized that he didn't want to ride this job into retirement. He was undervaluing his own professional worth and could be aiming higher. 

Now, Bob has to make a choice: thoughtfully step into a search for a better, more rewarding, and challenging position or slowly erode his performance. 

Here are ten easy ways to passively ruin your current career:

1. Resist suggestions from others in the organization

2. Complain about the CEO to others

3. Stop innovating

4. Recycle old material

5. Encourage promising staff to leave

6. Go into work a bit later

7. Go home a bit earlier

8. Stop networking within the industry

9. Resent new hires with higher titles

10. Settle in for a 15-year nap

Clearly, if Bob doesn't initiate a hunt for a new, more satisfying job, his performance will eventually force a breakup.

Changing jobs sucks. A job search is hard, exhausting, emotionally draining, and humbling. But staying with a job that has grown too small is also exhausting, emotionally draining, numbing--and self-sabotaging.

No one performs well when the job is too small.