One Cynical Thing...Lesson Five

Lesson #5:?If you aren’t being promoted, you will eventually be fired.?

You can love what you do, but unless you're a cop or a teacher, you move “up or out”.?

Corporate America has an expectation of high ambition among employees. Unfortunately, there isn’t an equal level of loyalty and executive placement. After all, there are only a few spots in the C-Suite. It is up to you to understand when you have topped out and act accordingly. Natural feelings aside, it isn’t personal – it’s life. We all get thrown curveballs. It is our own responsibility to pivot.

I made choices over the years that did not set me on the easiest path to promotion. I made those choices willingly and my family thrived because of them. I asked for advice, and my bosses (correctly) advised me that my roles would make it hard to move up in the company.?

For a long while, it all worked out.?Until it didn’t. I stayed at the same level and grew resentful. I wasn’t na?ve, I was in denial. After all, I was extraordinarily competent and seemingly confident. I wasn’t “quiet quitting”. I simply refused to accept all the cues I had topped out. I was passed over for other roles. I hadn’t been offered high-profile assignments. I was told (in so many words) that no one could see a path ahead for me.

I bet that time would eventually override everything else. I was wrong.

After I was let go, I was still shocked and mortified. Upon informing my husband, he calmly looked over and said, “Of course you were going to get canned.”?I am still embarrassed it took so long to accept this lesson.?

Sharing my reality, warts, and all is my way to not only pay forward the help I received but also move forward the conversation of how a woman can succeed in whatever way she wants.

Holding space for the past, acknowledging the present, changing the future. All the while increasing self-awareness, compassion, and service for others.

What was the?#onecynicalthing?you wished you knew, did, or did not do?