If you are not Moving, than are you Blocking?

Do you love your job?

Are you great at doing it?

Do you want to stay in job for a few more years?

If your answers are yes,

you could be a blocker.

A blocker occupies the same role for some years and has no desire to move. The person may be a high performer but if not growing and challenged, will stagnate and eventually perform poorly. Blockers may prevent others who could do the job better or would benefit from getting the role to acquire key experiences.

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Is Arsene Wenger a blocker?

After 22 years, Arsene Wenger is stepping down as the manager of Arsenal Football Club. This will please a segment of Arsenal fans who have been clamouring for his resignation. They believe that Wenger was dragging the club down and that a new manager is needed for the club to regain its former prowess. Can his successor, Unai Emery, do better? With half of the season passed, the answer is a resounding YES.

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I dislike the word blocker! It's filled with negative connotations. What's wrong with loving my job and wanting to do it year after year if I am great at it!

Nothing wrong at all, if you can continuously upgrade, perform at a high level and can be depended to stay with the company. There are many who stay in their job for an eternity and both person and company prosper because of it. Often they are individual contributors working in specialised, technical areas. They continually keep abreast and may even contribute to the advancement of their discipline and often are recognised as leading experts.

However for many who remain in the same job for years, it becomes increasingly difficult to innovate and improve. Without stimuli, new learnings and fresh challenges, atrophy is inevitable. In a worse case scenario, people gets insecure and focus on keeping their jobs and that leads to dysfunctional behavior. They get territorial, hire people who cannot replace them and spend more energy to keep their jobs rather than doing it.

I know this because I was a blocker.

I was in GE, leading its leadership development organization in Asia.

I love the job and was great at it.

I had internal and external offers to move into different roles, businesses, relocate to Jakarta, Tokyo, Shanghai, Kaohsiung, Connecticut or Brussels.

I said no.

I became aware that as time pass, it was harder to innovate - I lack drive.

I was still doing good, but doing good is not going to cut it for my people and GE.

I also wondered what if I had taken that other GE role or move to Japan?

What new stuff would I have learnt?

What life experiences would we have gained?

I decided to stop asking "what if" and started thinking "why not?"

After a decade in GE, I decided on a fresh start and joined another company

My successor took over.

And I was rejuvenated by a new challenge.

On the first day of my new job, I received flowers and well wishes from my ex-colleagues. To this day, my heart is always with the wonderful people of GE and that remarkable role which almost derailed my career.

I loved that role and I am glad I got out.

Additional NOTE inspired by a question

How do I know if I stayed too long in the job? When I can't add value to the job.

How do I know if I stayed FAR too long in the job? When I am more worried about keeping my job than doing it.

When should I have left? When I stopped having fun in the job.