Career stagnation is a signal, not a verdict
Career stagnation is a signal, not a verdict
By Rushdi Kirsten
Stagnation happens when your story, scope or stakeholders have not caught up with your capability. You feel flat, not broken, but work gets done, yet your name is not in the room when direction is set. The good news is that stagnation is information and it tells you what is out of sync so you can choose your next move with intent. This article names the pattern, shows how it hides in plain sight, and gives you language to recognise it early. It does not hand you a fix and it exists to make the problem unmistakable.
Why competent people stall
Stagnation is rarely about effort, but it is a mismatch between who you have become and how the system still sees you.
Story drag
Your résumé and LinkedIn read like tasks and tools, not decisions and outcomes. The work looks busy, not valuable and the story undersells the judgement you use every day.
Scope lag
You are ready for bigger calls, yet your calendar is filled with activity that does not carry ownership. You wait for permission while the system waits for proof.
Stakeholder stall
The people who decide your future cannot see how you make their decisions easier. Your value is real, but it is not visible at the right altitude.
If you want context on how I help leaders shift these levers, see coaching and client results.
How stagnation hides in plain sight
On paper you look fine, delivery is strong, feedback is polite and yet progress is thin.
You will notice these tells.
Language tells
We are across it.
I can help if needed.
Happy to support.
None of these lines reveal the decision you drove or the change you caused.
Calendar tells
Crowded days with few moments where you own a call. Meetings labelled update where no decision is expected. One on ones filled with status and little talk of trade offs or controls.
Reputation tells
People describe you by tasks you complete rather than choices you steward. Your name is linked to effort, not to effect.
What organisations often misread
Well-meaning leaders confuse competence with fit, and they offer training you do not need or suggest patience while the system catches up. Neither addresses the reason you feel stuck, others suggest applying widely with the same task-heavy materials. That only spreads the stall and the issue is not volume, it is altitude and relevance.
The cost of staying paused
Stagnation is not neutral. It shapes how you think and speak about your work.
You start using smaller language about what you do
You say yes to tasks to stay useful rather than to create value
You lower your own standards to fit the environment
You wait for a vacancy rather than becoming the person a leader calls first
No one chooses this and it creeps in when the story and scope do not match your judgement.
What momentum sounds like when it returns
Momentum is quiet and specific. You will hear people say things like these.
This is the decision I am stewarding and the outcome it protects.
The trade off I am proposing lowers risk for the sponsor.
Here is the line I use to make the control visible.
This is how I made that person’s decision easier.
When momentum returns, your calendar tilts toward calls you own rather than meetings you attend. Stakeholders ask for your view earlier in the process and your story fits the work you are actually doing.
Two short vignettes
The finance manager everyone liked
She delivered clean reporting and held the team together. Promotions bypassed her and her story was framed as accurate and effort. When we listened for what she really did, the signal was commercial judgement and influence on choices. Once she could name that, the way others spoke about her shifted, the scope followed.
The project lead with perfect attendance
He showed up everywhere and fixed problems. His name was not attached to outcomes that mattered to the sponsor. The organisation knew he worked hard, but it did not know how he changed decisions. When that truth landed, his posture changed from I am useful to here is where I am decisive. That change preceded the role change.
These are mirrors, not instructions.
If you recognise yourself here
Stagnation is a signal, not a verdict. It is telling you that story, scope or stakeholders are out of step with your capability. If you feel an uncomfortable click reading this, pay attention to it. You do not need to chase a hundred applications or collect more certificates. You need to see the pattern clearly enough to decide what you want to be known for next.
If you want a calm place to test that story and pressure test the language, explore Job Ready or book a short Clarity Audit, let's have a discussion and a diagnostic that gives insight and next step options. The full solution lives inside a coaching partnership.
This post is an articulation of a common mid career pattern. It does not offer a two-week fix or tell you to quit. It helps you name why you feel paused so you can choose a path that fits. If you want to rehearse how you speak about decisions in interviews or stakeholder conversations, see Interview Preparation.
For background on me and standards, read about Rushdi and credentials.
