THIS ARTICLE WAS PUBLISHED IN THE FEBRUARY 2017 ADDITION OF THE ACCOUNTANCY SA MAGAZINE.
More than a few of my clients become clients because they are stuck! No matter what they do, they just cannot seem to make their way upwards.
Needless to say, they usually insist that they need to leave their current position to seek greener pastures. And that is when I give them the bad news:
The reason they are not moving up the ladder has nothing to do with the ladder!
And, yes, you’ve guessed it.
It’s not what the present company is doing that is keeping them stuck – it’s what they are doing that’s keeping them stuck!
Now we are not talking about first time job seekers with a basic education. We are talking about people who are getting paid upwards of R600,000 pa.
That’s a lot of money and that is an important person doing a big value-add job of work.
That’s you, CA(SA)!
So here is the most important thing you will ever learn in your life:
The reason they are not moving up the ladder has nothing to do with the ladder!
This also means that moving to another company is more than likely not going to solve the problem – the upward movement. It might feel that way because you may have a sexier title, a thicker roll of dollars and a nicer desk. But nothing’s changed – you haven’t changed.
All well and good you might say. Don’t throw vague innuendo at me, you might say. Put something on the table.
Well here it is:
The reason they are not moving up the ladder has nothing to do with the ladder!
Come on now! This is broken record stuff – move on!
Well, what I’m trying to get across here is that we all create exactly what we get. It’s that simple.
This is a massive lesson. It took me most of my adult life to find this out. And I rose up through the ranks over the years. What I missed is that I was not acknowledging me. I was too busy blaming the ladder to realise that I was just doing it all wrong!
So what’s the issue here?
The bottom line is, that if it is not working out your way then change your way. Do not expect the way to change for you.
So here is a lovely, cute little poem that says it all:
Autobiography in Five Short Chapters (By Portia Nelson)
- I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I fall in. I am lost . . . . I am hopeless. It isn’t my fault. It takes forever to find a way out!
- I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I pretend I don’t see it. I fall in again. I can’t believe that I am the same place! But it isn’t my fault. It still takes a long time to get out.
- I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I see it there. I still fall in . . . it’s a habit. My eyes are open, I know where I am. It is my fault. I get out immediately.
- I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I walk around it.
- I walk down another street.
What a wonderfully simple way of describing the journey from victimhood to empowerment.
Which point are you at?