The Grass is Greener Where You Water It

When is the ideal moment to take a new career opportunity?

Early career wisdom seems to be that the right time to seek out a new opportunity is when you sense a peak or plateau within your current role.  Ideally, the company recognizes this peak and rewards the employee with a promotion, providing an opportunity for further growth and development.  However, sometimes there is a disconnect between the employee’s growth objectives and the needs of the company, and the employee seeks a growth opportunity elsewhere.

The ups and downs of the job market these past few years have challenged this conventional wisdom. Perhaps there is a value in holding steady across that plateau to reach growth and rewards on the other side of the plain.  

During the past few years of economic tumult, we've observed peers who leaped at enticing offers only to face layoffs shortly after. Conversely, others endured stagnation-induced despondency.

Navigating one's career path during stagnant and ambiguous times is akin to balancing on a slow-moving bicycle. It presents unique challenges.

I was speaking with a friend of mine recently who experienced meteoric growth early in his career, followed by an extended period of change, challenge, and ambiguity.  Rather than looking at those changes and challenges and “seeing the writing on the wall,” he developed a new skill set.  He learned to thrive in ambiguity by cultivating a high degree of flexibility in his thinking, fostering strong relationships, and constantly redirecting the business towards its North Star: delivering exceptional results for clients.  After several years (not months!) this steady, persistent effort paid off for him in the form of a prestigious promotion, and also for the company that benefited from his unwavering commitment to clients.

As the winter begins to peter out and March brings in the spring season and the annual review process, this is the season to take stock of the accomplishments we’ve made over the past year and determine the best place to sow our 2024.  This provides an opportunity to consider what more may be available if we shift our focus from seeking greener pastures elsewhere to cultivating what’s already in our own plots.  We’ve carefully tended to our responsibilities and our relationships.  We’ve invested the time and energy required to build processes and maybe even entire departments.  Perhaps we’ve even cultivated credibility and some level of fulfillment through our efforts.  The next step is to enter into a new season by planting new seeds, rotating the beds, trying a new technique, and exploring what more can be accomplished if we dig just a little deeper into our own plots this year.  

2024 may well bring the economic tailwinds that we’ve been hoping for.  If it does, it could be wonderful to be in a position of strength, knowing that we’ve held steady across the plain and that we’re ready to ride those tailwinds up to the next level.

There's immense value in mastering diverse business environments and learning to flourish regardless of external circumstances. Developing our skill set without changing our location can signal true growth beyond what is achieved through simply switching jobs. 

When I asked my friend how he knew to stay and work hard where he was, he shared this truism with me:  Sometimes, the grass isn’t greener on the other side of the fence.  The grass is greener where you water it.

- Maureen Cawley, Chief People Officer, Saatva