Getting over a career brick wall

How do you get over a work-related brick wall?  

The start of our careers can be pretty plain sailing. You’re constantly learning, there are structures in place to get to the next level. A bit of hard work, some fun, following the right processes and boom – you’re promoted!

But often, what comes after that can be extremely challenging. New expectations, different challenges and heightened responsibility without clear training or processes on how to manage this can be very hard to navigate.

It’s one thing to learn how to do an audit or a technical report. It’s another to learn the softer skills that come with managing difficult people, winning work and handling failures.

If this feels familiar, remember:

• You are not alone
• Finding areas of your work challenging is completely normal and doesn’t mean you are failing
• Start to get curious about the areas of work that are creating stress for you and explore what you are making that mean
• Embrace the uncomfortable feelings! There’s nothing actually wrong with feeling uncomfortable – your brain is just trying to warn you of some potential danger, but the reality is usually that you are perfectly safe already
• Reach out for support – just talking to someone about what you are experiencing can be a huge help and often lead you to come up with ideas and solutions yourself