You Don’t Always Have to Climb the Ladder

I get it! The temptation to crawl your way up the slippery ladder of success can blind us to a world full of opportunities. But why does it always have to be an upward path? Sometimes a well-considered sidestep or backstep can make the road to success much smoother, more fulfilling, and quicker to reach your desired goal.

We are often told about climbing the career ladder, being at the bottom rung of the ladder, or rising up through the ladder. As one of my favourite authors, Matt Haigh, says, by doing so, we visualise life as one vertical race. We look above to the future or below to the past, meaning we never look around across the horizontal landscape of opportunities that life can bring.

The trouble with ladders is that they give you no room to move around, just room to fall. I have experienced this, and I have also witnessed it in many organisations in the C-suite.

Taking the leap to move away from a successful HR career to pursue my love for true HR and business support was nothing short of daunting. There was no guaranteed salary, and I had a young family, but my passion and determination for what I do gave me the push to take this risk!

I was confident in my personality, years of experience, and ability to be a consultant. My WHY was clear. I knew what I wanted to do and how I could help businesses achieve their goals. However, I quickly learned that although I had the experience, I didn’t necessarily have the tools to run my own business.

I wasted no time investing in myself and understanding the missing components I needed to gather to get into a stronger position. I took a step aside from a director role to learn more about how to run a business. Fast forward two years, I am now actively running Vone HR, a fully-fledged business owner, and growing!

Balancing Ambition with Patience
Patience has always been a hard skill for me to master, but it is an important one. While ambition drives you to aim higher, patience ensures you don't rush the process. Career growth takes time, and it's important to balance the two. Celebrate small victories along the way and understand that each step up the ladder is a building block for the next.

Evaluating and Reflecting
In conclusion, my advice would be to regularly evaluate your progress and reflect on your experiences. Are you meeting your goals? What lessons have you learned? What can you improve? Reflection helps you stay on track and make necessary adjustments to your strategy.