Fast Careers, Fragile Foundations
Growth is about speed or Building Knowledge A few weeks ago, I was in a conversation with a young professional—bright, articulate, ambitious. About 14 months into her role, she said, almost matter-of-factly, “I think it’s time to move on. Growth has plateaued.” I paused. Not because the statement was surprising. But because of what it revealed. Fourteen months. In many roles, you are still u nderstanding the job in that time—let alone mastering it. But somewhere along the way, growth seems to have been redefined. It is no longer about depth of learning . It is about the speed of movement . And the two are not the same. We are living in a time where progress is increasingly measured in shorter cycles. One year in a role feels long. Two years feels stagnant. Three years feels like you’ve been left behind. I often hear variations of the same narrative: “We started our careers together… look where they are now.” “They’ve already moved twice… I need to catch up.” “I can’t be in the same ro...
