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 understanding 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 role for too long.”

There is an invisible race unfolding.

Not always declared.
But deeply felt.

And like most races, it changes behaviour.

People are moving faster than ever before.

But I often wonder—are we also learning faster?

Or are we just moving faster?

Because real learning, especially in complex roles, does not happen in straight lines.

It requires time.
Repetition.
Mistakes.
Context.

You don’t understand a business in presentations.
You understand it in patterns.
In cycles.
In seeing what works… and what breaks.

And that takes time.

Increasingly, I see a different pattern.

People enter a role.
They grasp the basics quickly.
They perform well in the early phase.
And just when the job begins to reveal its complexity—they move.

On the surface, it looks like growth.

But over time, it creates something else.

A mile wide.
An inch deep.

And that has consequences.

I’ve experienced this personally in conversations.

Sitting across mid-to-senior professionals—smart, confident, well-positioned—
and asking what should be fundamental questions in their domain.

Not trick questions.
Not theoretical ones.

Just basic, foundational understanding.

And occasionally, there is hesitation.

Not because they lack intelligence.
But because somewhere, depth was never built.

Part of this shift is also the world we live in today.

Information is abundant.
Answers are instant.

With AI tools and LLMs, you can access knowledge in seconds.
You can sound informed.
You can respond quickly.

But there is a difference between accessing knowledge and owning knowledge.

One is external.
The other is internal.

And organizations can sense that difference over time.

Accessing Knowledge Vs Owning Knowledge?

We are also seeing this in quieter ways.

Fewer people read deeply.
Fewer people stay with one problem long enough to truly understand it.
Learning is becoming more transactional.

“What do I need to know to move ahead?”
rather than
“What do I need to understand to become better?”

It is a subtle shift.
But a significant one.

None of this is to say that ambition is wrong.

Ambition is important. The hunger to grow is necessary.

But it is worth pausing and asking:

What does growth really mean?

Is it:

1. The number of role changes?

2. The speed of promotions?

3. The compensation jumps?

4. Or the titles we accumulate?

Or is it something quieter… and more enduring?

The ability to:

• Understand complexity

• Make better decisions

• Build depth in a domain

• And create impact that lasts beyond roles

Because here is the paradox.

When growth becomes only about pace,
it often starts to erode the very capability required for long-term success.

Shortcuts may accelerate movement.
But they rarely build mastery.

And over time, the gap shows.

As leaders and organizations, this is a question we must confront.

Are we rewarding speed more than substance?

Are we creating environments where people feel compelled to move…
before they are ready to deepen?

And as individuals, perhaps the harder question is personal.

Are we running our own race?
Or someone else’s timeline?

I often go back to a simple thought.

Careers are long.

And not everything that moves fast… moves far.

Fast growth can elevate you quickly. Only depth can sustain you there.