Steady here, Star there

One organisation's steady performer is often another organisation's star. I have watched this happen more times than I can count. The person rarely changes much. What changes is the place around them.

The pattern is familiar. Someone does good, reliable work for years. Their reviews are fine. When they resign, nobody fights very hard to keep them. A couple of years later the name comes up again, and they are thriving somewhere else, often in a much bigger role.

When I interview candidates, one of the questions I ask is what conditions need to be present for them to thrive. I think of it the way you would think about a plant. Put it in the wrong light or the wrong soil and it struggles, however healthy it is. Move it somewhere that suits it and it flourishes. The plant is the same. The conditions are different.

Why it happens

Every organisation has its own idea of what good looks like. You can see it in who gets promoted, whose ideas get picked up in meetings and which behaviours get praised. If the way you work matches that idea, people notice you. If it doesn't, you can do excellent work and still be seen as solid and no more.

Take someone who thinks carefully before they speak. In a culture that rewards the fastest answer in the room, they look hesitant. In a business that values considered judgement, they are the person everyone wants in the meeting before a hard decision.

Or take someone who loves building things from scratch. In an organisation that mainly needs things kept running, they look restless. In a start-up or a turnaround, that same restlessness is the job.

That match, between how you work best and what your organisation rewards, is what I mean by culture fit. It has nothing to do with being like everyone else.

If you don't feel appreciated

When people feel overlooked, most of them conclude that they are average. Often that is the wrong conclusion. They may simply be in a place that doesn't value what they do best.

So before you decide anything about yourself, ask yourself the question I ask candidates. What conditions need to be present for you to thrive? Then look honestly at whether your organisation provides them.

If it isn't, try to change things from inside first. A different manager, a different team or a role closer to your strengths can make a big difference, and it is worth asking for.

If that isn't possible, accept that another organisation may value exactly what this one overlooks. Leaving for a better fit is not a failure. Many of the people I have watched leave went on to do the best work of their careers.

One thing to do

Write down the last time work felt easy and you were good at it. Then write down what was true about that place, from the pace and your manager to the problems you were given and what got noticed.

Keep that list. It is your answer to the question I ask candidates, and it is worth using as the brief for your next role, inside your organisation or outside it.