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Erin, welcome to unlearning work, where we empower you to redesign your job by rethinking work habits, behaviors and strategies. I'm your host. Erin Merideth, a work behavior enthusiast and leadership strategist. Join me as I explore various work related topics and provide practical insights and real life examples. We'll examine the nature of work from the ground up and deliver bite size episodes with actionable advice twice a month.
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Welcome back to unlearning work. This is where we look at how work is actually set up so you can change what you do and get better results without working more. Today's episode is about a moment a lot of people hit, especially if you've been successful before. It's that point where you're still doing the work, you're still showing up. But something isn't moving the way it used to, and the question starts to creep in, is it me, or is it this role?
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Here's what this often looks like. You've done well in past roles, you've taken on more you've been trusted with bigger things. So now you know you can perform, but now you're in meetings and your ideas don't really land. You're delivering work, but it doesn't seem to go anywhere. You hear about opportunities after decisions are already made. For example, someone I worked with kept being told they needed to be more strategic. So they did what most people do. They prepared more, they brought more ideas, they spoke up more in meetings, but nothing changed, because the issue wasn't the volume of ideas. It was they weren't in the conversations where decisions were being shaped in the first place,
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and that's the moment where people usually double down. They think I just need to do more. But before you do that, it's worth stepping back and looking at what's actually driving the outcome
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in a lot of organizations, especially large ones, advancement is not just about performance. It's shaped by things you don't always see. Who hired you, who is advocating for you, where you sit in the network, what people already believe about you. And here's a simple example. A role gets posted. It looks open, it looks competitive, but behind the scenes, three people have already have someone in mind.
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They've worked with them before. They trust them. They've seen them in action. So even if you apply and you're qualified, you're entering the process late,
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once you see that something shifts. Because now it's not just about how hard you're working, it's about whether your work is positioned in a way that can actually move. And this is where people get stuck. They stay focused on, how do I prove myself? Instead of asking, what is this environment set up to reward? Let me give you another example. Someone I coached was in a role where their manager didn't hire them. The manager consistently leaned towards people they brought in themselves, not intentionally, not maliciously, but there's a natural bias there. So this person kept trying to prove their value through output, better work, faster work, more visible, work. But the real lever wasn't output. It was sponsorship, and they didn't have it.
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Now this is important, because when you hear that, it's easy to jump to then I should leave. But that's not the point. This is not about quitting. This is about understanding what's actually influencing your results so you can make better decisions. Inside of it, there's a difference between a role that's stretching you and a setup that's not converting your efforts into progress, and if you don't separate those, you'll keep pushing in places that don't want to move. So what do you do? Let's make this practical.
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First define success for yourself, not what the company says, not what your last role looked like. What do you actually want to be doing? For example, do you want to be closer to decisions? Do you want more ownership? Do you want to build something new? Because if you don't define that, you'll keep chasing roles that look good but don't fit now, once you have that, the next step is understanding how movement actually happens. Number two shift from applying to connecting. Most people rely on job postings, but movement usually happens before that. Here is a simple example. One person I worked with started reaching out to people in different teams, not asking for jobs, just reconnecting, sharing something useful, following up on past conversations, staying in touch. A few months later, when a role opened, then it wasn't a cold name or a cold call, they were someone people already knew. And that leads to the next piece, which people often overlook.
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Three follow where things are actually working. Instead of asking, what roles are open? Ask where is the business investing? For example, are there teams growing? Are there areas getting more attention? Are there leaders building strong teams? That's where movement is more likely, because those environments need people.
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People. And then there's one shift that changes how you experience your current role, and that's number four, use your role as data. Instead of trying to fix everything, start observing what's what parts of the work feel natural. Where do you get traction? Where do you feel blocked? For example, you might notice you do great work independently, but struggle in environments where everything runs through one person that's useful information, not something to fight, something to factor into your next move.
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Now it's time to practice this. Here's something simple to try this week. Pick one moment where you feel stuck or overlooked instead of reacting, pause and ask, is this something I can change with effort, or is this shaped by how things are set up? Then take one small step outside your role, send one message, reconnect with one person, explore one area. You're not solving everything. You're just creating movement.
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The goal here isn't to leave your job, it's to understand your situation clearly enough that you stop guessing, because when you see what's actually driving outcomes, you make different choices, smaller ones, more targeted ones, ones that actually move. And if this episode gave you something to think about it, try it in one moment this week. Don't change everything. Just notice where your effort is going and whether the system around you can actually move it. And if you know someone who's been working hard but not getting traction, share This with them. That's where this work starts. The
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