CAREER PLAYBOOK
Navigate growth decisions.
Build momentum, not just movement.
When you're navigating promotion decisions, skill-building, or career pivots, this category helps you cut through uncertainty, build your case, and make strategic moves that align with your long-term goals.
If you're feeling stuck right now
Don't let indecision or uncertainty freeze your momentum. Start here to gain clarity:
- Write down the top 3 career questions keeping you up at night.
- Identify what you truly value most in your career right now (growth, stability, impact, balance).
- Spend the next hour working through one strategic tool below instead of overthinking.
What this category covers
Use this category when you're navigating career decisions, skill development, or promotion opportunities. It's built for professionals who want to grow strategically rather than reactively, and need frameworks to navigate uncertainty and build their case.
When to use this category
- You're considering a promotion, role change, or career pivot.
- You need to build a case for advancement but aren't sure how to frame it.
- You're evaluating skill development paths and investment priorities.
- You're navigating internal politics or visibility challenges affecting career growth.
- You feel "stuck" or uncertain about your next career move.
If the main issue is workplace conflict, toxic behavior, or immediate performance concerns, try Manager Relationship & Leadership Style or Workplace Dynamics & Politics instead.
What this category helps you do:
- Turn vague career aspirations into concrete, actionable plans.
- Build compelling cases for promotion or role changes.
- Navigate organizational politics with career goals in mind.
- Identify and close skill gaps strategically.
- Make career decisions aligned with your values and long-term goals.
How you'll recognise this pattern
You'll recognise it if:
You're thinking about growth but feel uncertain about the right path forward.
- You're ready for more responsibility but unclear how to position yourself.
- You see others advancing while you feel stagnant or overlooked.
- You're considering a career pivot but don't know where to start.
- You receive mixed signals about promotion opportunities.
- You're unsure which skills to develop for maximum impact.
Typical pain points:
Career growth feels like a guessing game rather than a strategic process.
- Unclear promotion criteria or subjective evaluation processes.
- Limited visibility or advocacy within the organization.
- Competing priorities between current role responsibilities and future growth.
- Uncertainty about market trends and relevant skill development.
- Difficulty translating achievements into compelling career narratives.
What's really happening underneath
Career growth in modern organizations is rarely a straightforward ladder. It's a combination of performance, visibility, timing, and organizational dynamics. Understanding these underlying factors helps you navigate more strategically.
- Promotions often depend more on perceived potential and organizational fit than just past performance.
- Career "pauses" or lateral moves can sometimes be more strategic than immediate vertical progression.
- Visibility with key decision-makers often matters as much as technical competence.
- Organizational changes (restructuring, new leadership) create both risks and opportunities for career growth.
- Career planning requires balancing short-term wins with long-term trajectory considerations.
Your core moves in this category
These moves define your approach and posture — how to think about career growth strategically before you act. Use them to shape your intent, then apply the specific tools that follow.
- Identify key decision-makers and influencers in your growth path.
- Understand formal and informal promotion criteria.
- Map organizational priorities and how your growth aligns with them.
- Identify both visible and hidden opportunities for advancement.
- Translate achievements into business impact narratives.
- Connect your growth to organizational needs and priorities.
- Develop "future-back" thinking: show readiness for the next role.
- Create evidence-based arguments rather than emotion-based appeals.
- Time your moves strategically based on organizational cycles.
- Build visibility and advocacy without appearing self-promotional.
- Create multiple pathways rather than betting everything on one opportunity.
- Maintain flexibility to adapt to changing organizational realities.
Recommended from The Toolkit
Start with the career landscape assessment to understand your context, then move into case-building and strategic planning. Each tool is designed to help you move from uncertainty to actionable strategy.
- Maps decision-makers, influencers, and informal power structures.
- Identifies both formal and unwritten promotion criteria.
- Highlights organizational priorities that align with career growth.
- Helps translate achievements into business impact stories.
- Structures your case around organizational priorities.
- Provides language for discussing growth without sounding entitled.
- Walks you through evaluating different career paths systematically.
- Helps identify transferable skills and potential gaps.
- Provides frameworks for making the pivot strategically rather than reactively.
Confident scripts for career conversations
Not sure if this is the right category?
If you're dealing with difficult manager dynamics, start with Manager Relationship & Leadership Style.