62. Know when your career is stuck.

Just as you’ll encounter distractions in the course of your day or week, beware of assignments or roles that can burn up years of your career without helping you to grow and advance.

I know one promising young executive who grew so committed to the success of a specific initiative that many years went by before she realized that she was in a dead-end job. Her work was successful, but because there were no positions for her to grow into in her company, she was forced to make a lateral move in order to have a chance to move up.

Your career is stuck when:

• You’ve become committed to a department’s success without knowing how it will benefit your own career.

• You’ve grown extremely comfortable in your current role, succeeding easily without exerting yourself.

• Everyone comes to you for answers, and you stop learning new things yourself.

• You’re happy in your current job but still waiting for an opportunity to present itself that will truly test your resolve. (They rarely present themselves. You need to go out and find them.)

• Your success is overly dependent on one relationship. If that person were to move on, you’d be in trouble.

If one of these applies to you, snap out of it. While it’s important to be concerned about the success of your team, your boss, and your company, you can do so while still making sure you’re moving ahead in your own career. There is nothing wrong with wanting the best for yourself and your company.