5 Critical Questions to Evaluate Organization Pace

Last week, I had the opportunity to attend a women’s networking breakfast sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers, Llp.  The guest speaker, Karen Miller, is a Senior Vice President at Sigma-Aldrich.  She spoke to the group of professionals about how to take charge of your career, how to develop and use skills outside your primary area of expertise, and how to network effectively to maximize your opportunities.

While there were many interesting nuggets of information during the discussion, one thing that Karen said stayed with me all weekend. She shared that there will be times in each of our careers where our pace is faster than our organization’s pace.  When that happens, what do you do? When you are in a work environment where the pace is not aligned with your pace, it’s time to evaluate your situation.  I’ve found several questions helpful in evaluating a situation.

5 Critical Questions to Evaluate Pace

• Is this the organization you want to be part of?
• Is the pace of the organization something you can live with, or will you feel undervalued if you stay?
• If you want to stay, what steps can you take to ensure that you remain challenged even though the organization pace of change is slow?
• What benefits are there to remain with a company that may not allow you to utilize your skills and grow?
• Are the rewards of leaving the company worth the risk?

I have been in this position at a prior company, so the question hit home for me.  Personally, when I finally realized I had asked myself all those questions, I knew the right answer for me was to find an organization that embraced change and innovation.  It’s not always that easy though. What has been your experience?  Would you change jobs, careers even, if it meant moving to a more progressive, fast-paced organization?

Share in the comments.  I’d love to hear from you.