Clarity for Career Growth

Posted on August 28, 2025 by Mehnaz Amjad, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.

Many years ago, neck-deep in work, making waves, and lost in my world of meeting goals, one fine day, out of nowhere, my manager asked me to assist a colleague from a different function.

I readily agreed because I would score a brownie point and use it to push for a promotion, which I had been passed over for the second consecutive year. This was a case of an employee who had just returned from the US onsite work and had been diagnosed with a disease, which, for some reason, had to be kept under wraps.

Despite being a last-minute notice, since I considered my supervisor as my mentor, with blind faith would follow any instructions he gave me, so when this weird request came from nowhere, I jumped, agreed, and without a second thought, was in the car, on a chase to locate this weird employee with an odd secret disease.

And for what?
I was so lost in my sadness of not being promoted and madness to do anything to find my visibility to grow and get promoted ( that I actually did not question or make any inquiries), instead I assumed that Iam chosen because my team, my supervisor are all trying to position me as a next level employee and yes, I will be promoted soon, for sure this time!

I returned to the office late and was grilled by the most senior leader in the function regarding this case. Already scared of him and his bulging eyes, I fumbled with my responses, and for most questions, I went totally silent, making a fool of myself.

I couldn’t answer because I was in the grip of fear, and since I had acted on impulse, I actually had no details about this whole episode and thus couldn’t provide any answers.

My silence only made him more furious, and I received more and more feedback for it, a total backfire on my visibility attempt.

No one came to my rescue; I was back in my victimhood, crying like a child scared of the headmaster.
If you observe closely, it is a mess made up of my own confused state, gripped in fear and driven by the subconscious brain operating out of the past.

1. I had a fear of authority.
2.Unexplained haste to grow and excel
3.Incorrect approach to grow in my career
4.Driven by assumptions
5. Lacking perspective and, most importantly, the support that one needs, especially when you hit mid-career level and need to perform at the next level.

My work was driven by assumptions accumulated from previous performance appraisals and the meanings I have derived and attached to them.

A complete story, a narrative of my own making!
Lack of perspective and support are two key tools one needs to manoeuvre the complexities of our role as mid-career working people, and that’s precisely why we need clarity, which not only empowers but also supports us in dealing with tricky situations like the one I was in.

If any part of it resonates with you, it is an indication to you that you need support and that clarity does not crop up automatically, and is a collective effort of you in alignment with key factors.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Warmly,
Mehnaz Amjad