Repotting approach in career

We often reach a point where, like a plant with rootbound issues, we need a change to thrive.

I love plants. I love to surround myself with green walls of plants, taking care of them and observing their magical growth. While my role as a plant parent is to take care of them, sometimes, despite all the efforts, they start to look wilting, becoming sick or simply dying. There are three essential elements that affect plants health — light (sun), water and soil. If they get the perfect balance of the elements — they are thriving. Each plant is unique and requires a different balance of those elements. And even if I give them the perfect balance, with time any plant starts looking more tired, less shiny and slowly withdrawing its vividness. And the reason for that is that the plant exceeded its potential size and now requires more space for its roots*. Nature does not care about our apartment size, or how busy we are — it needs to keep growing.

This is when I will consider repotting my plants, in other words, to give more space for roots to grow and by that to let the plant keep developing its root and shoot systems (leaves and flowers). Same approach I have for professional growth. From time to time, we are the plants that need more space to grow, to let our roots excel and to bloom again.

This need, this natural call is not something that you can control, the plant is programmed to keep going. Do we, humans, differ from the plants instincts when it comes to our growth?

Over my career I felt so many times the need to grow. But [compared to plants] we have a more complex system when it comes to changing the environment and making big decisions. We are managed by many feelings like fear, sometimes lack of confidence in ourselves or our future and those feelings can impact our decisions. The truth is that sometimes it is not a good time for a change, but it is always a good time to plan.

There are 4 steps in the repotting process

1. Potbound — recognizing the moment in which the roots exceeded the pot size and need a change

2. Pot selection — decide on the next pot size

3. Uprooting — pooling up the roots

4. Putting down new roots — adjust and adapt to a new environment

Potbound — How do you know it is time for a repotting

When I started working at Meta (a long time ago) my initial thought was that the potential of growth there is limitless. Multiple products, multiple industry spaces, global market, the complexity is endless. But after a few years I reached a wall that I felt I could not overcome. I felt that it was time for a change but I was not sure what exactly I needed to change. One thing I was sure about, it is no one’s job to decide for me what I should do next. I am a deep believer that we should be proactive and lead our way even if it looks like there is no option for that. As confused as I was, I knew that I needed help. I reached out to a career coach that I felt a strong connection with and after a few meetings I knew that no matter how it ends — it is a journey that will bring the fruits.

I remember one of the first meetings she asked me “During work meetings, do you sit next to the door?”

I was confused. No, I am sitting right at the center of the table. But then she asked me, “How do you feel when you sit at the center? Are you engaging? Do you care about the main topic? Do you feel passionate about solving this issue?” I realized that she was not talking about the sitting arrangement but about my motivation and attention. The honest answer was — no. I am not. I realized that my vividness, my energy and motivation were in the wrong place. I felt that my roots got stuck.

The truth is that I am a deep believer in cycles. Similar to nature that has circulation in summer, autumn, winter and spring, we also have cycles. So it is totally natural that we are not always blooming. Sometimes we will have slow phases at work, lower motivation or just less interest in a specific project. Or maybe this work place simply is not enough. But we should be careful with those feelings, if this winter is not changing to spring at some point, maybe we reached the wall that requires a bigger change.

Pot selection — Does that always mean changing jobs?

The short answer is NO. I even would recommend starting from where you are right now. The current workplace is a starting point, which is not starting from zero. You know the people, you know how the company works, you know the product and you know how to navigate the system. I am going to assume that it is not a case where you feel not safe, not appreciated or even not worthy. In that case — probably a new job is the answer. But if not, start where you are now.

• Map the company and the organization you are working at right now. Search for opportunities — new roles, new projects, new initiatives or responsibilities that you not necessarily have done previously.

• Start talking to people — it is always good to hear from other people on how they see the company / product growth or your future. Ask for feedback or if they know about any interesting new projects.

• Talk to your manager — one of the most important steps is talking with your manager about what you want. You will be mostly surprised that most of the people that are waiting for a promo or want something else rarely will talk to their manager and usually are very disappointed how again it is nor did they get a new shiny project or a promotion.

• Sometimes the change is not a new role or a new company but a bigger scope or new responsibilities or just a new hobby (pottery or a book club).

• If not above — start looking for a new adventure.
  

Whatever direction you are taking, make sure to give yourself time to think and plan. When people are quitting their jobs because the project is not interesting, there is no visible growth or having a personal issue with team members, they often miss opportunities that are not visible. When you are leaving the company you would like to think — I have done all I could. Now it is time to move on.

Examples of repotting

• New team / project / role at your workplace: Joining a new team, taking on a bigger or more exciting project, or even acquiring a new title and field change — for example, many Product Designers moving to Product Management, or Data Engineers to the Research field.

• New company: Well, easy to say… But yes, a new company with a new product, people, and culture.

• New career: A drastic change in career (e.g., Engineer to a completely different field like Goose Farming). I’m not talking about switching from Data Engineer to DevOps, but a more significant shift. Probably the bravest change on this list.

• A break / sabbatical: If feasible, a long break can provide a clear headspace to think on new ideas or simply to rest.

• Mentoring / teaching: Share your knowledge with others.

• New hobby: Getting serious about a hobby you have. Who knows, maybe it will grow into something more significant!

• New adventure: The sky’s the limit! Embrace anything you can frame as a new beginning.
  

Uprooting — Define the path

One of the hardest things to do (in my opinion) is not just realizing you need a change but also taking action. I often meet people who can talk for years about feeling stuck, but they do nothing about it. There are many open questions that pop up when we think about the change.

Does my [job] title define my success?

Can I afford to give up on something that I worked so hard on?

Does quitting mean giving up?

Or maybe we are seeking for a change that is bigger than a workplace?

Some say it is a privilege to make changes, as any change brings risk. And I 100% agree. The act of doing is always scarier than the act of not doing.

We also realize that the longer we do not make any changes, the harder it is to push ourselves to do it. Let us imagine a small plant that needs to be moved to a bigger pot. We can picture the operation, it does not require special equipment or space.

Now let us imagine a tree that needs to be moved. This is more complicated. Bigger roots will require more force to pull them up and more work to move it anywhere. Roots are standing for our behavioral patterns and common environment so it is only natural that a change might bring discomfort and fear of the unknown.

But any change starts with a small step. You can decide that every week you dedicate time for a selected activity, it might be a meeting with a mentor/coach, or a new class where you are learning something new, a book or any inspiring interaction that can help you move toward your bigger goal. As long as you move — you are making progress. Eventually this process will give you enough power to make a bigger step.

For me personally it was starting working with my career coach and taking control of my financial life. Together with my husband, we defined financial goals and built a system to manage our money*. This made me much more confident in my next steps and gave me peace of mind.

*If that topic is interesting lmk and I will contact you with a detailed list of recommendations.

Putting down new roots —

Embrace the uncertainty

Going back to my conversations with a coach, one of the constant battles I had was not to know what would happen. I am the type of person that is constantly strategizing next steps and trying to have everything under control and it is really hard for me to “trust the future.” I wanted to know how I would feel if I quit Meta, I wanted to know if I would succeed in building a new chapter in my career, and the question of all questions — what will I do. I am grateful that my coach stopped me there and asked me to “worry” only about 50% of all my concerns.

50/50 is an approach that I have taken since. What it means is that I will do absolutely everything that I can do in order to achieve my goal. But I am sure that there are uncertain future factors that will surprise me (for good or for bad) and I will adapt accordingly. We can not control everything and worrying about it also is a waste of energy.

Did you know that when a plant is growing it moves the energy toward only growing parts — like new leaves, flowers or fruits. It manages the energy so the essential part of the plant will keep growing while sealing other areas from taking the energy. That principle I am trying to use when I have an endless TO DO. I am focusing my energy only on the areas that are part of the next step in my career growth.

Practicing repotting in your career can bring more space for growth and open new horizons that we might have not even dreamed of. But also listening to our inner voice and making sure that this plant is ready for the next step is important. Maybe you are a plant that must live in a wild forest without the container and external limits. Maybe you are a greenhouse plant that needs a controlled temperature, automatic watering and careful cultivation. Regardless, understanding our individual needs, just like a gardener understands their plants, allows us to flourish and reach our full potential. There’s beauty and growth to be found anywhere.