Have you stayed too long in one job? Are you bored at work?

That depends deeply on your Career Concept. Some people define success as moving up. (Linear) Others as becoming an expert craftsman, artisan or national treasure. (Expert) Others as constant learning. (Spiral) Others as something other than work. (Transitory) (Driver and Brousseau at USC. Self-Assessment at my website Level Three Leadership ) Your question implies a Linear or Spiral core VABE.

If you are an Expert at heart and value hands on craftsmanship more than increasing power and status, then perhaps never. How long should an artist, sculptor, athlete, writer, cabinet maker, engineer, guitar maker, consultant stay at their jobs so long as they are improving? Perhaps lifelong.

Are you clear on what you want? IME most people aren’t. Money? Power? Fame? Salvation? Live long? Do you really want more responsibility, that is, to move up in power and status? It sounds nice, and consider the content of the Linear job path. Distance from doing it yourself, adopting the Linear VABE “I enjoy getting things done through other people,” taking work home at night with you (I’ve been there), making big strategic bets with no assurance that you are right, tolerating multiple attacks on you and your decisions, feeling responsible for thousands of lives, worrying about financial stability, and much much more.

As another respondent has noted, are you bored silly? I’m at heart an Expert and my experience in large bureaucratic organizations (like traditional banks) was abject boredom. People who love finance didn’t feel that way—I was more interested in “why people behave the way they do” and loved every minute of my subsequent career in Leadership and Organizational Behavior.

Have you identified your purpose in life yet? Many people live “outside-in” wandering about using trial-and-error looking for satisfaction. People who have chosen (usually not given) a purpose in life tend to have focus and energy. It sounds to me like you are living outside-in waiting for the world to give you satisfaction. i predict that when you (if ever) clarify your life’s purpose/mission, boredom will never be an issue.

I encourage you to begin crafting a ”robust personal charter.” To begin, one sentence—what’s your purpose in life? “To be happy” isn’t specific enough. There’s a summary chart below. For more see my website at Level Three Leadership