Hi Lulu

Good to hear from you and with a problem that many people face. There are two ways of looking at this - one is that you are not in the right place for some reason - you don't fit into the company culture, its a good place but there are no career opportunities, you can't build the right supportive management relationship - all of which would indicate that it is worth making a change to find something that suits you better.

However, from the tone of your question, it sounds more as if you get upset and run away? In which case, this will just keep happening until you understand why, so good for you for questioning.

The first port of call is to understand the problem - what are you not giving/doing that the company/your manager needs. This is the time for a courageous conversation about the situation - sit down with your significant manager or the HR person and find out exactly what it going on - what do they want you to do differently; what are they not getting that they need, what would it take for you to make the next career step? It may be a matter of skill development, in which case find out what you need to do to gain it. It may be in how you build relationships with your colleagues or direct reports. Whatever it is - keep asking questions until you are completely clear what the problem is. This won't be easy and you will want to run again. Try not to be defensive - ask open questions eg: help me understand the problem, what do I need to do differently; give me examples......... keep listening and say little - this is about exploration, not battle.

Once you are clear, then talk with someone you trust about your options. Whatever the problem is, you can change it if you have the appetite. Read through the Success Behaviours in The Psychology of Success, particularly the one about taking responsibilty and focus on being deeply honest with yourself.

I'm sure there is a big learning out there for you that will lead to future success - let me know how it goes judith@judithlearyjoyce.com