Imagine you are on a long-haul flight. No turbulence. The food was fine. Nothing went wrong.
But seven hours in, you are uncomfortable, restless, and drained. Nothing is broken. But you know you do not want to be there anymore.
That is how most professionals describe the jobs they eventually leave. And because nothing is visibly on fire, they stay far too long.
This article was originally recorded as a video. You can watch the full episode on YouTube if you prefer.
After placing over 250 professionals into six-figure roles, I have seen what staying too long actually costs. It is not just wasted time. It is eroded confidence, missed market windows, and a CV that starts to look stagnant.
The people who leave well do not just quit. They use a framework to diagnose whether it is time, and then they execute a plan. I call it LEAVE: Learning, Energy, Advancement, Values, and External Pull.
The LEAVE Framework is a five-signal diagnostic for deciding whether to quit your job: assess your Learning, Energy, Advancement path, Values alignment, and External Pull from the market.
If three or more apply to you, you are not stuck. You are choosing to stay. If you want to take the full test and see exactly where you stand, grab the free LEAVE assessment here.
How do you know if your job has stopped developing you?
The first signal is Learning. The market does not reward your past. It rewards what you can do next.
I once worked with an operations manager who had been at the same company for 12 years. Brilliant at his job. Knew every system, every process, every workaround.
But when I asked him what he had learned in the last 18 months, he stopped. That pause told me everything.
The real question is not "Are you good at your job?" It is "Is your job still upgrading you?"
If you are not building new capability, you are not stable. You are drifting. And drifting has a cost. Your skills become dated. Your market value quietly declines. By the time you notice, you are competing against people who spent those same years learning.
One of my clients, Jeremy, had been coasting for ten years in the same role. Within 90 days of leaving, he landed a director-level position paying 25k more. The role existed the entire time. He just could not see it from where he was sitting.
What does it mean when Sunday evenings feel heavy?
The second signal is Energy. Here is a simple test.
Sunday. Around 6pm. How do you feel?
People in the right role feel neutral. Maybe even ready for the week. People in the wrong role feel something heavier. Not panic. Just flat.
I had a client, a senior supply chain director, who told me she started setting her alarm 15 minutes later every Monday. Not because she needed sleep. Because she wanted 15 fewer minutes of being awake knowing what was coming.
That is not a bad week. That is erosion.
You can fake motivation for a while. Your energy cannot. If your job is draining your ambition rather than fuelling it, that is the second signal.
Is there a real path forward or are you just hoping?
The third signal is Advancement. And this one requires honesty.
A promotion is a title. Advancement is trajectory. They are not the same thing.
Can your manager clearly explain what the next level looks like, what you need to prove, and how long it should take?
If not, you do not have a growth plan. You have hope. And hope is not a strategy.
I have seen people wait three years for "the right time" in companies where the role above them did not exist, the budget did not exist, or the intention did not exist.
That is not a situation to fix. That is a situation to leave. If there is no clear path, you are not progressing. You are parked.
What happens when your values no longer match the company?
The fourth signal is Values. This is the most underestimated of the five.
A values mismatch does not make work annoying. It changes who you become inside the role.
You stop speaking honestly in meetings. You stop pushing for better outcomes. You stop giving that extra 10%. Not because you have become lazy, but because it does not matter anymore.
When your effort stops changing anything, you stop giving it.
Ask yourself this: Do you trust how decisions get made here? Not whether you agree with every decision. Whether you respect the process.
If the answer is no, consistently, that is the fourth signal. When you stop caring how things are done, you have already mentally checked out.
Should you explore opportunities even if the timing does not feel right?
The fifth signal is External Pull. This is the one people avoid.
External pull means the market is starting to notice you. Better roles, more scope, higher pay. And instead of exploring it, you keep saying "Now is not the right time."
I worked with a VP who got approached three times in six months for a CFO-level role. Three times. Each time he said no.
When I asked him what he was waiting for, he could not answer. He was not waiting for the right time. He was waiting for permission.
External pull is the market telling you that you have options. The question is whether you act on them.
When the market keeps calling and you keep ignoring it, that is not timing. That is fear.
How do you use the LEAVE framework to make a decision?
Score yourself honestly on each signal:
- Learning. Have you stopped growing? Has your job stopped upgrading your skills in the last 12 months?
- Energy. Has your motivation drained? Do Sunday evenings carry a weight they should not?
- Advancement. Is there a real, documented path forward, or are you relying on vague promises?
- Values. Do you still respect how decisions are made, or have you mentally disengaged?
- External Pull. Is the market signalling that you have better options, and are you ignoring them?
If three or more apply, you already know. The data is clear. What most people lack is not information. It is permission.
If you want to run the full LEAVE assessment and see exactly how to apply it to your situation, take the free test here.
What mistakes do people make when they decide to leave?
This is where most people get it wrong. They decide to leave and then mess up what happens next:
- Quitting before they have a plan. Emotional resignations feel good for 48 hours. Then reality hits. Never leave without a 90-day transition plan that includes your financial runway, target companies, and interview preparation.
- Applying for the wrong roles. People in a rush to leave take the first thing that looks better. Six months later, they are in the same situation with a shorter tenure on their CV.
- Positioning themselves badly. "I left because I was unhappy" is not a narrative. "I achieved what I set out to accomplish and identified a growth opportunity that was not available internally" is a narrative.
- Burning bridges on the way out. Your current employer is a future reference, a future client, or a future employer. Leave professionally, leave gracefully, and leave with relationships intact.
What does a 90-day exit plan look like?
Days 1-30: Prepare. Get your CV updated and stress-tested. Build your target company list. Start having informal conversations with recruiters in your space. Do not hand in your notice. Do not tell your colleagues. Just prepare.
Days 31-60: Position. Start reaching out to decision-makers at your target companies. Not applying to job boards. Having conversations. The best roles at this level are filled before they are posted.
Days 61-90: Execute. By now you should have two or three active conversations, at least one formal interview process, and a clear financial picture. This is when you resign. With an offer in hand or in late-stage discussions. Not before.
The difference between people who leave well and people who leave badly is not courage. It is preparation.
The bottom line
If three or more of the five LEAVE signals apply to you, you are not stuck. You are choosing to stay. The difference between people who leave well and people who leave badly is a 90-day plan.
What is your next step?
If you want to see how your CV holds up before you start exploring, try the free Six Figure CV tool. Upload your CV and get an instant score with specific fixes, built from 9,000+ executive interviews.
And if you are ready to work directly with me to land your next six-figure role, check out how we can work together.