There's an old saying in business: if a business isn't growing, it's going backwards. But what does that mean for you, the person building a career inside one?

The Typical Business Life Cycle

Most businesses follow a familiar pattern. The founders set it up full of lofty ambitions, big plans, big growth, take on the world. Some businesses do keep growing, sometimes into huge organisations, and those businesses continually challenge themselves to improve and become more robust.

But many businesses, most often in the SME world, though it can happen to large firms too -plateau at a certain size. And that plateau is usually dictated by the owners themselves: either what they're comfortable with, or what they're capable of.

Let's be fair here. The founders and owners took all the initial risk in setting the business up and rode the rollercoaster of the early years. If they decide they're happy with the size of the business, the profit it generates and the lifestyle it gives them, that's absolutely their prerogative. Power to their elbow, why should they risk what they've built for further growth?

The question is: where does that leave you, particularly if you're an ambitious character?

How to Tell if Your Employer Has Stopped Growing

Sometimes it's abundantly clear that progression in your current employer is non-existent or painfully slow. But often it isn't obvious. So here are some questions worth asking about the business you're in and by "business," this could equally mean your individual office, regional office or department, even within a national or international firm that's otherwise doing well:

Has the headcount changed in the last two years? Or the last five? Not one or two people coming and going, or drifting from ten people to twelve - has it grown significantly?

Is the business already top-heavy above you? And if so, are any of those individuals likely to leave or move up any time soon?

How many people are at your level? If a rare promotion opportunity does come up, how many people are you competing against?

When was the last significant promotion made? Not standard progression like an assistant surveyor moving up a level, a genuine step, such as a senior being promoted to associate.

Are the owners actively trying to grow the business? Do you see them out doing business development? Many smaller businesses rely heavily on a core group of clients, and the ones that plateau are invariably the ones whose owners aren't actively out there chasing growth, perhaps unwilling to take the risk that comes with it.

Has turnover increased significantly in recent years? If turnover has stayed relatively flat, it's a sure sign the owners aren't particularly interested in growing further. They're generating sufficient profit and are happy with their lot.

The Honest Conversation With Yourself

If your answers point to a business that is static or stagnant, then you genuinely, realistically and objectively need to ask yourself: how are you going to advance here?

And if the honest answer is that you're not, the next question is whether you're still in the right business. Some people will conclude they are, happy with what they earn, comfortable in the business, perhaps five minutes down the road, working with owners they've known since their graduate days. If that's you, again, power to your elbow.

But if you're ambitious, if you want to progress further, earn more and get more out of your career and you're in a business that fundamentally isn't growing, you have to question whether you can grow there.

The best businesses create progression and development opportunities for talented individuals precisely because they're growing, they need to organically develop their talent into management roles. That simply can't happen in a business that stands still.

If they're not growing, neither are you.