Standing Still Without Falling Behind
Ever felt stuck in a role that doesn’t quite fit, but you know now isn’t the right time to leave?
Lisa and Cindy get real about navigating those “in-between” seasons when timing and opportunity don’t align. They share candid stories of building resilience, honing skills, and even chasing personal goals like training for an Ironman while staying grounded in the job you have now.
This episode is a reminder that patience isn't a weakness, it’s strategy. Standing still today can set you up for unstoppable momentum tomorrow.
Episode Chapter Markers
00:00 Introduction
02:36 Listener's Question Revealed
04:59 Challenges Faced by Women in Careers
06:06 Navigating Career Decisions
07:06 Personal Stories and Experiences
11:12 The Importance of Patience
13:39 Strategies for Staying Put
17:22 Preparing for Future Opportunities
21:19 Conclusion and Weekly Challenge
Must-Hear Insights and Key Moments
Stagnant or Strategic? – Why staying put in your career can sharpen skills and reveal new opportunities.
Boundaries That Build – How protecting your energy helps you thrive in a role that isn’t your forever fit.
Reputation Matters – Turning a “stagnant” job into a legacy of excellence others recognize.
Preparing for the Next Chapter – Using waiting seasons to research, connect, and plan for your next move.
The Brag Book Strategy – Capturing wins, awards, and rankings to showcase when opportunity arrives.
Life Beyond Work – How seasons of stillness create space for family, hobbies, and even Ironman training.
Patience as Power – Why timing is just as important as opportunity when it comes to growth.
A Challenge for You – One small step to make your current role more purposeful this month.
Words of Wisdom: Standout Quotes from This Episode
“Every season of your career is a building block, nothing is wasted.” - Anneliese Rhodes
“Sometimes the boldest move you can make is staying patient.” - Anneliese Rhodes
“Standing still doesn’t mean being stagnant, it means sharpening your edge.” - Anneliese Rhodes
“Even if the job isn’t perfect, it can still prepare you for the next chapter.” - Anneliese Rhodes
“Patience isn’t passive; it’s the fuel for future growth.” - Anneliese Rhodes
“Sometimes being the big fish in the little pond is exactly what you need.” - Cynthia Ficara
“Efficiency creates space for family, for growth, and even for training for an Ironman.” - Cynthia Ficara
“Timing matters just as much as opportunity.” - Cynthia Ficara
“If you’re standing still for now, promise us you’ll stand proud.” - Cynthia Ficara
“Your current role can be the battery that charges you for what’s next.” - Cynthia Ficara
Follow The Girls of Grit:
We'd Love to Hear Your Stories!
Even in life’s darkest moments, we have the power to create change. We’d love to hear from YOU — whether you’ve taken a leap of faith, overcome adversity, or found purpose through a challenge. Share your stories with us in the comments or send us a DM. Let’s keep the conversation going and continue lifting each other up.
A Team Dklutr production
Blog Transcript:
Note: We use AI transcription so there may be some inaccuracies
Anneliese Rhodes: Good morning, good afternoon. Hello to everyone out there. Welcome to another episode of Secrets and Medical Device Sales, brought to you by the Girls of Grit. We are so excited to talk about today's episode because you guys actually asked us, you wrote in and asked us a question specifically to your situation, and so.
We are just excited to be answering it today
Cynthia Ficara: and we love that you do that because so much of what we do out in the field, we see and we know, and this particular question, Elisa and I were just kind of laughing like, wow, this, this comes up. So often I've had experiences with moments like this Lisa has.
So yep. I just think that, um, it's really fun. Thank you for tuning in. So Lisa, why don't you, uh, tell our listeners what we were asked and what the whole topic of today is about.
Anneliese Rhodes: Yes. Let me, lemme pull it up really quickly. Hang on a minute, Cindy. Lemme pull it up. Good. I love this. You're not gonna, here we go.
Navigating Careers That Don’t Feel Fit Right Now
Here we go. Here we go. Here we go. I would love to hear an episode with you and Cindy on how navigating a role or a company that just isn't the right fit right now, but I know that I need to stay given my crc, my circumstances that they are right now. I think that would be really helpful for a lot of us.
So, wow, what exactly is this subscriber, this listener asking us, Cindy. And I think, you know, for me, I have something that I wanna back this up with, but why don't you expand on this a little bit for our listeners.
Cynthia Ficara: Well, I think that, um. The question that we interpret, and please let us know if we are interpreting this wrong, but it's that, okay, I am, I am.
I am in a job, which most likely is a medical device. It might be sales. So you're in a current role and. It's not your favorite, okay? So you're, maybe you want to do more. Maybe some people are holding you back from doing more. Maybe you find it too easy, maybe you find it too hard. And I think where she's sitting is thinking that, okay, this is not where I wanna be forever, but for.
Whatever life reason is on her plate that temporarily or for the time being however long that time is, it's in her best career interest to stay where she is now, to be able to move on in the future. So I think there's a lot of factors that go into as we progress in our career, um, what we choose. Like, why are we in jobs?
And you know, the, the majority of us are women, right? And I'm just gonna say it, it might be different for a man. A man may graduate from college or, and, and have, um, I was actually speaking, actually, no, let me use this reference because this is a true story. Talk to somebody who has a child graduating from law school and is a female.
So as a male, you could go anywhere in the country. This is the best job, this is the job I wanna take. But the female is engaged and has a fam, it's like why females always have to weigh more decisions about their job. It's
Anneliese Rhodes: not just, oh my, oh gosh. It's so true. It's so true, Cindy. And like for me, I'm thinking of like when I had a baby, you know, I wanted to move.
I was offered a certain position. But I couldn't go because I had just had a baby where if I was a man, he'd be like, okay, well you're gonna come with me and we're gonna take the kids and here we go. And so it's such a dilemma, especially when we're women in male dominated industries. We're high performers, you know, and, but we still feel that tug, right?
We still feel that calling to. Quote unquote, do the right thing. Or maybe this family event, this circumstances she's under, maybe somebody's sick and she really can't leave them. You know, like a parent when they're aging, you know, you have to be mindful of other situations. So I think this is such a great topic to talk about today, Cindy, because I will tell you I'm really not good at this.
Like I literally am like, oh, great, the next opportunity, here we go. You know? And I'm just gonna make it fit. I think our secret today also weighs into this so well.
Why Staying Put Can Be the Smartest Career Move
So anyhow, I'm really glad we're talking about it because the truth is everybody always talks about the big leap, the big jump, the big promotion.
Nobody ever talks about the people that actually stay in their jobs that are the, you know, nine to fivers, or not nine to fivers, but the people that you know aren't leaving, they're there for the long haul and they're the ones that are keeping it all together. Nobody ever talks about that. So I'm really glad that we're talking about this today because I think it's important, especially in medical devices.
Cynthia Ficara: I agree. You're right. Nobody does talk about this, but like sometimes the smartest move is to not move. And it's not always just about something within the job that you're doing. Sometimes it's more about your life circumstances. And so bigger questions come to mind. It's not just, oh, I wanna go work for, maybe you wanna work for a big company, or maybe your medical device sales, and you started out with, um, maybe a disposable type.
Um. Commodity and now you wanna go into the or? Well, maybe the question is, do I wanna go into the OR now? Or do I continue to do what I'm doing and go in the OR later? So, you know, actually I'm gonna bring that up right now because that's kind of my story. I remember my girls were, um. Teenagers and I really wanted, I, I knew as I climbed the ladder medical device that I really wanted to be in the or.
It's just something that always interests me. I wanted that clinical challenge. I wanted the, the. What should I say? The fast pace, but also the rewards that come along with it. And at the time, my husband's a firefighter, so he works 24 hour shifts. We have no family here. The my girls couldn't drive yet, so for me it became, let me pull the multifactorial things into a position.
I stayed in a job, my job was fine. Um, I hit a point after so many years doing a job where it wasn't as challenge, but then I just told myself, well. I'm going to do the best I can where I am because I know I conceit myself in a really good position for a future job. So I think that, um, I. That's just kind of my story.
This is what I'm interpreting from what she wrote in. So I, I think that we can really expand on this and just to understand that, um, if you, if you don't go do that big leap. I like that how you said that, that big leap to that next chapter. Yes. That's so exciting to talk about, like mm-hmm. You're not stuck, you're not a failure, you're not lessening yourself.
You might actually be doing something even better for yourself.
Anneliese Rhodes: That's so well said. I mean, it. Truly could be very strategic, and you never know, maybe that next leap actually isn't for you. Right? Um, and thank goodness you did stay. I think one of the things, and I'll just say why, why this is such a hard decision or it feels so heavy on a lot of us, isn't just because of the, the fact that you're not taking the job, but it's like you think to yourself.
Am I losing momentum? Am I, if I stay in this current role or I stay with this current company, am I not gonna be valued as much? Am I not gonna be, you know, as sellable quote unquote to other companies? If I stay here so long, they're gonna be like, oh, well they're such a solid rep for that company.
They'll never leave. So then I don't even get the calls. Right? So it's like you feel this like. Sense that you wanna take it, but you know, deep down it's not the right time. And I think this is when your gut really kicks in and you have to trust it and say, you know what? It truly isn't the right time. But man, Cindy, that is so hard.
And girl, I can tell you, I am not good at that at all. That is not my forte. I have zero, uh,
Cynthia Ficara: time for that. Well, I, I know what you mean because it's, it's almost, I mean, I guess you can call it like an identity thing. Like you say, oh, I am a medical device. Or rep, like, that's where I wanna be. That's where I wanna go.
Yeah. And you and I are wired very much alike. We are very driven. We love to see a big challenge. We want that. Big stage. We want to prove ourselves. We wanna say, oh, I could do this. And I think we spend so much time chasing career, like, we want this in our career, we want this now. But it doesn't mean that you can't chase it.
Our conversation today is letting you know it's okay to pause and make that next leap, maybe even a better leap.
Anneliese Rhodes: Oh, I love that. You know, the other thing that this person wrote back to me after I said for sure we're gonna do an episode on this, is they said, it makes me feel ungrateful. And I'm like, you're not ungrateful.
You know you want more. There's nothing wrong with wanting more for yourself. Like you said, Cindy, we want fast paced. We, a lot of people thrive in it. That's why medical device reps that are so good do really well and others don't because it's. It's cutthroat, it's high stakes. It's, you know, high rewards, but it's, it's high stress.
And if you're in a position right now where maybe you're not getting what you need, sure, that can make you feel like you want more, and yet you feel ungrateful because you got in and somebody else didn't. Because medical devices is also a really hard industry to get into. But I think, you know, I wanna make sure that they understand, don't feel ungrateful that, that you're not ungrateful.
You just want more. And there's nothing wrong with wanting more. But I also think what you said is correct, being strategic and having this secret that we should reveal Yes, is I think what's so important when you're faced with this kind of situation.
Patience, Seasons, and Staying Power
Cynthia Ficara: Absolutely. And our secret will wash away any guilt you have when you think about what you're doing.
So the secret that we are talking about today is patience. And let me tell you, it is a virtue that is very hard for me,
Anneliese Rhodes: the virtue,
Cynthia Ficara: but it doesn't put the brakes on. It's so hard. I'm like, why? Why? What do you mean I have to stop? What do you mean I have to be patient? Like patience is not one of my virtues.
It's not like, oh, girl.
Anneliese Rhodes: Not mine either. Somebody told me, never pray to God for patience. Do you know I've never done that? Not once. 'cause I'm like, no, I can't. I'm so scared.
Cynthia Ficara: And you know, when I think back, like I talked about, I stayed in a job and I was, and I wanna say it's like a little more patient. I think that a lot of times you just have to focus on.
What's really going well when you put everything on what this next leap is, and that you don't want to make yourself feel guilty that maybe you don't do it. You've really gotta look at what you are doing, you know?
Anneliese Rhodes: Yeah. So
Cynthia Ficara: let's just kind of talk about this in, in framing it as the timing of doing this versus the what's fit.
You know what I mean? So to kind of break it down between doing something. Because you think you should and doing something, um, that may feel like you are not doing what you should be doing. Mm-hmm. And, and being an okay to like, stay somewhere that's not your forever home.
Anneliese Rhodes: Yeah. Oh my gosh. That was so, that was so eloquently said.
Because you're right. It, it may not be your forever home. And you know, I think something that's really important to remember is. We talked about this is, is this is a long career, right? This is, you're probably in a situation right now that isn't gonna last for forever, right? If you're having a baby, well the baby grows up.
If it's a parent, well maybe you need to move them to a different facility or you have, you know, you're gonna get in-home healthcare, whatever it is. And I don't wanna mean to make light of that, but what I'm trying to get at is there are seasons for life events. Yes. Life events. And there are seasons for everything.
I think, you know. And this is really hard, but I think sometimes when you do stay at the same place, that's your room to really grow, because now maybe you can go into a different avenue in that same position and maybe get fed a different way for a little while while you're taking care of that season, whatever that season is.
And again. It's not gonna be forever and no opportunity is gone. Please understand that there will be more opportunities, especially if you're a high performer and you are doing well in the current position. You're still gonna get offers in the future. So don't feel like it's an all or nothing thing or you know, now or never.
Um, I think you, I think that's really important to understand and just remember that, I mean, I totally forget that, you know.
Cynthia Ficara: Yes. Well, like you said, there's gonna be more opportunities. Well, let's just kind of talk a little bit about how you navigate while you're staying put so you can have those opportunities because you know, staying put doesn't mean being stagnant.
Staying put doesn't mean sitting still and going through the motions. No, I mean, you show up your best every day in whatever situation you are in, and so really refrain that knowing that, like you said, look for opportunities. Maybe you can even promote from within. Maybe you can even expand, maybe even if, let's just say that you're a rep in a medical device role and.
You're not all that excited about it. Well, why don't you talk about being a trainer? Why don't you look and see if you can learn more, give back to some of those who are coming in and teaching. Sometimes something as simple as that changes your view of things, but the grass is not always greener elsewhere.
You gotta mow the lawn first. I love that. And then decide, you know, but like just reframe and reenergize as long as. You're not just staying somewhere toxic. That's not what we're really talking about today. And I kind of feel like I should probably touch on that. You know, there's a lot of people that are in jobs that they're unhappy in.
Staying Still Build Reputation, Resilience & Readiness
Um, the conversation today is more about when career advancement, career changing is an option, it's on the table and you're kind of weighing your pros and cons. So like, how do we really navigate? Where we are. Yeah. Uh, for future opportunities.
Anneliese Rhodes: Well, and I feel like sometimes when you're holding steady, you know, in a place and you're, you're not just like continually moving to a different job with a different set of expectations and a different set of products or whatever it is.
You actually have the time to hone and sharpen your skills and you have time to really build your own personal character during those times. And you know what else? Sometimes when you sit back and you really chill out, not chill out, but like have the patience. Sometimes you're able to see solutions to other problems that you might not have figured out.
Before, but now you're not distracted by a new job and new products and new people, but you're in the place where you've been for a while and now you're able to solve problems that maybe you wouldn't have been able to solve before.
Cynthia Ficara: You can make a name for yourself, like you can have a good reputation, you can take a job that may be stagnant.
But what if you became the best at being in the stagnant job? Everybody would know, oh, she was great at this. She did that, and that's what you want. Because companies are gonna see you're doing well and they're gonna come to you. And depending on your life situation, whether it's time to go at that time, great.
If not, then always doing your best. And then I think this. So I think something that's really important while you're navigating, staying put
Anneliese Rhodes: mm-hmm.
Cynthia Ficara: Is to set boundaries for yourself. To be kind of aware of what's important, where you are, do your best, where you are. Um, if, if you allow yourself to feel guilty, to feel drained about, oh, I should have gone to this.
Yeah. All of your energy. Is not gonna be where it needs to be, and maybe you're in a job that is like, in my mind, I'm kind of thinking as, as she wrote into this, as she was looking to really step up to the next level of medical device. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Which would be phenomenal when it's the right time.
Because Let's just take a pause for a moment, let's say. You're just ignoring all the other situations in your life. You think this is the great movie, just gotta do it now. And then you go there and you're miserable and you hate it and life still happens. So you know, you may be feeling guilty over nothing.
You may be wasting this negative energy thinking I should have done that when. Everything happens for a reason and you're making a place to, to go.
Anneliese Rhodes: You're so right, Cindy. You're so right. So, and, and another thing that I think goes along with that is so you appreciate where you're at. You hone and sharpen your skills.
You problem solve, you look for new avenues, maybe even look for a promotion within the company that you're in, but you can also prepare for your next chapter while you're doing this job. And I'm not saying you're on autopilot. You know, in this season of waiting, of being patient, of understanding that this life circumstance isn't going to allow you to take the next leap for this new job or new opportunity and you need to stay put, doesn't mean you don't stop looking.
Doesn't mean you don't stop honing who you are and what you wanna move into next. And maybe you do more research and you figure out that company that you thought you might be interested in actually isn't great at all. Um, or you look into new avenues while you're in your current job and, and teach yourself, you know, maybe talk to other reps, meet new surgeons.
I mean, you can still be starting to think about your future without current leaving your current position, and you're just kind of preparing for that next chapter.
Cynthia Ficara: And you know, that being said, think about. In this current job doing as well as you can so you can build a brag book.
Anneliese Rhodes: You know, oh my gosh,
Cynthia Ficara: yes.
Go, go get this next award. Go after the next incentive. Mm-hmm. Get up on President's Club, get up on stage and start keeping track. Write that down. Have you know. Keep a written documentation if, if you're ranked number one in number 10. So you know what? Sometimes being the big fish in the little pond is really great.
Great point. And, and make it to your best because what you can do is show what you're capable of, show how you can build that prepares you for the next chapter, which may be more exciting and may be. Harder, but guess what? The skills you're doing now will transform for you in the future. So, you know, it's like, kind of think of it like charging a battery.
You know, you need to sit on it for a little bit, charge it really good. Sometimes you don't see anything happening, but you're ready to rock and roll. I think. Um, it's really crazy to say sometimes staying still in your job is one of the most energetic drivers to your career future.
Finding Power in the Pause
Anneliese Rhodes: That's such a great point, Cindy.
And I think, you know, look, everything is a building block in medical devices, in in life, right? Yeah. I mean, every, every season of life, every change in your life, your jobs, your promotions, the companies you work for, the products you sell, the people you meet, the connections you make, everything is a building block.
So even if you're in a situation where you're not feeling a hundred percent. From that job. Look at it like another stepping stone. Take what you can from it and maybe get what you need outta something else. I don't know. Find a hobby or do something that you can give back. And then you never know what kind of connection you're gonna make there either.
But it's like in, instead of worrying so much about not taking the next step, kind of enjoy where you're at. You know? I mean. Holy cow. Me, uh, medical devices is a tough field. I mean, we're running and gunning a lot. Maybe take the time to take, take the, you know, break or just kind of cruise and, and, and build upon that versus always worry about going, going, going.
So, wow. Um, that
Cynthia Ficara: is so. Oh my gosh. I like, I'm just sitting here thinking, oh my gosh, I, one thing I remember of when I was in the job, that wasn't as challenging. I mastered it. I really did. Well, but you know what? If you listen to some of our other episodes, one thing Lisa and I really try to teach is efficiency and being efficient.
And so when I was in that job, I was able to train for an Ironman triathlon and so. I used to get stressed and that to be able to go run long distance, swim and bike long distance, burned a lot of energy or a lot of stress. But then I also had the capability to time block my day to be able to work out, do my job, and do it well.
And guess what? Still see my family and the whole reason for me, my personal situation. The story I mentioned was about. The season of my life with my children. Yeah. That I wasn't ready to leave them every night. I wasn't ready to be called in. I wasn't ready to spend nights out and travel. Um, but guess what?
I prepared for it. It came and it got here and it's great.
Anneliese Rhodes: Love that story. That's so good. And still, I can't believe you did a real Ironman. It's unbelievable. Um, alright, so, so you know what. Let's wrap up. Let's, let's talk about, you know, this situation. Again, thank you so much for writing into us and asking us this really pertinent question that I feel like a lot of us, probably all of us will face at some point.
Um, especially women, you know, if we're having babies or just life-changing events in general, it becomes a real hard dilemma for us because we're such high performers. We want that next level all the time. It's hard to stay stagnant, but I think. The patience aspect of it is so key. And I mean, patience teaches you so much.
Sydnee, I hate to admit it, but it really does. And it's like, you know, you look back and you're like, ah, well that was a really good lesson, right? But it's hard. It, it doesn't mean that this is an easy decision. I'm not saying that at all. Um, and don't feel bad if you're struggling with it. That's totally normal human behavior.
Um, but I think it's, it's really good to think about these things and I, and I love what we've talked about today with the seasons where you're at, building upon it, honing your skills, promoting from within, you know, all the things and, and taking your time, like taking advantage of the extra time. I mean, I.
I would love to be able to train for an Iron Man. Again, Cindy, first of all, like I don't know if my knee would handle it, but like that would be amazing. But I took that back then. Not a whole Iron Man, but a half iron man. But my point is like, I miss that time. I miss that free time. I don't think I have any time like that anymore,
Cynthia Ficara: so Right, but you made time because you wanted to, and I mean, maybe you're into like music, maybe you play piano as a kid and you can't wait till you take 30 minutes.
If you're in a job that allows you, Hey, guess what? 30 minutes. Oh my gosh. Every day before I go pick up my kids, I can play the piano like that may bring you so much joy and relaxation that you could do your job better. Because as women, we need to be our, we need, we need to be happy. We need to be our best.
And whatever it is that fuels you. Yes. I mean, clearly we, we are career driven. This, this podcast is about a career and about making your career the best. But again. A message I want you guys to hear from both Lisa and me is we want you to work to live. We, we are not out here to tell you to live, to work, but it can be such a great part of your life and it can give you so much back.
And I just, I want you to know it's okay if you don't have everything all at the same time. And to remember this, that timing matters just as much as opportunity does. So I love it. A challenge for this week, here's a week challenge for you. I want you to write down one thing that you can do this month to make the current job you're in, more purposeful, more impactful, even if it's just temporary.
And then ask yourself later, like, does this make me feel better? So I think that kind of sums up a lot. I love that.
Anneliese Rhodes: Yeah,
Cynthia Ficara: a lot of, I love that.
Anneliese Rhodes: I love that. And I think the other thing is if you guys know someone, maybe you're not in this situation, but you know someone that is struggling with it, send in this episode, let 'em listen to it and let it empower them to know that they are still in the right place.
You know, timing is everything. And sometimes being patient means waiting until the season is better and the season changes.
Cynthia Ficara: Absolutely. So for all of you women out there, if you're standing still for now, promise us you will stand proud.
Have you ever found yourself in a job that just doesn't feel like it's the right fit, but you also know now really isn't the right time to walk away? And maybe it's because of a new baby family responsibilities or just life not lining up with your career.
Anneliese Rhodes: We have all been there. Stuck in that in-between space we're leaving feels impossible, but staying feels really heavy.
Today we're gonna talk about how to navigate those seasons with intention because sometimes the boldest move you can make is waiting quickly. Yeah. Declutter. That was our snippet. Hang on. Yeah.
Cynthia Ficara: Hey, declutter. Uh, sorry. We forgot to tell you. That was our snippet. You might've figured that out. So after I said Stand proud, then the snippet starts with, have you ever found yourself in a job?
Blah, blah, blah.
