Embracing the Six Stages of Growth in Your Career Journey

As a hairdresser and salon owner, I’ve experienced firsthand the challenges and rewards of growing in this industry. Over the years, I’ve noticed that there are six predictable stages that every professional seems to go through. These stages not only shape our careers but also help us understand our team members’ journeys. Interestingly, this progression isn’t just limited to hairdressing; it applies to any skilled profession.

I’ve come to recognise these stages as the GROWTH cycle:

Grounding
Rooting
Opening
Wilderness
Tempo / Technitian
Highly Skilled & High Income

Let me walk you through these stages and share how you can embrace them.

Grounding: Finding Your Feet (1 Year)

When someone first joins our team or when you’re starting something new, you’re in the Grounding phase. This phase typically lasts about a year. It’s the time to get comfortable, understand the environment, and decide if it’s the right fit for you. It’s overwhelming at first—there’s so much to learn, and the job can feel daunting. But it’s crucial not to rush this stage. The key is to make newcomers feel welcomed, valued, and excited about their future while ensuring they aren’t overloaded with information.

Rooting: Building a Foundation (2-3 Years)

After grounding comes Rooting, which spans roughly the next two to three years. In this phase, the focus shifts to developing skills. Whether you’re an apprentice hairdresser or someone learning a new aspect of your trade, this stage is about starting to engage more deeply with your work. You’re not just fitting in anymore; you’re beginning to explore where your strengths lie. Rooting involves honing communication skills, understanding teamwork, and beginning to master the basics of the job.

Opening: Stepping into the Unknown (3-4 Years)

The Opening phase, which usually occurs in years three to four of your career, is both exhilarating and intimidating. You’ve just qualified—congratulations! But this is where reality hits. Up to this point, every haircut or colour you’ve done has been supported by an educator or teacher. Now, it’s time to think for yourself, and that can be scary. You’re likely to seek safety, wanting reassurance as you start to make decisions on your own. The opening phase is a time of making mistakes, learning from them, and gradually building confidence. It’s essential to stay humble and keep learning, even though the external pressure to perform can be intense.

Wilderness: The Hardest Part of the Journey (4-5 Years)

The Wilderness phase, typically in the fourth to fifth year of your career, is perhaps the most challenging. You’ve left the safety of the Opening stage but aren’t yet a seasoned professional. This phase can feel isolating, and doubts often creep in. It’s easy to feel lost, especially when external voices question your progress. However, this is where resilience is built. The key is to keep pushing forward, making mistakes, learning, and refining your skills. Remember, every professional has been through this stage.

It’s common to feel like you’re on the brink of a breakthrough, thinking that completion is just around the corner. However, the reality is that there is no final destination in this journey—there’s always another level to reach. Too many people give up too soon, especially during the Wilderness stage, often lured by offers of more money or seemingly better benefits. But true growth, high skills, and high pay come from sticking with it and pushing through the pain.

This requires hard work, discipline, consistency, and the compounding of daily efforts. Nobody can do it for you, but the success is unlimited if you stay the course.

Tempo: Finding Your Rhythm (5-10 Years)

After persevering through the Wilderness, you’ll enter the Tempo phase, typically in years five to ten. Here, things start to click. You’re still learning, but now you’re making decisions with more confidence and understanding. Mistakes become less frequent because you can anticipate outcomes better. This phase is all about rhythm and flow—you’re in a groove, enjoying your work, and starting to see the rewards, both in terms of skills and income. It’s a time to relish your progress and build on the solid foundation you’ve created.

Highly Skilled & High Income: Mastery and Beyond (10+ Years)

Finally, we arrive at the stage of Highly Skilled and High Income, which usually begins after ten years in your career. This is where the years of hard work pay off. Your skills are refined, your client base is strong, and your income reflects your expertise. But this stage is not the end; it’s a new beginning. With your craft mastered, you now have the bandwidth to explore new opportunities—whether that’s mentoring others, taking on more complex work, or even branching out into business ventures.

At this point, you’ve earned the right to enjoy the fruits of your labor. You can work smarter, not harder, perhaps even reducing your days in the salon while maintaining, or even increasing, your income. It’s a stage where you can finally see the full picture of your career journey and appreciate every step that got you here.

*This graphic shows that the journey is an S shape to success*

Embrace the Growing Pains

Every stage of the GROWTH cycle comes with its own set of challenges—what I like to call growing pains. But remember, if you’re not experiencing any discomfort, you’re probably not growing. Each phase serves a purpose, preparing you for the next. The key is to embrace where you are now, without rushing to the next stage. Growth takes time, and every step in this journey is valuable.

It’s normal to feel like you’re always on the verge of reaching the next level, but true growth is about continuous leveling up. You can’t go back; your only option is to move forward. By sticking with it and pushing through the challenges, especially during the Wilderness phase, you become more skilled, more valuable, and better positioned to enjoy the rewards that come with mastery.

My advice is simple: don’t look around at where others are on their journey. Focus on your own path, knuckle down, and become as valuable as you can by doing everything possible to achieve success. When you dedicate yourself to this process, you’ll find that the possibilities are truly limitless.

So, wherever you find yourself in this cycle, take a moment to appreciate it. Ground yourself, root your skills, open yourself to learning, navigate the wilderness, find your tempo, and eventually, enjoy the rewards of being highly skilled. The journey is as important as the destination, and the lessons learned along the way are what make you truly great.

By Noel Halligan