Every Business Analyst Can Feel Stuck...

What if I told you that your career in business analysis doesn't have to be a stepping stone to something else?

To something bigger. To something cooler. To something fancier.

No.

You can live a perfectly fulfilled professional life as a business analyst.

You don't have to become a project manager. A delivery manager. A solution architect. And still - live a happy professional life - as a BA.

But here's the problem... I see way too many BAs who don't seem to consider their profession serious enough.

They think about being a BA for a few years... and then getting into project management, or product management, or consulting...

And don't get me wrong - all those professions are worthy and respectable.

But if you feel that your calling is business analysis - understanding client needs, their problems, coming up with solutions, working closely with your delivery team - then Business Analysis is a perfect career for you.

The Delivery Director offer I turned down

Many years ago, actually back in 2012, I was at a professional crossroads.

I was given an opportunity - a job offer - by a well-respected company to join them as a Delivery Director. Basically as the head of their local office.

And at first, this whole idea really stuck with me.

Because that was... wow! I'm going to become like the number one person in the local company office. I'll be able to hire, set up processes the way I like, I'll be in charge of almost all things, and of course I'll get the great compensation. WHAT not to like here?!

I lived with that idea for several months. I was traveling to my several job interviews, and did my research, was even pre-interviewing my own future team... To the point where I was actually able to accept that offer.

And then one morning I woke up... and I really felt that inner voice speaking to me.

This is not your thing. You're doing something you should not be doing. You've no idea where you are getting yourself into!

And that's how I eventually felt. I felt that I was jumping into a great opportunity - but for someone else. Not for me. Maybe that was someone else's dream, but not mine.

I felt really awkward.

I understood that in that new role I'd be responsible for many organizational aspects. AND in turn - I'll be accountable as the face of the company - with a lot of wrong situations that might be out of my control. Does that make sense?

And it's not that I felt scared. But I felt that I was trying to put myself in a position where I don't belong.

And where I felt I really belong? Is to work in an already established company. But, most importantly I felt real confident in continuing doing what I had been doing - which is doing Business Analysis. Where I work directly with customers. I can be deployed on site or on discoveries. Build relationships. Understand the needs. Work with my delivery team. Define the scope of the solution.

All this package - where I really felt comfortable. And confident that I know this area real well. And that's where I belong - business analysis.

And that realization came out of nowhere. I don't know where it came from. But it happened.

And I got to the position where I just had to pick up my phone and call the person who was essentially hiring me - or headhunting me - and apologize for the time they spent and invested in.

And I said no.

You don't have to leave BA

That whole thing really led me to start thinking about how I define my own professional success.

Not just in a material sense - but in terms of fulfillment. And I came to realization that you can live a happy professional life, fulfill your ambitions, bring tons of value, travel and get material payoff of your work - all this while being a good BA.

Even though in my own career, my role has evolved into consulting and process orchestrations. Essentially, still, I'm in this realm of: gather requirements, understand the needs, help the client ideate the problem, defining and accepting solutions.

All of this is essentially Business Analysis.

But don't get me wrong.

If you really want to explore what life brings outside or after business analysis - there are great opportunities.

Becoming a consultant. Or becoming an IT director. Or a solution architect. Or becoming an AI BA, like agentic orchestrator, Product Manager - tons of great options out there.

All of those are absolutely valid paths.

But! You don't HAVE to! That's my point!

You don't have to feel pressured or forced into getting into a new role in, say, three years.

You don't have to. Why? Because you can be perfectly successful and professionally fulfilled as a BA.

Three things to master if you stay as a Business Analyst

So if you want to master this thinking of I am a BA and I want to continue being a BA - there are certain things you can continuously improve on.

First - your client-facing, consulting and interpersonal skills.

And it doesn't mean your role has to change to consultant. More essentially - master the craft of working with senior stakeholders. Or a group of diverse stakeholders. Navigating conflicting interests or priorities that don't align with one another.

A book I recommend here: The Trusted Advisor by David H. Maister, Charles H. Green, and Robert M. Galford.

Second - working on an initiative and helping nurture that initiative from a basic idea... into something you can frame into a vision. Something you can advocate for. And then gather a bunch of supporters.

Be it a functional feature. Or a change request. Or a product. Or a new way of working, on your project.

For that, I recommend Leading Change by John P. Kotter.

And lastly - I would put everything related to AI. And specifically - Agentic AI. That's a must-have.

Recently I've passed the Anthropic Claude certification for architects. I didn't have to. But I felt that it was absolutely a must for me if I wanted to stay professionally relevant.

And it doesn't have to be Claude. It could be another AI tool or provider, since things change all the time. And of course attending AI meetups - just being out there and listening to what's going on in the industry is going to be a huge advancement and upskill for you.

You can fulfill your career as a Business Analyst and don't feel stuck

I want to emphasize again: I do believe that you don't have to be someone else to live a perfect professional life.

You really can fulfill your dreams and ideas as a BA.

And I am a living breathing example of it.

I didn't have to jump into project management, or delivery, or solution architecture, or become a director.

I've been staying in Business Analysis for pretty much all my professional life. And though my job titles have evolved, people still think of me and talk of me as a BA. And I see nothing wrong about it.

And I know in some organizations, it may not feel cool to be a BA - it might be cool to be a UX designer, an AI architect, or a delivery manager, but not a BA. But ask yourself - is it really so?

Business Analysis is a great profession. It is through Business Analysis that I was privileged to travel the world, learn a new language, meet people I would have never met otherwise.

I was able to work with some of the biggest brands on this planet - like Toyota, McKesson, Amway, Medline... you name it.

And learn a lot.

And that alone gives me a sense of great fulfillment.

AND again here - my point in this message is not to brag. It's to give you a sense of encouragement.

You don't have to feel that you're stuck and you're going nowhere. Most likely you are on the right path and Business Analysis is actually your career.

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If you want to learn more about how I teach business analysts who feel stuck to find purpose and meaning in their careers, I invite you to my free Career Development webinar for BAs.

There I go through the various steps and stages of business analysis roles - from junior, to mid-level, to senior, to lead and beyond - and what it takes to build a career in business analysis.

Unlike someone else who may tell you how you should hustle and work 60-80 hours a week, my method is built on finding your real strength - whether this is technology skills, or you're a good communicator, or maybe you're visual and people look at your diagrams and go, wow that's the best MIRO board I've ever seen. Whatever it is - you build your BA career on amplifying your strength, not on continuously improving your weaknesses. Does that make sense? You take what you are naturally good at, and amplify it, and make it your unique strength.

More specifically I teach how you focus on a 3-step career development cycle - Deliver great results, Tell people about your achievements, Repeat and stay consistent. That's all in that free webinar.

What's your take - do you see BA as a destination, or still as a stepping stone?

Talk soon, Sergey