“Dana,” the CEO said to his COO, “The board and I see a lot of potential in you. We’d like you to step up and take the role of President… if you perform in this role the way I’m confident you will, in a few years you can replace me when I retire.”

Deep inside, Dana was thinking: no, no, no…

A great COO does not necessarily make a wonderful President. Not every talented sales professional should become VP of Sales. And not every piece of advice you receive from a board member is either wise or actionable.

In a business culture that prizes agility and the ability to change, sometimes your wisest course of action is to resist change.

Know yourself: Seeking more responsibility, power and prestige isn’t always the right move. It’s critically important to know yourself. What are your weaknesses as well as your strengths? Where’s the line between what fascinates versus bores you? To go back to my opening anecdote, a COO who loves her operational role might correctly judge that she would be miserable as a “visionary” always trying to look around the next corner.

See reality: Change is an innate part of business, but it’s not always what’s best for you personally. When your company is acquired or a new CEO takes over, expectations of your role may shift outside of how you wish to conduct yourself. I’ve seen executives take one or two years to recognize the new reality, causing themselves needless anguish and merely postponing the inevitable. Recognize the implications of changes in your environment.

Be proactive: If you don’t want to shift with the changes around you, it often makes sense to be overt about this. Step forward with a proactive plan that allows you room to transition to a more appropriate role, while allowing your organization time to adapt as well.

It’s only natural that synchronicity between an individual and an organization will ebb and flow. You often see this with entrepreneurs who excel at bringing a startup from zero to $50 or $100M in revenues, but then grow bored and restless as the company becomes more of an established player than a disruptive force.

It pays to cultivate clarity around who you are, what you do best, and when it’s time to say no.