It didn’t happen overnight. That would have been easier to recognize.

It started slowly, the way these things usually do. The Data School was expanding. I was handing off more teaching to people who’d earned the right to do it. My role was shifting. I was more involved in leadership, less on building my skills. More management, less Tableau.

I told myself that was progress. And in some ways it was.

But somewhere along the way, I stopped building things I didn’t already know how to build. I stopped sitting down with a dataset and not knowing what would come out the other side. I stopped being uncomfortable.

And for someone who had spent over a decade learning in public, publishing constantly, pushing into areas I hadn’t explored before, that was a warning sign I almost missed entirely.

I moved north. I worked from home. I got through the days.

I hated being complacent. But I was.

The thing about a learning plateau is that it’s rarely obvious. You don’t wake up one morning and think, “I’ve stopped growing.” You just notice that Tableau feels routine. That the problems feel familiar. That you’re answering the same questions you answered two years ago with the same tools you used two years ago, and there’s no challenge in any of it anymore.

That’s when you have to pay attention.

For me, the moment of clarity came while I was on paternity leave with Annika. I was sitting there thinking about what I actually wanted. Not what looked good to everyone else, not what made sense on paper, just what I genuinely wanted.

And the answer was so obvious I’m almost embarrassed to admit it.

I wanted to teach again. I wanted to learn again. I wanted to sit down with Tableau every single day and still be surprised by it.

So I made the scariest decision of my life. I quit my job.

Tom Brown and I went for a walk around the city on my second day back. I told him I was leaving. And instead of pushing back or getting angry, he asked how he could help. I still think about that a lot.

I started Next-Level Tableau in December 2023 with no guarantee it would work. What I did know was that my passion for teaching, learning, and the community was stronger than my fear.

I knew if I didn’t start then, I never would.

I didn’t expect what happened next.

Getting back to learning every single day, building in Tableau, teaching it live, getting challenged by members who push me, has helped me become at least ten times better at Tableau now than I was two years ago.

That might sound like a bunch of fluff, but I promise it’s true. I realized there was so much more to learn. And preparing for classes meant I had to understand everything I was teaching deeper than I ever needed to before. I wanted to ensure that my members could learn in one hour what took me ten to prepare for.

I’m working at my limits again, because there’s friction. I’m back in the room with people who are serious about getting better, and that standard lifts everything and everyone.

The plateau isn’t permanent. But you do have a choice when to do something about it.

Here’s what I’ve come to believe: the analysts who stay sharp aren’t the ones who find the most comfortable job. They’re the ones who consistently put themselves in situations where they don’t already know the answer. They keep pushing their limits. They stay curious intentionally.

When did you last work on something in Tableau that genuinely challenged you where you weren’t sure how it would turn out?

I’d love to hear your answer.

Andy

P.S. If you’re at that plateau right now where you are capable, experienced, but aware that you’ve stopped growing, that’s exactly who Next-Level Tableau is built for. Three live classes every week, 1-on-1 support from me, a community of analysts who take learning seriously, and a library of resources built for people who want to get exceptional, not just competent. If that sounds like where you need to be, let’s have a chat.

Book your free discovery call here → http://www.nextleveltableau.com/discovery-call​