Have you noticed that some people are happy with where they are in their career and others are not? More specifically, have you wondered why have some people’s career progression led them to a job well-suited to their interests and goals, while their peers are in jobs ill-suited to both their interests and goals?
As the managing partner of an executive coaching and recruiting firm, I’ve lived in the world of work a long time. I’ve been privileged to serve thousands of financial professionals by helping them map successful journeys in their careers.
Whether through increasing their satisfaction in their current job, or moving on when it’s time to go, I’ve worked with and learned from some incredibly astute people. I’ll readily admit that some of the best ideas I’ve shared with others were shared with me. It’s gratifying to learn from people who get what they want out of their career, because many don’t. Seeing how they navigated through a tight spot, or negotiated a successful outcome has been eye-opening.
Although my eyes have been opened, it’s my heart that often goes out to those who paid a high price in pursuit of success. With the emergence of a global economy, 24/7 has become more than a catch phrase. I’ve heard many stories about the tolls taken on these people and their families as they tried unsuccessfully, living a 24/7 life.
I’ve always been intrigued by why is it that people with similar backgrounds, who begin their careers at the same starting line, yet end up in very different places. I’ve spent my career making sense of the reasons behind those differences.
One of the most exciting aspects of what I do is that I’m always learning. I’m most helpful when I don’t begin with pre-conceived notions about what success might look like for the person I’m about to work with. If I’ve learned anything, it’s that different people work for different reasons and seek different outcomes. Achieving success to them means getting what they want out of their career and it’s not always climbing the corporate ladder.
Another thought-provoking aspect of what I do is that oftentimes, the most useful ideas or productive strategies that seem to work the best, run counter to conventional thought. For example, a game plan passed on to us by parents, including mine, was, “Work hard and keep your nose down”. I’ve interviewed many people who’ve worked hard and waited for the right doors to open. The doors opened, but not to these people. They’ve grown unhappy and disillusioned as they’ve realized that sometimes, hard work isn’t enough.
What may have worked in the past oftentimes no longer applies. That requires a playing out of new game plan, based on a new rule book. But that hopefully doesn’t result in throwing the baby out with the bath water. There are some golden rules that still apply. One of them concerns the importance of investing in the success of others, particularly your manager. Another dates back to kindergarten when the teacher said, “Play nice in the sandbox.” Some of the rules might have changed, but fundamentally, people still want to be treated with respect.
While it may be true that a new book of rules is being rewritten every day, let me offer another idea that’s unconventional: To a degree, each person gets to write some of their own rules! I will elaborate how this works in a subsequent post, but it’s true that one size definitely does not fit all.
I’ve written elsewhere about success and how it means different things to different people at different points in their career. A successful journey sometimes begins with knowing where we want to end up. Other times, the journey is more important than the destination.
So what are some of the key takeaways I’ve learned from interviewing people who are most consistently satisfied in their careers? I’ll cover them in a series of posts, in no particular order of importance, Here’s the first.
Let’s start with the initial question:
Q1. “Why have some people’s career progression led them to a job well-suited to their goals and interests, while others of comparable backgrounds are in jobs ill-suited to both their interests and goals?”
A1. The most successful people I’ve worked with take responsibility for managing their careers. They understand that if they don’t manage their careers, someone else will do it for them. They also understand that every stay-or-go decision they make influences their career trajectory, even when they don’t make them!
That one, single insight can be incredibly valuable in understanding why the careers of successful people move them closer to their ideal position, while others more or less ‘drift’ through their careers and eventually find their way to dissatisfaction.
Unfortunately, the majority of people I talk with fail to meaningfully manage their careers. It’s almost as if they’re going along for the ride. The two most common reasons they don’t, may sound a bit odd, but I hear them often: 1) No one told me I needed to do it. 2) No one told me how to do it.
If you pause to consider those answers, they may actually make some sense. Where do we typically go to learn how to manage our careers? Our parents ? A mentor? A college professor? Career guidance counselor? Many of these sources of guidance may have good intentions, but they often miss the mark. As important as our vocational choices and careers are, we get little useful guidance on taking responsibility for being the captain of our ship. Perhaps that’s why so many people are adrift.
Taking responsibility begins with understanding what success looks like for you. It means committing to spend time to clarify your goals. Perhaps most important, as you clarify your goals and understand what you want out of your career, it means answering the question, “What am I willing to give up to get it?”
Hopefully, some of these ideas have been insightful and given you something to consider. They may have even challenged you regarding your plan to get from your current job to where you’d like your career to go. If so, I’ve succeeded in helping you re-think what’s possible.
I help people sort through the forest to see the trees. It’s easy to get lost, especially if you don’t know which direction you’re heading. If you’re interested in mapping a path to success in your career, we should talk.
Feel free to add any ideas you’ve found particularly helpful as you’ve navigated the waters in your career.
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