5 Essential Career Lessons for Professional Growth

 

Navigating your career can be a complex journey, but understanding some fundamental lessons can help guide your path. Here are five crucial career insights to keep in mind:

1. Know Yourself

Focus on What You Want: It's essential to be awake and aware of your desires and goals. Being purposeful and intentional in your career choices leads to more fulfilling outcomes.

Stay True to Your Passions: Align your career with what you love and excel at. This alignment not only motivates you but also drives your success.

Someone shared the story of his friend who had always dreamed of becoming a teacher. However, the low salary in the teaching profession made it difficult for him to support himself. Determined to follow his passion, he took a job in the industry, worked for several years, and saved diligently. When offered a promotion with a higher salary, he turned it down to become a teacher, finally fulfilling his true calling with financial security in hand.

2. Look at the Bigger Picture

Expand Your Perspective: Avoid limiting your vision. By zooming out and considering the broader context, you can make more informed decisions and seize opportunities that align with your long-term goals.

Seek Out Development Opportunities: Actively pursue chances for growth. The more you learn and expand your skill set, the better equipped you'll be to tackle new challenges.

A leader at a major tech company began his career as a salesperson and eventually ascended to the role of VP of Sales. In a bold move, he transitioned to a product manager position, accepting a significant salary reduction to immerse himself in the product domain. Over time, his expertise grew, and he was promoted to VP of Product, and later, he became the COO of the company. This journey exemplifies that a career path is not a linear ladder but more like a jungle gym, where lateral or even downward moves can be strategic steps toward achieving a larger vision.

3. Create Your Own Opportunity

Be Proactive: Don't wait for the perfect job to appear. If you have an idea or see a need, take the initiative to make it happen. By being proactive, you can carve out your own path and stand out in your field.

All the jobs and job descriptions are created by someone. Don't take them as a bible, take it as it's their way of expressing what they think they need. You can offer your own solution to solve their problems and create your own role.

A woman leader with product experience aspired to a COO position at certain company, but she was lacking direct COO experience. The CEO of the company was hesitant, expressing concerns about her lack of COO experience and indicating a preference for someone with more experience. She sent a detailed message to the CEO, outlining her vision and the initiatives she would undertake as COO. It convinced the CEO and she got the job.

4. Embrace Change

Welcome New Experiences: A diverse range of experiences enriches your career. Don't fear change; instead, view it as an opportunity to grow and learn.

Be Open to Moving On: If your current role isn't fulfilling or doesn't offer the right opportunities, don't hesitate to seek a better fit elsewhere. Your career should align with your goals and values.

Someone I know deeply committed to human rights started her career in environmental engineering, driven by her passion for the environment. She later studied law to tackle the legal aspects of environmental policies. After many years of working in this area for a large company, her focus shifted to data privacy, a field she was new to but interested in because it aligned with her core value of protecting human rights. This shift illustrated how her core value of defending human rights remained constant, even as the ways she applied it evolved.

5. Advocate for Yourself

Promote Your Skills: Make sure others are aware of your expertise and the value you bring. Highlight your transferable skills, especially when they relate to your subject matter expertise. Self-advocacy is key to advancing your career and achieving your goals.

My friend had been working in analytics, supporting the marketing function for years. Although she aspired to transition into marketing, she was often perceived solely as an analytics expert. To bridge this gap, she began mentoring junior marketing colleagues. Her efforts paid off when the CMO noticed a significant improvement in their performance and learned about her mentorship. This recognition helped dispel any biases against her, leading to a conversation with the CMO about the future direction of marketing. As a result, she successfully transitioned into a leadership role within the marketing function.

In conclusion, your career is a journey that requires self-awareness, flexibility, and proactive engagement. By embracing these five lessons, you can navigate your path more effectively and reach your professional aspirations.

Feeling Like a Failure? Think Again!

 Some of my clients tell me they feel like failures. I tell them that I see them as heroes—I only coach heroes, not failures. They think I'm just being nice, but I'm dead serious. They are heroes. However, even heroes have moments when they feel like failures.

There are two main reasons they feel this way.

First, they've forgotten that they're playing a different game.

Imagine measuring people's success by how long it takes to finish a 10K race. Some may drive a car, some may ride a bicycle, some may run, some may walk and some may even walk backward.

Would you say the ones who ran and walked are failures because they came in later than the ones who drove? 

(BTW, if your answer is yes, then sorry, there is nothing I can do for you.😛)

No, we will not say people who ran or walked are failures.

On May 8, 2023, at the Southeast Asian Games, a Cambodian athlete finished her 5K race last, during a torrential rainfall. Her time was 22:54, almost six minutes after the race's winner. She was not feeling well, and her coach recommended not running, but she felt it was more important to represent her country than the result. As she finished, the crowd erupted with cheers and applause for the drenched runner. Think about why.

The second reason people feel like failures is that they forget or don't give themselves enough credit for their journey.

Many of my clients are migrants. They've moved from Asia or Europe to the US, from Australia or America to Europe, in pursuit of a better life and their dreams. Many of them have advanced degrees like masters or PhDs. They've built careers among people who speak different languages, while raising families. Some have pioneered new career paths that didn't exist before. And all of them said they felt like failures. Until, I reminded them of their amazing achievements.

What about you? Are you a failure or a hero who may be going through challenges?

Have You Ever Fallen Into an Emotional Manhole?

 This is an analogy I learned from a mindfulness meditation class many years ago.

Imagine you are walking down the street and there is a huge manhole without a lid. People with the first level of awareness don't notice the manhole and fall into it. They suddenly realize everything is dark, smelly, their body hurts, and they can't balance very well. But they don't even know what is happening or why.

People with the second level of awareness see the manhole and want to avoid it, but still fall into it. Maybe they noticed too late, or maybe they still don't know how to avoid it. They at least know what's happening and why, but it's still dark, smelly, and painful.

People with the third level of awareness see the manhole and walk around it.

Which level are you at?

I find myself in the second level often. Recently, I experienced it again. I felt like nothing was working, and it became more serious, turning into, "I'm failing at everything."

I knew that wasn't true. I was trying a lot of things; some would work out, and some would fail, and that's okay. Even for the things that will work out, there are ups and downs. But knowing it (seeing the manhole) didn't prevent me from falling in. I felt very unmotivated, low in energy, and all sorts of negative thoughts came up constantly. It's like being in the manhole, dark, smelly, and painful. I also felt a little angry. If I see it, why couldn't I avoid it?

Then I realized, I haven't mastered how to walk around it yet. So sometimes I could avoid falling in, and sometimes I couldn't. And I haven't mastered how to come out quickly once I fall in.

This time, instead of hurrying to get out, I accepted that I fell in and gave myself time to pull myself together. I allowed my free associations to come and go freely, just observed. And once in a while, I acknowledged them, "Ah... there are parts of me feeling this way..."

It felt like I was practicing at a martial arts dojo. I know what to do, but when I try, I do something else. I know I'll get better, and one day I'll master it, but every time I do something else, it hurts - mentally and physically.

Some messages out there make it sound like things will happen easily. "Just do this, and it'll be all better." But the truth is, it takes practice to master, and the practice process may be painful.

How about you? Have you experienced your own "manhole moments"? How do you navigate them?

Why People May Envy You

 I recently met another coach, and we shared our life stories. I talked about being goal-oriented and how it sometimes made me feel like I was missing out on important things in life. She, on the other hand, shared that she's always been relationship-oriented, never really focusing on goals, and sometimes feels like she could have achieved more if she were more goal-oriented.

We both realized we were envious of each other's characteristics.

It's funny, isn't it? I'm so critical of my own traits, wishing to be more like others, while they might be admiring those very characteristics in me and wishing to be more like me.

We humans are wired to compare ourselves to others. It has its positives – it drives us to work harder and improve our lives. But at some point, it does more harm than good because we can't be like everyone we admire.

What are the characteristics you criticize in yourself that others might admire and wish to emulate?