I want to discuss a topic that comes up frequently during my one on ones — taking ownership of your career.
I find that frequently people are focused on the thing directly in front of them. They are concerned with the status of their project. They are concerned with what their next performance review will be. They are concerned with when their next promotion will be. All of these are valid concerns, but every time someone brings this up in our discussions, I challenge them to reframe their focus.
Let's break down each of these examples — first, the status of their project. Everyone wants their project to be successful. Everyone wants to know they've contributed to a success story. Although I think it's imperative to take pride in one's work, frequently a project is successful or not based on external factors. Did everyone you depend on execute like they said they would? Did your customers react the way you felt they could? Did your upper management provide the proper direction and support? Some things can be done to mitigate failures, but if you're just one of many cogs in a business, chances are there is more out of your control than in your control.
Therefore the focus shouldn't be on if the project is successful but instead on personal growth. That doesn't mean you let the project fail — the exact opposite. If the project is successful, most likely you'll get the most personal growth. But even if the project fails, there is still a lot of personal growth to be obtained. Your self-value shouldn't be derived from the outcome of something out of your control but entirely on what you do control. By turning your focus internal, you are focusing on something you have more control over and can make adjustments easier.
The same is true for the next performance review. Even if you kill it for a particular year, maybe your company has shifted its rating weightings and decide to give everyone a lower rating than previous years. Maybe your manager changed, and you didn't have time to establish yourself. There could be countless reasons why you don't get the performance review you would expect. But none of that matters if, at the end of the year, you can honestly say you provide more value to your company than the previous year.
Promotions follow the same thread. Maybe your company had a lousy year, and no promotions were given out. Or internal politics awarded it to someone else again. Who cares if you grew.
Notice the trend? In the end, everything boils down to personal growth. That makes life easy, almost boring. Every focus you have should be in personal growth. I don't consider emphasizing personal growth as selfish either. When I notice my direct reports are doing this, I never think negatively and highly encourage it. If you focus on yourself to become a better employee, then your employer benefits from that. It's a win/win situation.
And here is where the counter-argument comes in: "What if my employer doesn't recognize my growth, so they are benefiting from it but not rewarding it?' That's a natural debate with a smooth response. Find an employer who will reward appropriately. If you've grown out of your current position and pay scale and can't move higher, then switch companies.
I'm not promoting job jumping either. I've been at my current employer for almost a decade, the longest I've been at a company. A lot of my employees have told me that they have also worked for me at this company for longer than they've worked at any company before. We are far from being in a perfect company, but we've framed our career adventure so that sticking with this company is a win for us just as much as it's a win for the company. And when it no longer is a win/win, I'll move on just as I expect my employees to do too.
You own your career, not your company. So take ownership and don't tie your career's success, or your happiness, to something outside of your control.
(Written 2019.05.08)
I find that frequently people are focused on the thing directly in front of them. They are concerned with the status of their project. They are concerned with what their next performance review will be. They are concerned with when their next promotion will be. All of these are valid concerns, but every time someone brings this up in our discussions, I challenge them to reframe their focus.
Let's break down each of these examples — first, the status of their project. Everyone wants their project to be successful. Everyone wants to know they've contributed to a success story. Although I think it's imperative to take pride in one's work, frequently a project is successful or not based on external factors. Did everyone you depend on execute like they said they would? Did your customers react the way you felt they could? Did your upper management provide the proper direction and support? Some things can be done to mitigate failures, but if you're just one of many cogs in a business, chances are there is more out of your control than in your control.
Therefore the focus shouldn't be on if the project is successful but instead on personal growth. That doesn't mean you let the project fail — the exact opposite. If the project is successful, most likely you'll get the most personal growth. But even if the project fails, there is still a lot of personal growth to be obtained. Your self-value shouldn't be derived from the outcome of something out of your control but entirely on what you do control. By turning your focus internal, you are focusing on something you have more control over and can make adjustments easier.
The same is true for the next performance review. Even if you kill it for a particular year, maybe your company has shifted its rating weightings and decide to give everyone a lower rating than previous years. Maybe your manager changed, and you didn't have time to establish yourself. There could be countless reasons why you don't get the performance review you would expect. But none of that matters if, at the end of the year, you can honestly say you provide more value to your company than the previous year.
Promotions follow the same thread. Maybe your company had a lousy year, and no promotions were given out. Or internal politics awarded it to someone else again. Who cares if you grew.
Notice the trend? In the end, everything boils down to personal growth. That makes life easy, almost boring. Every focus you have should be in personal growth. I don't consider emphasizing personal growth as selfish either. When I notice my direct reports are doing this, I never think negatively and highly encourage it. If you focus on yourself to become a better employee, then your employer benefits from that. It's a win/win situation.
And here is where the counter-argument comes in: "What if my employer doesn't recognize my growth, so they are benefiting from it but not rewarding it?' That's a natural debate with a smooth response. Find an employer who will reward appropriately. If you've grown out of your current position and pay scale and can't move higher, then switch companies.
I'm not promoting job jumping either. I've been at my current employer for almost a decade, the longest I've been at a company. A lot of my employees have told me that they have also worked for me at this company for longer than they've worked at any company before. We are far from being in a perfect company, but we've framed our career adventure so that sticking with this company is a win for us just as much as it's a win for the company. And when it no longer is a win/win, I'll move on just as I expect my employees to do too.
You own your career, not your company. So take ownership and don't tie your career's success, or your happiness, to something outside of your control.
(Written 2019.05.08)
