An old quote says that you can tell the true nature of a person’s character by the way she/he treats subordinates. according to my experience, this is quite true - in good and bad cases.
Knowing that is hard to be a good leader and that there is a ton of things you can screw up, here are some thoughts about what counts in the long run - because as a leader or a boss you don’t run a business/department/team/… but influence people and their lives…
The bosses and managers you will remember for the rest of your life are the ones who…
provided safe space to grow.
showed us how.
opened career doors.
defended us when we needed it.
developed us as professionals and persons.
saw something in us we couldn’t see.
inspired us to stretch even higher.
lead by example.
explained when asked and listened when needed.
emphasized our future over the company’s present.
ensured us that our work mattered.
forgave us when we made mistakes.
Try your best to work for someone like this now and to become someone like this later…
A couple of weeks ago I tumbled over an article named “35 things you should do for your career by the time you turn 35″ by dailymuseblog / @dailymuse.
Annotation: You don’t need to check every box off this list by the time you’re 35. It is more a list of suggestions that, can have a big impact on your career.
I felt free to highlight the items I personally believe to be the most important ones:
1. Really refine your elevator pitch
2. Know your superpower
3. Know your weakness
4. Learn how to delegate
5. Know your career non-negotiables
6. Do something you’re really, really proud of
7. Learn from something you’re not so proud of
8. Stretch your limits
9. Do something that really scares you
10. Get comfortable with getting feedback
11. Get comfortable with giving feedback
12. Get comfortable with saying no
13. Have a broad network of people you can trust
14. Have a couple of specific career advisors
15. Scrub your online presence
16. Perfect your LinkedIn profile
17. Have a portfolio of your best work
18. Know how to sell (yourself or something else)
19. Know how to negotiate
20. Know how to manage up
21. Know how to send a killer email
22. Master your handshake
23. Find a to-do list system that works for you
24. Know your energy levels — and use them
25. Know how much sleep you need and commit to getting it
26. Know how to manage stress
27. Stop over-apologizing
28. Get over impostor syndrome
29. Have a career emergency plan
30. Pick up a side project
31. Invest in your retirement
32. Invest in yourself
33. Invest in the world
34. Know what you don’t want
35. Give yourself permission to go after what you do
PS: In case you are over 35 already - please apply the same list and simply extend it to your needs and experiences ;-) Numbers don’t matter this time…
Still true. Still worth sharing. Still recommended.
It is NO straight path. At some points, it might be necessary to take a step down, change the approach or switch sides to come closer to your the top.
Stretching, pulling and pushing yourself upwards, making weird moves, getting tired, asking for help or advice and always being afraid of falling hard - all of that is normal and naturally belongs to what we call CAREER.
Hang in there, give it all you got and find your own way. You’ll be automatically ahead - as most of your competitors/colleagues believe it to be not only a ladder but a staircase!
We do not only work for a brand or a company but also for a person: your boss. But for any reason most people (especially young professionals) choose a job, care for the salary, the desk, the company car, the new laptop, the business card - but not (too much) for the person they will interact most.
I recommend - especially if your are early in your career:
Follow someone you can learn from. SHOP A BOSS.
This person will (most likely) influence your future career a lot more than the company or the brand or even your polished CV.
He/She will determine what challenges you face in your daily work, and how much you will be able to take away for tasks and positions to come.
“Amateurs built the Ark, professionals built the Titanic’”
—
found on the web (key message of an article inside the management section)
This quote wants to tell you that amateurs might be the better choice. Don’t fall for it.
Why:
Please correct me if I am wrong - but did the ark ever have to deal with any icebergs (as far as we know)?
What would you say would have happened?
I recommend: Stick to professionals. Speak to sharp minds and thought leaders. Ask those doing that for hours every single day. Keep to questioning what they say - and make up your own mind based on their information.
But there is one thing amateurs do have in their favor…
Their love for what they do.
Actually the word amateur comes from “amore” (Italian for love). It was the English term invented to separate those sportsmen who were paid (professional athletes) from those gentlemen just doing it for the sport itself (amateurs).
If you need someone who is driven by his/her passion and love - someone who is motivated intrinsically and loyal from the heart… then you might go for an amateur. But beware of icebergs…
The money you are paid by the company you work for will always be in direct ratio to
1. the need for what you do,
2. your ability to do it, and
3. the degree of difficulty involved in replacing you.
”
—
Earl Nightingale, legend and thought leader
According to my personal experiences this quote says it all. I have not found any other explanation summing up the topic of salary as good as this one…
(Why I always try to keep these things in mind when making career decisions!)
Here is the important sequence (told by #CaseyNeistat himself).
In a nutshell - that is how you get to where you want to be:
(perspective: Bird’s eye view)
Why this idea resonates with me: It describes the truth - at least according to what I experienced in my life.
And it contains another insight that you need to be aware of in order to succeed someday - again a picture:
… just as true as the picture above…
What you might like to take away from this post:
There are no straight lines in life. Get comfortable with taking a detour once in a while…
Getting closer to your goal might feel like failure - don’t give up though.
Embrace to where your current vine is taking you - even if it pulling you more sideways that forward…
The key question for you should always be: “Which vine is my next one?” Don’t think too much about the rest of the way. Just take one right vine after another…
On the day you reach your final goal - you will be able to connect the dots backwards. Trust me.
Having said that, this is what you should do next:
Save vines and good luck.
m
I had to think of this post today (one of my favorite pictures when it comes to career planning and making the right choices).
What the Tarzan Method also tells you - apart from everything stated above:
You can easily use this method to decide whether to go for a new opportunity or not: simply ask yourself “is this taking me at least a little bit closer to my final goal?” If yes, grab it and hang on to it!
The most important vine is the one after that one in your hands! If you cannot find any next connection you will soon fall in one way or the other.
If you don’t know your final goal, no vine is right for you.
