Ask any leader about their path to success and you will find one thing in common. There is no straight line to success. Career and life journey’s take winding paths, meteoric upward rides, periods of ambiguity, flat-lines, hard slogs, brick walls and free falls.
Over the last few weeks and months, I’ve had the privilege of speaking about life and leadership with graduate students in Business and Marketing at several prestigious schools including Clemson University, Thunderbird School of Management, and The Stern School of Business. I have come back inspired from each discussion, deeply impressed by the meaningful, measured questioning and commentary. With each conversation, I am increasingly convinced that it is our smart, thoughtful, globally connected and socially conscious younger generation that will lead us into a much brighter, more positive future
In several of these conversations, students have asked about how they should think about their aspirations, or how they should start planning and charting their own success story. Many are stuck trying to answer the dreaded anticipated interview question that unfortunately has become a standard part of our lexicon – “Where do you see yourself in 3 years, 5 years, and even 10 years”?
While a few sure-footed ones chisel away at creating a well-rehearsed, well-practiced script that can win over an interviewer, most others struggle at creating a clear picture of what the future might hold for them. I tend to relate more with the latter.
When I look back at my career over a few decades, I see a pattern. I never really had what would be considered to be a formal career plan. I’ve always let my curiosity guide me. Whether it was learning how to code, get involved in pre-sales, consulting, sales, build a business, M&A, marketing, psychology, history, culture or leadership, it was always something that I immersed myself into because I was curious to learn more. With each step I took, I either advanced forward when I felt engaged or changed course if I realized it wasn’t for me. As a result, I’ve taken on different types of roles and responsibilities over my career, that don’t always line up perfectly. Shifts in global policies, constraints, corporate priorities, leadership, family priorities have made me constantly course correct. Whether the changes have been positive or negative for my career or personally, I’ve taken on each position with enthusiasm, energy, and commitment. Each rise and fall through this process has added jagged edges to my career trajectory.
The zigzags reminded me of career advice from one of my favorite business school professors, Scott Snook. Careers are not marathons, he told us, in which you try to move at a steady pace over the entire course. Instead, your career is a series of sprints. You go hard and fast, and then there’s a lull or a change during which you catch your breath—but make little progress.
The key is this: Learn when you fall and teach when you rise. Instead of measuring your career progression in wins and losses, let’s start measuring it in learning and teaching.
The most successful people I have seen have an especially important superpower. They are resilient: they recover quickly during the down times and gain strength for the next push. When I talk with people going through the slower, down times, I see a pattern. Those who struggle to rebound feel like they’ve been victims of larger forces or have failed in some way. Those who rebound quickly believe that change is inevitable and does not reflect on their personal abilities or engagement. They learn valuable lessons about themselves and their lives that they then use to share with others when they bounce back.
In a changing economy and work world, we will all zigzag our way through. Knowing that affects my expectations; it also affects the way I look at and treat those around me. When I’m at high points, I try to teach, and share my knowledge, and pull others up with me, give them momentum. I don’t forget those who’ve seen me through my struggles – my crucible moments, when I learned the most. Over time, people remember your successes and forget about your struggles. It’s your job to do the opposite.
When you rise with humility and fall with resilience, the jagged edges become little saw-tooth data points in the graph of a successful career.
