"I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed." Michael Jordan
As in the life and career of Michael Jordan, everyone goes through ups and downs and these ups and downs are needed to improve and grow in life and in our careers. As someone said, "You will never appreciate the up if you don't have a down". It is, therefore, important to understand that in a long career that will span over 30 years, it is essential to time yourself, ensure that you give yourself time to mature in a role so that you can not only learn in that role but also contribute to the organization.
It has become a habit for people to do a role for a year or two and then move on to the next. The old saying, "A rolling stone gathers no moss" is apt here. It is essential for people to do different roles. However, it is equally important for people to mature in a role. By maturity, I mean going through different stages in that role - learning the role, understanding the impact the role has in the organization and then contributing and adding value so that the organization gets the benefit of your learning curve. This typically takes 2 to 3 years.
It is also essential to ensure that you time yourself in your career so that you reach the top of your capacity at the appropriate time. Each one of us is born different. Not everyone can become a CEO and that is not the be all and end all of life. It is, therefore, essential to understand our individual strengths, aspirations and where we believe we want to be in life. Then use that to start timing yourself. This is easier said than done. When you start your career at 23+, it is impossible to have clarity on where you want to be when you are 60 and how you are going to get there. This is why it is important that we have a mentor and as we go up the organization, we would end up needing a coach.
In my career that has spanned 30+ years, I have moved across industry verticals and organizations. I have done various roles but given at least 2 to 3 years in each role. This has helped me learn in each role and also contribute in that role so that the investment the organization has made during my learning curve on the role is paid back. I have also timed myself (though unconsciously at times) to ensure that my climb has not been too fast. It is fine to climb slow but if you climb very fast, it is also noticed that you come down quite fast or possibly burn out or fail in roles because you do not have the life experience to manage the needs of the role. Many a time, people fail because they are not able to handle a new peer set as they get promoted.
Superior technical expertise on a role is treated as being enough to do a role. This is possibly one of the biggest mistakes we make while promoting an individual or while we ask for our promotion. We mistake superior performance in a role to be potential to take on larger roles. We also mistake superior knowledge of technical aspects in a role to be enough to manage the next role. Maybe it is and maybe it is not. So, here is where care is needed. More so, if the next role is managerial in nature. As we go up from a manager to becoming a leader of large teams, then, again it is essential to see if you can measure up to the role. The role could be demanding from a sales/marketing perspective, managing large teams across geographies, etc. All these need appropriate life experiences apart from knowledge of the technical aspects of the job. I have been asked a question whether I look for grey hair or superior performance. I say both. You need to know your job and you also need the life experiences to handle senior roles.
The time to maturity in a role and also taking one step at a time in a career helps in managing adversity well. This was the reason I started this post with Michael Jordan's quote. It is essential to be able to handle the "downs" with as much equanimity and grace as you would the "ups". Personally, I have gone through ups and downs in my career. I have failed many times before I got to where I am. As I always say, “There is no harm in failing…just ensure that you don’t repeat mistakes. More importantly, just get up, dust yourself and run again.” To be able to handle the ups and downs, it needs patience and sound judgment. These come with life experiences. As in everything else in life, these experiences come at a cost. As Cal Ripken Jr. said, "A lot of people think I had such a rosy career, but I wanted to identify that one of the things that helps you have a long career is learning how to deal with adversity, how to get past it. Once I learned how to get through that, other things didn't seem so hard."
As in the life and career of Michael Jordan, everyone goes through ups and downs and these ups and downs are needed to improve and grow in life and in our careers. As someone said, "You will never appreciate the up if you don't have a down". It is, therefore, important to understand that in a long career that will span over 30 years, it is essential to time yourself, ensure that you give yourself time to mature in a role so that you can not only learn in that role but also contribute to the organization.
It has become a habit for people to do a role for a year or two and then move on to the next. The old saying, "A rolling stone gathers no moss" is apt here. It is essential for people to do different roles. However, it is equally important for people to mature in a role. By maturity, I mean going through different stages in that role - learning the role, understanding the impact the role has in the organization and then contributing and adding value so that the organization gets the benefit of your learning curve. This typically takes 2 to 3 years.
It is also essential to ensure that you time yourself in your career so that you reach the top of your capacity at the appropriate time. Each one of us is born different. Not everyone can become a CEO and that is not the be all and end all of life. It is, therefore, essential to understand our individual strengths, aspirations and where we believe we want to be in life. Then use that to start timing yourself. This is easier said than done. When you start your career at 23+, it is impossible to have clarity on where you want to be when you are 60 and how you are going to get there. This is why it is important that we have a mentor and as we go up the organization, we would end up needing a coach.
In my career that has spanned 30+ years, I have moved across industry verticals and organizations. I have done various roles but given at least 2 to 3 years in each role. This has helped me learn in each role and also contribute in that role so that the investment the organization has made during my learning curve on the role is paid back. I have also timed myself (though unconsciously at times) to ensure that my climb has not been too fast. It is fine to climb slow but if you climb very fast, it is also noticed that you come down quite fast or possibly burn out or fail in roles because you do not have the life experience to manage the needs of the role. Many a time, people fail because they are not able to handle a new peer set as they get promoted.
Superior technical expertise on a role is treated as being enough to do a role. This is possibly one of the biggest mistakes we make while promoting an individual or while we ask for our promotion. We mistake superior performance in a role to be potential to take on larger roles. We also mistake superior knowledge of technical aspects in a role to be enough to manage the next role. Maybe it is and maybe it is not. So, here is where care is needed. More so, if the next role is managerial in nature. As we go up from a manager to becoming a leader of large teams, then, again it is essential to see if you can measure up to the role. The role could be demanding from a sales/marketing perspective, managing large teams across geographies, etc. All these need appropriate life experiences apart from knowledge of the technical aspects of the job. I have been asked a question whether I look for grey hair or superior performance. I say both. You need to know your job and you also need the life experiences to handle senior roles.
The time to maturity in a role and also taking one step at a time in a career helps in managing adversity well. This was the reason I started this post with Michael Jordan's quote. It is essential to be able to handle the "downs" with as much equanimity and grace as you would the "ups". Personally, I have gone through ups and downs in my career. I have failed many times before I got to where I am. As I always say, “There is no harm in failing…just ensure that you don’t repeat mistakes. More importantly, just get up, dust yourself and run again.” To be able to handle the ups and downs, it needs patience and sound judgment. These come with life experiences. As in everything else in life, these experiences come at a cost. As Cal Ripken Jr. said, "A lot of people think I had such a rosy career, but I wanted to identify that one of the things that helps you have a long career is learning how to deal with adversity, how to get past it. Once I learned how to get through that, other things didn't seem so hard."
Thanks a ton for the wonderful article. 100% true and appropriate for all.
ReplyDeleteMaturity comes with age and personal experience. There are few pains and pleasures in life, can never be felt, unless we go through.
Instead of running behind fast growth, it is time for every one to look at steady and sustained growth. Value system and humility of an individual play a major role to accept the downs beyond control and to move upwards. Thank you once again.