Do what you love or Love what you do
I recently had mid-year discussions with my team members… and I couldn't stop correlating with the situation that most of them face — the perception they have, the indecisiveness they face in their career, whether to let go and let the system decide for itself or keep pushing your limits blindly… where you want to believe and speak as if grass is greener on the other side but internally are in a constant struggle to ascertain the same yourself. Somehow you just want years of experience to accumulate and be eligible for the next position and try if that helps. Very typical during formative years (say 3 to 10 yrs of work experience).
The below are nothing new — rather excerpts from my notes during such a period. The period which is most crucial to focus and develop your domain! The period where you discover the importance of self-awareness…
As a leader (Damodar Padhi) once put it… this is the time when you could potentially transition to loving what you do, even though you may not be doing what you love the most.
Here is something to set you thinking to help make the transition.
Brand. Build reputation through performance.
In an organisation, your brand / reputation / image is the most valuable. Make a name for yourself by performing your best on tasks assigned, understand the work you do, think about impact to adjacency, ask questions on work at hand however silly, find an expert on the assigned activity and take tips on how to execute the work smartly, understand how your work fits in the larger organisational deliverable, respect and develop appreciation for other work.
Be known for being dependable, professional, and cooperative. This is the part that's mostly visible as experience in your profile.
Make best use of assigned work to learn and cater to your development needs. It should be what it sounds — "Experience".
Learn. Continuous learning.
A proven way to advance in your career is to be continually acquiring new knowledge.
Breadth or depth depends on your organisation structure. Larger organisations tend to have more depth built inherently, while smaller ones already have breadth built in. Do your homework and balance it. Identify a personal development plan, take help from feedback and examples of juniors, peers and seniors and come up with an action plan.
Ideally, what people should be doing to develop is to make best use of assigned tasks (70% development comes from a job well understood and done), training / workshops (can contribute at most 20% of development if put to use), and regular reading / books (10% of the knowledge we acquire through reading stays with us — again, if we put it to use). Ironically, how most people behave is as if 60% development happens through training, 30% through reading (occasionally or just once), and as if on-the-job learning hardly contributes a maximum of 10%. Change your mindset! Develop your domain through experience. That is development.
Stay on top of trends or developments in your field and make sure that your current profile / assignments are helping you acquire those needed skills. Augment your work by attending sessions related to your field of work and sharing your experience.
Growth has many factors; learning is the most important one.
Volunteer. Ask for more.
Take an active part in solving prevailing challenges within your team. Appreciate good things. Give open feedback.
Be a part of the solution, not an orator of the problems.
Volunteer to help out others — or simply ask for more responsibilities. This increases your value within the team. Asking for additional work shows an interest and desire to help your department and organisation succeed. It also puts a spotlight on your value to the business.
If you have your career set on something beyond what you are doing in your present position, seek out opportunities to volunteer or support others who are already there, where you can build a reputation as someone who is passionate and dedicated to that particular industry.
Network. Improve people skills.
Strong interpersonal skills play a crucial role in gaining the respect of your seniors and coworkers; they will also attract the notice of outside influencers who might open new doors of opportunity for you. Be friendly, outgoing, and personable as much as possible.
Make your coworkers a mirror to assess your strengths and development areas. Listen carefully to people, and practise being a clear and effective communicator.
Strengthen your personal network. The more people who are aware of your strengths and abilities, the better your chances of hearing about any new opportunities that might arise.
Listen & Talk. Find a mentor.
Develop mentoring relationships, either inside or outside the immediate department / organisation or even company. Mentors are also great sources of information and career guidance — apart from being someone whom we can trust professionally. Listen to them.
Talk to your manager, seniors, peers and juniors. Sit down and have a very direct and pointed conversation with your manager about your future. This includes: opportunities you work on (assignments), your strength and development areas, your learning interests, your career interest, your benefits (if that is what is bothering you). Understand and stress that you want all the above in a way that meets the company's goals.
Come up with a business case for how your development in those lines would be helpful to the organisation. Seek opinion not just from your manager but also other seniors on your thoughts. Be open when they share feedback. Your seniors will respect this display of confidence and maturity.
Do your part in letting them know that you are seeking an opportunity to take more responsible work, for a promotion, or even to develop in an adjoining area as the next step up in your career. Most often than not, just a sincere discussion would give you all this and more within the same larger organisation — as long as business situation, direction and interest align with what you want to develop in.
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What's your experience with what works for you? Have you been doing what you love, or over time loving what you do? Eager to read your comments @LinkedIn!