As I complete a milestone year at my work, and also moving to a different role & team, a junior colleague asked if there are any learnings I could pass on. Well, I immediately put on my ‘lecturer’ hat and started talking. This is what I told her:
- Be good at your work: Your prime responsibility is to deliver good work. That is why we’ve been hired. So, quality of your work speaks a lot. Focus on getting things right.
- You will fail: You will make mistakes and will have to bear the consequences. The best way to react when you messed up, is to own it up and learn from it.
- You will not get promoted/rewarded every year: You will be overlooked, you will be sidestepped. It might not happen because someone did so with intent, but due to the nature of the organizations, hierarchies, budgets, etc and no amount of whining will help you. So, don’t let recognition define your self-worth. Let good work be a reward in itself.
- Have a life outside work: Sometimes things can go wrong. Your entire career, reputation might be questioned and come under scrutiny. All your contributions might be questioned. So, if your life has been revolving around work and if you’ve let work define who you are, such times will shatter you. Remember work is a part of life. It supports your life. So, create a life outside work. If this fails, you’ll have something else to attend to.
- You are not your ‘image’/’brand’: I’ve been told I advise well, I’ve been told to learn from what I read before I counsel others. I’ve been told I need to speak up, I’ve been told that I don’t let others speak. I’ve been told to step into the limelight, I’ve been told that I hog the limelight. I’ve been told I’m good at inspiring people, I’ve been told I’m not a human worth following. I’ve been told I’m humble, I’ve been told I have a superior air. So, what am I?
- If you think you are what people think you are, you will not know who you are. And; you do not have control over what others think about you. All you have control over is, your intentions. Just focus on that. As long as your intent is to do what is best – ‘with malice to none and charity to all’, you are good.
- Recognize your limits: You cannot do everything. No matter how much you want to impress the higher-ups. Sometimes you just aren’t good at certain stuff. Learn to lean-in on your team. Make use of each others strengths.
- Treat each other with kindness: Work is competitive. As you climb the ladder, competition is fierce. But, you don’t have to be rude to others. Rudeness presupposes that others should know what they are ‘supposed’ to know, but don’t, and hence are not performing as expected so not worthy to be working in your company. But, all of us have blind-spots Sometimes, you don’t know what you don’t know, to even correct them. So, assuming they should’ve been perfect reflects our character more than their’s. Not to mention that, we do not know what up hill battle they are fighting in their personal lives.
To sum it up, it’s this: be good at your work and be kind and patient with people. I’ve failed as much as I’ve succeeded. But, I’m glad to have done it my way.
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