Shortly before I got promoted to my team leader position, one of our interns told my colleague that I was the one person from our department, he thought would “make it” in their career.
I was surprised when my colleague told me, but maybe it wasn’t such a surprise at all.
Here are a few things I did:
⇢ 𝗜 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲𝘀.
I went on 1:1 lunch and coffee dates with interns and managing directors alike.
I made sure to treat them the same and to build personal and genuine connections, vs. just focusing on business. WHY? Because I’m genuinely interested in people.
⇢ 𝗜 𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗮𝘀𝗸𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗴𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗲 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁.
And honestly, I did it because I wanted to have variety in my work, rather than because I was uber strategic about my career.
While writing this post, I realized that I was actually never a very “career-driven” person per se.
Sure, I wanted to be good at what I’m doing, and I wanted to progress, but not for the sake of titles or climbing the corporate ladder.
✨ I wanted my work to be fun and fulfilling, and I wanted to have an impact.
✨ So I focused on the things that I enjoy and that I care about.
✨ Variety, connection, and learning new things.
And I think that that’s exactly where you should start. Ask yourself:
- What is important for you in your work?
- What brings you joy?
- How does this tie in with your strengths and the work you currently do?
𝗜 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀, 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂, 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆.