The Advice I'll Give My Children If They Follow a Corporate Career

I spent 17 years building a corporate career. If my kids choose a corporate path, here’s the advice I’ll give them.

I started my career working part-time, as I completed my MBA, in the accounting department of a large global company.

I had always been good with numbers and naturally, I thought a finance career made sense. Once I spent a few months reconciling general ledgers, I quickly changed my mind. I knew a career of looking at numbers would not bring me joy.

Lesson 1: just because you’re good at something doesn’t mean you’ll love doing it for a living. Keep exploring.

Lesson 2: get first hand experience in your area of interest - then follow what excites you, not what’s safe.

After completing my MBA, I got promoted within the same company to a strategy position. I was happy to stay with the company, and I let that and my inexperience, hold me back from negotiating my pay and package.

Lesson 3: always negotiate your employment package and know what you’re worth. If you don’t do it at the beginning of your career, you’ll be starting behind the pack and it’s harder to close the gap later.

My new role required me to implement new ideas in a mature industry among a skeptical and highly experienced executive team. My ultimate success, was rooted in the fact that I respected the experience and knowledge of the team, and sought to collaborate, rather than impress.

Lesson 4: respect the experience and wisdom of others as well as the value your own new ideas.

Lesson 5: let go of impressing. Seek to connect and add value.

Over the next couple of years, my responsibilities grew and I was put in charge of a team. My portfolio was similar to a Director-level role, though I held a Manager title. I decided to advocate for a promotion. I was denied.

Lesson 6: get practice advocating on your own behalf. You may be denied. It doesn’t matter. The skill of advocating for yourself is an important one to hone. It’s a skill you’ll use over and over again.

Despite the initial denial, I was promoted to Director shortly after and then promoted again to a broader and more public Director role, within a sister company. I spent the first couple of months in that new role listening, understanding and clarifying the challenges and opportunities of my department from a wide variety of stakeholders.

Lesson 7: when you’re the new kid on the block, start with listening and seeking to understand. While your natural tendency may be to try to impress and share your ideas, remember that people want to be heard and understood first.

While I loved a lot about the company I worked for, I didn’t agree with everything. I tried to influence change as best I could, however many times I simply had to concede to the more powerful voices because they got to call the shots. I decided to focus on creating the culture and values I believed in at a small scale within my team.

Lesson 8: you may not be able to make big sweeping changes in a company, however don’t undervalue the impact of starting with your circle of influence. You may not change the entire company, but you can change the experience of some of the humans in your charge and that’s big!

After a couple more years I was promoted to Vice President, my responsibilities broadened again and I had my first child.

Lesson 9: take the time to think about what you want from your career post baby. Don’t allow others to define this for you. People will make assumptions about what you want or should want. It’s your life, your career, yours to define.

Once I returned to work, I was offered I new role with another sister company. It was a risky role as the company was loosing money and the mandate had shifted. I accepted it anyway. I enjoyed a challenge and it gave me the opportunity to lead a bigger team and hone different skills - I would either fail miserably or rise to the challenge.

Lesson 10: don’t allow risk to be a deterrent. Playing it safe doesn’t teach you much and rarely pays off.

A few more years passed, and I found myself with little excitement for my corporate life. I had an executive role, I was making great money and having an impact. It didn’t matter, I was unfulfilled and unhappy. Ultimately, I decided to leave the career I had been building for almost 20 years with no plan for what would come next. While I don’t advise this approach, it worked out beautifully for me.

Lesson 11: follow fulfillment no matter your age or how much you’ve invested in one path. Life is too short to be unhappy.

Warmly,

Lisa

Lisa is an Executive Coach, Founder & CEO of LDR Leadership Labs. For more from Lisa, join the LDR Leadership Community on LinkedIn at:?www.dhirubhai.net/company/ldrleadershiplabs?and sign up for the?LDR Insiders Newsletter here.