A Chicken and a Turtle: An Analogy that Changed My Career

“Visibility is not vulnerability. It is an important step on the ladder of success to stand out as an individual.”

―?Daphne Michaels ---

I was born to be a loner. An extreme introvert, unsocial and recluse. Having been bestowed with a high IQ, passed through school and college without?paying much attention to develop my highly deficient EQ. My success at school / college taught me that to achieve anything I don't?need to rely on anyone else. I picked up reading habits?not sports which intensified my need to stay in isolation to enjoy my reading. By the time I was out of college I was already a kind of a lone ranger.?

After completing my military training I was commissioned in an infantry?regiment as an officer. My first boss observed my work style for a month with interest. I would come to the office, do my best at my assigned tasks, avoid any form of social contact and would neither discuss my work with anyone nor participate in any kind of office politics. I disliked my colleagues?who would spend an inordinate amount of time on socializing and doing very little but then trying to make mountains?of the mole hills of what?they were achieving.?

One day my boss came over, after exchanging?some pleasantries, offered me a cup of coffee in his office. While sipping his coffee intently he said that I was one of his best officers as far as performance was concerned but that was not good for my career, because you are invisible. This I found counter intuitive, perceiving my concern from my expression, he said, let me ask you a question, " Do you want to become a good officer or a successful officer". After thinking about the distinction between a good and a successful officer, I told?him that in my opinion a good officer would go on to become a successful?officer. To which he said no?and explained that a good officer was only good for the regiment but at his own cost and a successful officer was both good for himself as well as for the regiment.?

Still confused, I asked him for a little more explanation.?He said to drive his point home he would use the analogy of "a Chicken and a Turtle''. A chicken?lays one egg daily, after laying the egg, makes so much noise that people in the street know whose chicken laid an egg. On the other hand, a female?turtle comes ashore at night, finds some bush, digs a nest in the sand, lays 150 to 200 eggs, covers the nest with sand and vanishes back in the dark of night quietly, and no one knows of her achievement.??

It was a very succinct?analogy, seeing my face lit up, he asked me to tell him now what would be my choice. Now it was a no brainer, I said I would like to be a chicken rather than a turtle. So he said here are the five tips that would serve you well on becoming a successful officer:

1. Get out of your shell. Socialize like chickens, hone your communication skills, improve your EQ, learn to network for success, get yourself in mantee - mentor relationships with senior successful officers.

2. Get a pro at your work by mastering both technical and soft skills.

3. Keep hunting for the projects with high visibility, produce results and then shamelessly project your achievements?like a chicken.

4. Keep your eyes and ears open, recognize the people who are pulling the ropes in the organization and cultivate good relations with them. You can never be a successful officer while staying aloof from organizational?politics.

5. Be progressive. Don't spend 100% of your time and energy on your current role. Spend at least 25% of your?time, energy and resources preparing for the next step on the career ladder.

That fateful?encounter with my first boss was paradigm shifting, I came out of his office with a changed perspective on life and career. It was time to put these pearls of wisdom to good use so instead of going back to my office and I went to the officers common room and to the surprise of all present started making introductions.

These tips have served me well throughout my career, please leave your comments / feedback or share your own similar experiences for the benefit of all.?