Debunking Popular #Career Myths

It is often understood that successful careers are about higher designations, bigger organizations and fatter wallet possibilities. While some of these may indeed be a cocktail of rewards, careers are not just these alone. In my own experience as a career coach, I have been appalled to see how widespread the disillusionment with organizations, their leaders and their own careers is. They remain stuck because of the career myths that we all have conveniently rationalized our situations with. However, myths are often just that and need to be contested. 

Careers are yours, not theirs: The challenge with the subject is that we forget that we own our careers. However, much of our actions are in response to what the world may think. We start to make decisions to live up to a Pygmalion expectation. The reality is the external world has more to worry than be obsessed with any of us. Everyone may have an opinion but it always squarely remains ours.

 Careers are about various peaks, not just the highest one: People believe that being in the so called 'big' job(s) is proof of a successful career. Just being in a big job, even in a large organization may, however, not be intrinsically fulfilling or inspiring. It may actually be more titular; maybe in a culture that is excessively draining. The classical big jobs may be mere bureaucratic parking slots rather than addressing core design essentials of your own career. The apparent smaller assignments may actually be more challenging, more complex, richer in experience and more satisfying. Every peak, small or large, can be career enhancing, depending on the variables. 

 Careers are internal, not external: You own your career, not your organization. I have so very often witnessed the passenger syndrome in employees. There is the eternal expectation, often misplaced, that their organization will take them to a desired destination. It never can be the case. If you are on the wrong train, you can never get to your destination. Or if you do not know your destination, you do not get onto the right train. In the future workplace, career anchors will get even more self-controlled. Careers will be more a product of active self-steer than an organization owned reality.

 Careers are not linear; they have their jagged edges: Over time a career graph may look like a nice slope but in real terms no career has been an easy ride up. There are often lateral steps and at times some strategic come-downs. Some career moments are rough air pockets. Both successes and disappointments contribute to an eventual career trajectory. Realize that not every successful careerist was always a hero. He was once just a boy-next-door.

 Career choices can also be counter-intuitive: The best career moments lie at the fringes, not at the end of the tunnel. Careers are not always about doing more of the same, albeit larger. It could be about doing something different- lateral shifts, different functions, various industries, even a presumably lower order start up. In the New World, one cannot remain a prisoner of one's education or past experiences. Successful careers are more about deeply embedded life interests, not just formal educational qualifications.  The next big career opportunities will be at various intersects, some seemingly very counterintuitive. It will take a good trapeze artist inspiration to know which handle bar to shoot for. Otherwise organizational seduction is bound to dull many promising careers.

Careers of others can inspire you but need not be your mould: Inspired by films, we do have a tendency to imitate the stars in what we do. That does not necessarily make us a star.  Every person is a product of one's circumstances. It is good to be inspired by the perceived success of someone as is useful to learn from a sensed derailment of another. However, each of our careers is unique and very contextual. Enjoy the ride, howsoever a roller coaster, it may seem. Do things that no one else may have done before. You too could be an inspiration to many others too but not become a mould. 

 Careers are not just about skills or pedigree. They are about you: Your reputation with people, your ability to inspire, your trustworthiness, your tone of the voice, your ability to handle difference of opinions all become even more central to the effectiveness of your career. The softer issues over time become hard career inputs. Functional expertise becomes the clichéd  'necessary but not adequate' ingredient of a happening career. The majority of mid-career derailments happen, not because of hard skills but the soft ones.

 Career is not about win-lose. It can be win-win: Conventional thinking, supportive of a single organization career, would make us believe that one's career is all about edging out a peer. Careers today are no longer bounded in by organization limits. In fact the best careers happen when you help others succeed and work at your redundancy. You make yourself available for bigger opportunities within, and by the spread of your reputation, even beyond.

Careers are not just about plain hard work at your job: There can be no debate that good honest work is an all-weather plus. But just doing that does not necessarily set you up for higher jobs. It is even more important to demonstrate the potential to do higher order jobs. We must remember being good at our current job is just a passport to a future career; it is not a visa. Stepping beyond the ask, influencing non-reporting relationships, redefining one's role and eventually building a personal brand significantly influence career possibilities. Hence, sticking to a job description remit is no longer a career accelerator.

 Careers exist within your larger life space: I have met so many people whose only identity is their career. They have little other interests, hobbies or networks beyond work. The risk of burn out with such category of people can be very high. They also could inadvertently be seen as slave driving workaholics. While there is no substitute to honest hard work, careers are not soulless constructs.  They exist in the larger scheme of a life space. They impact and get influenced by many factors beyond the work space. Sustainable and high impact careers thus need to have their share of antidotes. What worth is a career if you succeeded in it but lost a lot beyond it? This is arguably one of the biggest regrets of the most successful careerists!

 Careers then are what you make of them. The choices are ours. The constraints are ours. The myths too are ours. 

 - Prabir Jha

(Prabir Jha is the Global Chief People Officer at Cipla. He writes, speaks and tweets extensively on various HR issues especially on #Leadership, Careers and #OrganisationTransformation. His Twitter handle is @PrabirJha)

This article was published in the Economic Times , January 15, 2016.

 https://www.pressreader.com/india/economic-times/20160115/282192239984569/TextView