Growth

Recently personal growth and big tech seem to have fallen out of sync.

With layoffs, the Fed actively cooling the economy, continued war in Ukraine, protests in Iran and heightened global tensions, pursuing growth can feel unreasonable.

I believe that we are wired to grow and recognize it deeply when absent.

For my colleagues and friends who woke up to a harsh reality 10 days ago, healing probably feels more relevant.? I can not begin to comprehend what you are carrying right now and will not pretend to.? Even through this though, we will learn things about our relationship to an employer and how that influences our identity.? What we really want and who we want to be on the other side of this may come into sharper focus through this unwelcome disruption.? This too will be our growth.

I was speaking to a recruiting leader recently who just returned from an extended leave.? When she started her leave, the economy was roaring and the recruiting engine was cranking.? Now, she returns to a very different reality.? Growth will not be represented in high volume hiring or a large team.? The skills required to manage through complexity and uncertainty in a way she never has will be core to this chapter in her development as a leader.? When she can show up authentically while delivering as much clarity as possible, this is what is available to her now.

For most recruiters, scale and velocity are no longer most important.? Precision, experience and representation are, and we have an opportunity to design for this new context.? What is your client or candidate really looking for? What questions can you ask to hone in? Who are you advocating for, how and why?? Are revised expectations between you and your leaders aligned?

The opportunity to move forward when we are ready is available.? If your head is barely above water, honor that and identify what you might need to get through this.? My hope is that we will move through these difficult times conscious of what is serving and not serving us while we reckon with things we may have deferred.

A Profession is Not a Personality by Arthur Brooks seems like a timely gut check.? I think this is part of why I tend to choose not to volunteer where I work.? Ascribing values that are important to me individually to something beyond me feels like giving something away while leaving myself vulnerable.? I take pride in the values I share with so many of my colleagues, and I try to stay anchored in an appropriate relationship to what it is and isn’t.

As we move through a year of change, ingestion and adaptation, I want to be more intentional about when I am in and out of alignment with what growth looks like for me. What could growth look like for you now?

I want us to be creative and resourceful as we continue to press forward, acknowledging that what is next or better might not be clear.? I want to continue to find integration of purpose into my work, life and faith where each holds its proper place.

Having a person and a place will empower the conditions for success. ( Constance Dierickx )? When growth requires scaffolding, my people will include my coach, my life partner and other loved ones.? They will listen and hold a mirror up reflecting when values are in alignment or at tension.? My place will be where and how I prioritize being with this village and myself.? When we pursue fulfillment, person and place will be critical if we are aiming high enough.

I am hopeful that even in 2023, we will choose growth.