How to Triumph Post-Grad

By PSI CEO, Clint Padgett?

This is the time of year when many soon-to-be-graduates begin transitioning into their newfound roles as young professionals. With this change comes some challenges, but also many rewards.

When I graduated from high school, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do with my life. After about 6 months of still not figuring it out, I joined the Navy. I spent the next 12 months in various training programs learning to be a sailor and a Navy electrician followed by five years on an aircraft carrier as an electrician’s mate. I learned how to work as part of a team, identified my strengths and tried not to repeat the same mistake twice - because they were both painful and had consequences. They say you learn more from your mistakes than your successes and I have to say, that for me, it was true. In retrospect, I would say the greatest thing I learned during those six years was don’t give up.?No matter how tough things get, you must keep moving forward.?

I went on to earn a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from The Georgia Institute of Technology before earning my MBA from The Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.?

The first several years of my professional life, as they are for most, were extremely formative. I learned lessons (usually the hard way) in self-discipline and leadership but the greatest gift was realizing how much I enjoyed working on teams and interacting with people. In addition to the two already mentioned, here are a few other lessons that I've carried with me throughout my career, and that I hope may help others who are forging their own professional paths:

Prioritize conversation over communication.?

Conversation is a two-way street. Whether it be in a professional setting or at a family gathering, greater clarity is achieved when we use synchronous communication – a conversation amongst two or more in which clarifying, follow up questions are asked and answered. We often default to asynchronous communication for expediency – a post on Jira or Slack, a quick text message or verbally shout, “Whatever” as you storm from the room – however, these don’t really help us reach our primary goal which is to achieve a mutual, shared understanding.

Some might argue that this can be achieved using email and I might agree as long as the topic is simple and/or not emotionally charged. How often has someone received a message or email from you and interpreted it in a way that you never intended? And how often have you done the same as the message recipient? It’s so easy to mis-read the “tone” of the email or project our own mood at the moment onto the message. Even if it’s relatively simple, the email exchange might span multiple messages and several hours. A conversation alleviates this! When you have a conversation, you can see their facial expression change (or hear the tone of their voice change) if they are upset by something you’ve said. This allows you to quickly resolve the matter by choosing different words or better explaining the concept. And it happens quickly in mere minutes rather than several hours!

Don’t just talk. Listen, too.?

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a conversation is defined as an oral exchange of sentiments, observations, opinions or ideas. The key word here for me is “exchange” because it implies that both of us get to share our thoughts. If only one person does all the talking we’re merely being “talked to'' or lectured and others quickly stop listening. When you listen to others more often than you speak, not only is greater clarity reached more efficiently and effectively, but it sends the message to the other party that “I value you enough to listen to what you have to say - even if I don’t promise to agree''.?I follow the old adage that says, “you have 2 ears and one mouth; you should use them in that ratio.”

Flexibility over rigidity.?

No matter how hard you try, a plan is never set in stone. This can be a project plan, a life plan, or a plan to go on summer vacation in two weeks! I was painfully reminded of this as the pandemic set in when 3 major trips that I had spent close to 100 hours planning all were canceled over a 3-week period. Be flexible to change and always keep the bigger picture in mind. Those 3 trips will eventually take place, even if I have to spend another 100 hours replanning them. Ultimately, all you can control is how you respond to a challenge that is thrown your way. Be agile, adjust quickly, and trust in your resilience. This will take you far in business and life.

Put People First.

Prioritize the people around you; team members, colleagues, family and friends. When you put people first, everything else tends to work itself out. And it’s so easy to do.

I drew from many of these lessons and experiences when writing my latest book, How Teams Triumph: Managing by Commitment. If you’re interested in learning more about maximizing performance by enhancing communication, breaking down silos and how to build effective strategies, learn more and order your copy here.