Insights From Along the Way: Unlocking Your Career Potential

If there’s one word that describes my career path, it’s open.

My career journey has been less about my specific job and more about embracing the experiences I wanted along the way. Careers aren’t meant to be a linear path upward; more often than not they zigzag up and down, through setbacks and leaps forward. Growth can be like that: a bit messy, unpredictable, and incredibly personal.

As I reflect on my career journey, I encourage you to discard the idea of climbing the ladder step-by-step, and instead embrace the winding path, in ways that are authentic to you. This is not always easy or straightforward, and I’ve had to course correct several times in my career. But when I look at the principles that have helped me own who I am, these are the five tenets that have helped me make decisions that build momentum in my career, while simultaneously creating the joy that makes it all worthwhile.

1.????Remember what matters.

Early in my career, I was laser-focused on hitting all the milestones that were important to me: promotions, marriage, kids. And, for a while, I thought I was killing it! My newborn son (my eldest) was on a textbook schedule, my family was thriving, and I was on top of my game at work. But while I was able to maintain a perfect image for the outside world, behind the scenes I was stretched thin, and I was stressed out. I was pushing myself beyond my limits, and in many ways, I was barely holding on. But I considered this level of stress to be manageable and necessary.

I think we all know that perspective can change in just moments. When my second son was three months old, we were returning from an out-of-state trip when we realized something was very wrong with him. Very wrong. There was my son, struggling to breathe, increasingly lethargic, and with a raging fever. We landed, called the nurse line in a panic, and by the time we reached the ER at our local children’s hospital, he had fallen limp in my arms and was unresponsive.

?While he made a complete recovery, and today is a healthy 12-year-old, that precise moment forever altered my definition of success and stress. Holding my infant son, I knew then that success was not the perfect schedule, it was not the coveted job, and it was not the big title. Success in that very moment meant having a healthy child who was going to live. And stress - it wasn’t the work deadlines or maintaining a strict feeding schedule. I realized that if my family is healthy and happy, everything else is completely manageable. I had a new baseline from which to operate.

?When you’re clear—truly clear—on what’s important, you can approach your career with a big-picture perspective. Not only will this perspective serve you in times of stress and chaos, but it will also help steer your path forward by helping you determine your values, goals, and boundaries.

2.????Discover what brings you energy and joy.

I’ve worked for incredible leaders and learned that the energy you bring to your work plays a critical role in your own success, your team’s success, and how you’re perceived by clients, partners, and team members. Your energy sets the tone for your entire organization; it’s how you align on vision, inspire others, and mobilize.

Exuding the right energy requires you to discover ways in which you excel, and which bring you happiness. This is where you are working in ways that spotlight your greatest talents - doing things that you find so engaging that it may not even feel like work.

I have a passion for decorating, and my husband rolls his eyes at the number of times I’ve re-arranged my office, incorporating what I view as the latest design trends. And while I love this work, I’m also aware that I’m not particularly gifted at it – so it doesn’t quite get me where I need to be for me to make it my career.

What I’ve learned about myself that I genuinely love to do and do successfully, is building businesses. Creating successful businesses sits in the heart of my talents and my passions. Understanding this lets me drive focus when having to make decisions about my career.

3.????Know your strengths—and your blind spots.

Strong leaders not only understand where they shine, but also understand their gaps. They know where they need to improve, where they need to hire, and where they need the help of others. I’ve worked hard over the years to ensure I spend just as much time thinking about my blind spots as I do my strengths. When it comes to identifying those gaps, think about the feedback you consistently receive, or where you find yourself zapped and depleted of energy, or where you continue to procrastinate.

Recognizing these gaps should not be seen as negative. If anything, there’s confidence and power in knowing where you’re strong and where you can improve. It also gives you the opportunity to find people whose strengths complement your weaknesses and give them these additional opportunities to grow and shine.?Use your insights about your strengths and gaps to understand your unique value proposition and make intentional decisions that highlight your superpowers and those of others around you.

4.????Map your path forward.

I’ve often been asked if I have a career plan with milestones mapped out throughout the years. For those craving this structure, my answer is often unsatisfactory. But for those who look at their careers as a series of stimulating chapters, I encourage you to spend less time thinking about job titles, and more time thinking about the experiences you want to have along the way. I have a strong sense of what kinds of experiences I would like to navigate in my career, and assess opportunities based on whether they bring me closer to these goals. And importantly, I am willing to take risks along the way to get me there.

Regardless of how fine-tuned your own plan might be, be prepared to ask yourself:

• What experiences are important to you in your career?
• What kind of culture do you want to be a part of?
• What areas of business excite you the most?

And above all, be prepared to adjust your plan. Just like I had a vision for the mountain I wanted to climb before my son got sick, you must be equally prepared for necessary course corrections along the way.

5.????Above all, know yourself.

Knowing yourself isn’t just about charting your career path, but about having the confidence to ultimately be yourself. To have a successful career, I’ve learned that you need to own who you are, complete with your strengths, gaps, and personal truth. When you operate with an intent that comes from self-awareness, you will find opportunities opening up that you can accelerate into with energy and joy.

Earlier in my career, I spent so much time trying to mold myself to what I thought people wanted - to wear the right thing, to hit the right milestones. But there is power in just being you. Take time to get to know your authentic self, and there is no telling what you can do, and where your career will take you.