The Pokémon Guide to Career Evolution

I have three children - ages 11, 9, and 6. That means I've spent nearly a decade deep in the Pokémon universe.

The cards. The books. The TV series. The movies**. The merch - oh, the merch!

Honestly, it's been a blast learning about their passion for Pokémon with me, as I share my passion for things like DC Comics, the Beastie Boys, and the Muppets with them.

While I'm never going to be as much of an expert on Pokémon as my 6-year-old, there is something that has always landed with me as a cool lesson: the evolution of a Pokémon.

A Pokémon, such as Pikachu or Charmander or Psyduck, is born with little experience and only rudimentary powers. As they gain experience, they can literally evolve into bigger, stronger, more powerful beings.

I asked my 6-year-old why a Pokémon would want to evolve. His answer: "To win more battles." We'll come back to that in a minute.

Let's pivot this discussion to our careers. Most of us start our careers, usually in our very early 20s, with little professional experience. Sure, we may have had weekend jobs in high school or part-time gigs in college or vocational school, but probably nothing like a full-time role.

Over time, we learn the tools of our trade. We research. We absorb. We take two steps forward. We take three steps back. We gain experience (...points). And, most importantly, we evolve.

Those evolutions may be more subtle than instantly transformative. But there are moments in time where you can look back on your journey and realize just how far you've come...that you aren't the same professional you used to be.

(As an aside, some characters have multiple evolution paths instead of one direct line, which is a brilliant perspective for a kid!)

Hopefully, you don't see the output of your evolution as the ability to win more battles. But...what my kid could not articulate yet is that growth is about coming into your most effective self, turning your experience into impact.

Three Tips to Evolve Your Career Like a Pokémon

1. Show up. It's not surprising that the first component of experience is...being there. In our hybrid world, being physically present in an office may not be an option like it used to be, but being mentally engaged remains critical. You can't learn if you aren't showing up - and you can't win if you aren't playing the game.
2. Identify What Powers You. Each Pokémon is powered by a different source. Experience is certainly a common one, but there are other items that accelerate evolution. Figure out what you need to do, learn, and achieve to take the next step in your career.
3. Catch All the Lessons. What's the tagline for Pokémon? Gotta catch 'em all! Career success comes from being a perpetual student - never stopping learning.

**This is the second consecutive newsletter where I've referenced Ryan Reynolds , if you're keeping score. Detective Pikachu was delightful!

Four things worth your time this week...

1) Managers Have Major Impact On Mental Health: How To Lead For Wellbeing

Nearly 70% of employees say their manager has the greatest impact on their mental health - more so than their doctor or therapist. This Forbes article by Tracy Brower, PhD dives deeper into the study behind that shocking stat and provides a critical road map on what to do with this responsibility.

I especially appreciate the call for managers to focus on their own mental health. It feels like the guidance on airplanes about securing your own oxygen mask before helping others.

2) The importance of getting started

This Tweet, shared on LinkedIn recently by Daniel Abrahams , is a major call to action.

Every journey starts somewhere. And each subsequent step gets easier and, ideally, better.

However, we often hold ourselves back because the first step won't be the best...which is terribly self-defeating. You have to start something to get good at it.

And, as noted above, gaining those experience points allows you to evolve into a more effective version of yourself. If you're going to get better as you go, get comfortable with where you are now.

3) The 7 C's To Build a Winning Team

I never liked math all that much, but I do love a good formula!

This one, shared by Leadership First and H/T John "Jack" McGroarty , outlines a series of actions that build winning teams.

While every company and every team will have their own wrinkles of what leads to success, this feels like something any leader could print out and hang on their wall.

4) Ted Lasso Season 3 Trailer

And, bringing us home, Apple TV+ just dropped the official Season 3 trailer for Ted Lasso. (Streaming March 15!)

I can't share enough how much I love this show and how much it has influenced me and so many others (Hi, Jo Madnani !). The character that started out as a sketch joke has...evolved...into something much more meaningful.

Also, getting roasted by Brett Goldstein, who created and portrays Roy Kent, at a comedy club last year was an absolute life moment!

Spoiler alert: this newsletter will be talking about Ted Lasso a LOT more in the weeks to come. :)