The power of self-reflection: Lessons from my journey

When I graduated from university early 2004, I was filled with hope and enthusiasm. I moved to Harare, and after a few months, secured a technical role with a local internet service provider.

But then I quickly realised that my hopes were misplaced. The economy was tanking rapidly, decimating several companies in the process. For several years, I had waited for this opportunity - to eventually apply breaks to the cycle of poverty that my family had endured for generations. But I suddenly found myself playing defence – struggling to pay rent, let alone support my loved ones.

I knew I needed to leave country, so I decided to act. I applied for several jobs overseas but didn’t secure a single interview. A key turning point came mid-2004, when I slowed down and consciously reflected on my qualifications.

Acknowledging that I was ill-equipped to compete at international level, despite the high regard I received from my own community, was a key turning point.

I took up a side gig, using the skills I acquired in university to develop websites for medium sized companies during weekends or after work. I saved some money and teamed up with a group of 3 friends to sit for the CISA exam. I knew that acquiring the CISA designation would open opportunities with Big 4 consulting firms, which in turn would give me requisite experience to secure roles in developed economies.

A few weeks after passing my CISA exam, I secured two roles: one at Deloitte and another at PwC. What was once a distant dream had suddenly become reality. Deloitte gave me an offer first, so I politely declined to join PwC. Besides, by the time the PwC offer came, I had developed deep relationships at Deloitte, most of which have remained so dear to me.

Things unfolded faster than I had anticipated. After approximately 1.5 years with Deloitte, I got interview opportunities with PwC in Sydney, Auckland and London. PwC Sydney offered me a role first and I politely declined to proceed with the other two interviews. It’s a decision I never regret, Australia has given me endless opportunities to grow and contribute.   

Here are two key things I learned.

1.        The widely held notion, that you can impose your goals into existence through positive thoughts and confession is dangerous and entrapping. Achieving one’s goals requires patience, clarity of focus, and most importantly, practical strategies to reach the desired state. As Richard P. Rumelt warns in his widely celebrated book, Good strategy / Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters, “But I do know that believing that rays come out of your head and change the physical world, and by thinking only of success you can become success, are forms of psychosis and cannot be recommended to management or strategy.”

Simply put, faith without action is dead.

2.        Ray Dalio, in his bestselling book, Principles: Life & Work, underscores the importance of radically embracing the truth. He asserts that it’s more important to seek and embrace the truth, rather than self-delude and stick to what you think should be the truth.  This is innate human nature - we are inclined to attribute our success to our own intelligence or hard work, while attributing our failings to someone else – environment, spouse, kids, friends, managers etc.

This entrenched human bias manifests frequently in golf, where players often attribute bad scores to windy conditions, slow play, slow greens, etc. -  other than their own poor skills or bad attitudes.

Maybe you had hoped that 2018 would be your year to land that dream job, acquire a skilled visa and leave your country, or write that thought provoking linked in article. Maybe you need to stop and take a hard look into what’s needed to reach your goal versus what you truly have. Maybe you need to enroll for that certification or MBA, rather than believing your inhibited growth is a result of the manager who doesn’t like you. It might be true, there is no dearth of bad managers, but it’s much better to focus and work on factors you can control.