The Top 30 Most Valuable Pieces of Career Advice. On Success, People Management & Self Realisation.

The Top 30 Most Valuable Pieces of Career Advice. On Success, People Management & Self Realisation.

Last week I was lucky enough to turn 30 (*crisis ensued) and found myself in the rather bizarre predicament of trying to advise university students on what not to do on their pathway to career success. Which got me reflecting.

I was 20 when I graduated university. With my Bachelors certificate in hand I used the last of my bursary money to buy a one way ticket out of the UK to embark on my first full time job abroad. At that stage, I had the remarkably good fortune to realise that I knew absolutely nothing. A decade later and a number of valuable life lessons under my belt, I now know a little bit about...something.

And so if I could sit across from my younger self now, this is exactly what I would say:

1) You are not going to be liked by everyone. You are not a $500 bill. This is the way it should be.

2) Everyone you meet will help you if they feel like it. But they need to feel like it.

3) How someone treats you in the beginning is a reflection of them. How you allow them to continue treating you, is a reflection of you.

4) Act consistently. This is how your reputation develops.

5) Sometimes it really is just smarter to keep your mouth shut.

6) At work, repeat the Godfather mantra: it's nothing personal, it's just business. Even when it is personal. Do not take it personally.

7) Failure in itself does not hurt. The hurt comes from how you internalise that failure and what it means about you.

8) If you want to become an intelligent person do not spend time talking to stupid people.

9) Please, never criticise a person for an attribute they cannot change about themselves

10) We see the truest form of a persons character in their moments of failure and rejection. So if you want to test the integrity of another person, watch closely how they handle themselves during these moments. It will tell you all you need to know.

11) If someone has wronged you, fall back on your best character. Be civil. No need to burn the bridge when you can simply walk away from it.

12) Understand that advice is only ever valuable if it resonates. If someone is not taking your feedback onboard it means you haven't found the right way to resonate with them.

13) A correctly timed question is infinitely more powerful than giving someone the answer. This is because people remember information better if they come to the conclusion themselves.

14) Everyone is struggling with something. Some just hide it better than others. The packaging may look different, but the interior insecurities are usually all the same.

15) Anger opens the mouth and shuts the mind. In these moments, be very careful what you say and to whom.

16) If you demand honesty from another person you will never get it. Honesty is the byproduct of someone trusting your non judgemental, non reactive character.

17) Understand that you are only able to calm the emotions of others when you have complete mastery over your own.

18) You cannot change a person. You can only inspire the person to want to change themselves.

19) Sometimes good people make bad decisions. This does not make them bad people. Sometimes it is not their intention to hurt you, you are just collateral damage to whatever is going on in their lives.

20) When you truly want to help someone, do not solve their problems. Instead, help them feel capable enough to solve their own problems.

21) Your fundamental and unwavering belief in people's capacity to change for the better is the reason you will eventually go on to become a psychologist.

22) But at the same time, do not forget that the greatest gift we can give to another is the feeling that they are accepted and appreciated for being exactly who they are.

23) Staying in a toxic work environment is akin to staying in an abusive relationship. Get out, get better and move on. No one is judging you except your own perfectionistic tendencies.

24) You spend more hours of the day with your colleagues than your immediate family, friends or partner. Think wisely about what kind of people you want to work with.

25) For every boss you have, you should be asking what is it that makes them so successful.

26) Stop believing you are deficient. What you actually are is neurodivergent. And there are strengths in that too. It will all make sense when you find out later in life.

27) Giving up does not always mean you have failed. Sometimes it means you are self aware and courageous enough to admit that something is not for you.

28) You are not defined by the bad things that happen to you. You are defined by how you chose to respond to those bad things.

29) The pillar to good self esteem is not about being immune to making mistakes. It is about knowing that if you lose everything tomorrow you have enough within yourself to rebuild once again.

And finally, to paraphrase the phenomenal Adam Grant:

30) The ultimate test for your success is not whether you are proud of what you have achieved. It is whether you are proud of the person you have become.

While accomplishments highlight your skills, relationships reveal your values. If excellence is what you do, then character is what you do for others.

Be a kind human being. Always.

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Lika Petitt is the Co-Founder of?First Point Partners , an executive search firm focused on the private equity sector.

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Marcin Goszyk

Principal - ARCHIMED

2 年

Very thoughtful points, Lika! #21 resonates deeply :)

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