Want Career Control? 5 Steps to Start Now ??

In this letter: 

We talk about career control. Where we lose it and how to get it back. 

To start, we'll look at the difference between strategy and chance - a confusing cocktail that often defines career growth.  

Then, we'll dissect the many reasons professionals relinquish control and the dangers of relying on luck.  

Lastly, we'll look at 5 steps any professional can take to regain control and spark career opportunities. 

Let's go!        

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Ok, now on to today’s topic. . .

Career control

From what I’ve seen, there are two types of board games:

1. Games where your strategy dictates the outcome (think Settlers of Catan).
2. Games where random chance dictates the outcome (think Yahtzee).

Maybe I’m a control freak, but I’d much rather play a strategic board game.

If I’m going to lose, I want it to come down to the choices I’ve made — not the fates of chance. I want to be in the driver’s seat.

It’s the same when it comes to my career.

Like board games, our careers are often defined by these two factors.

Strategy and chance.

I know professionals who have strategized their way to the top. I know professionals who have lucked into promotion after promotion. And I know a lot of professionals who fall somewhere in the middle.

Today, let’s talk through this intersection of strategy and chance. Let’s look at why we might be tempted to relinquish control of our careers. And let’s outline 5 steps any professional can take to regain control and move their career forward strategically.

Ok, start surveying the game board.

Strategy and chance

This might go without saying, but I’m going to say it anyway. . .

The best candidate doesn’t always get the role.

Analyze enough career trajectories — like I have over 10+ years in L&D — and you’ll begin to see the rules of career growth. You’ll begin to notice that strategy and chance dance around each other in a blurry tango of career factors.

Often, it’s hard to tell one from the other.

?? Did I get the job because of my networking strategy? ?? Or because the hiring team needed someone with my exact background?

?? Did I get promoted because I was the best candidate for the role? ?? Or because I was a known commodity and there was an opening?

It’s no surprise that professionals, in the face of this confusing cocktail, struggle to find their way forward.

And many, inadvertently, lose control of their careers in the process.

Here’s what it looks like.

Losing control

I’ll never forget this early career conversation. . .

I’d recently started an entry-level role at a Fortune 500 bank. As someone at the bottom of the organization, I was eager to learn from those around me.

I struck up a conversation with a coworker — let’s call her Carol — who’d been with the company for more than a decade. She’d recently been promoted and I was curious to hear how she managed it.

Her response:

I paid my dues and my manager went to bat for me.

At the time, I logged this conversation away for reflection and moved on. But now, looking back on it, I’m struck by the hands-off approach this professional took to her career.

• “I paid my dues.” In other words, she waited around for luck to create an opportunity. She was focused on tenure, not tactics.
• “My manager went to bat for me.” In other words, she relied on luck to provide a good manager. She waited for the door to open, instead of opening it herself.

With more information, it became clear her promotion had more to do with timing than with the actions she took.

She handed over control of her career.

Why do we hand over control?

Sometimes, the answer is simple.

• The company doesn’t provide a clear career path.
• Leadership encourages a hands-off approach.
• We keep getting random opportunities.
• We’re happy where we are.

But lately, I’ve been talking with more professionals who hand over control because they feel stuck. Tired and frustrated.

They don’t know how to move forward.

They want to take control. They want to influence their career and chart a path forward.

But they’re not sure where to begin.

Career growth, after all, isn’t taught in school.

5 steps to regain control

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