What path am I supposed to take, anyway?

After I earned my Master's degree in Communication Arts, I spent the first few years of my professional career in outside sales as an independent contractor. Great money, frenzied activity, engaging with people from all walks of life, and my success was almost 100% tied to MY decisions. It was a blast! Living the "work hard / play hard" life was perfect for me at the time - but only for a time. I wanted the deeper, more meaningful relationships that stem from being a part of a team and a company - both of which would give me more opportunity to contribute to other people's success rather than primarily my own. So I made the decision to dive in to Corporate America and signed on with a large (VERY large) company.

Unbeknownst to me at the time, I was also acceding a part of my decision making authority. YES - I "get it" when folks post memes with the glittery pictures of magical kittens that say "You make your own decisions!" - but reality is not quite a 1:1 match... Unless you're the CEO and Chair of the BOD, your employer has primary control of the culture, delivers (or not) on investing in your growth & success, and more. Sure - I decide whether to try to change things for the better and have a positive impact on the evolution of the company - but for large companies, that's a challenging task! Regardless - like I believe most people do - I made the decision to invest in my teammates and my employer, assuming the rules of Karma would deliver a return on that investment.

Left turn... or right?

How, exactly, does one person deliver the maximum positive impact? Let's be honest - LinkedIn abounds with content extolling all of us on how to "be the best you". Let's assume, for the sake of debate, that we've "nailed it" on mastering the practice of servant leadership, general altruism, and even hit the pinnacle of healthy living & work/life balance (none of which are true for any of us all the time!). So... what's left? A few of the strategies I think about in the context of delivering maximum value and impact are:

• Take a leadership role. The more people you lead, the greater influence you'll have
• Focus your career path in enterprise functions. The broader the audience, the greater influence you'll have
• Exercise your voice. This one is perhaps the most challenging and the easiest at the same time

Leading people

Candidly, this is not something companies do well. I am in complete agreement with Simon Sinek when he talks about how corporations promote people who are great at their current jobs, so the "powers that be" incorrectly assume they will be equally awesome managing other people to do that same job. That said - perhaps we can at least assume that middle management, having BEEN managers, are perhaps better suited to have their accomplishments be relevant for senior/executive management roles. The key is to lean in to the reality that "management" and "leadership" are NOT the same things! While managers should be leaders, people absolutely can be leaders & not be managers.

Focus on enterprise functions

While it's clearly important to be the best you can be in any role, opportunities to have expanded impact on the company logically increase as your audience increases. For example, when I was selling investments for the bank I had little opportunity to change the company beyond increasing revenue. So I moved in to technology, where I helped build applications that had tens of thousands of users. As that work evolved, I took responsibility for launching an application that literally every single employee at the company used - our intranet portal. I saw, heard, and FELT it when my efforts made impact (good & bad!). Other functions that have opportunity for similar impact typically live in HR, Operations, Communications, and Technology (would love to see others or even specific roles in the comments here!)

Walk the walk, but still talk the talk!

Expressing your perspectives, opinions, ideas, and concerns in a business setting can feel risky. I'd say it's done well when you invest about 50% in choosing your approach with a given audience, another 50% toward crafting tactful open minded messaging, and the remaining 75% invested in courage. (yes, that's 175% ??) Using your voice is the single most important ingredient in the recipe for success. This epiphany was - for me - the catalyst for focusing my career around the pursuit of activating other people's voices.

I chose a number of paths to accomplish this goal... For example, 10+ years ago I decided to put action instead of what felt like were just words behind our diversity, equity & inclusion efforts by personally building intranet portals for all of our Employee Resource Groups (thank goodness I was able to quickly transition that work to other smarter people!). I leveraged that work to dig in and champion, then drive, the creation and launch of the company's enterprise social network. I helped build, exemplify, and normalize the establishment of communities & the discipline of Community Management. All of those efforts gave me a loudspeaker to share my own voice - and I was flexing those muscles (vocal chords and typing skills!) with a focus on leading by example. Encouraging... supporting... recognizing others for their 175% investment in their voice. In my 25+ years with that company, nothing made me happier. Yes - I am tooting my own horn here... but my point is simple:

You must find the work that ignites the fire in your gut, and that is where your courage to share your voice comes from!

The results

Well... here's where the unexpected plot twist happens! In late July 2021, I was laid off. After 25+ years with the same company, a re-org & new management and all of that history was erased, converting me in to a number on a spreadsheet that needed to be 'balanced'. The lesson here is that loyalty comes from people... it does not come from companies. It never has, & never will.

But that is FAR from the end of the story! Beyond help paying the mortgage, that portion of my career gave me lifelong friends, knowledge, skills and clarity about who I am and what I want to be when I grow up. I've expanded my perspectives in ways I never thought possible by simply truly listening to other people's perspectives. I've found the work that ignites the fire in my belly, and will continue to forge that path. Heck - I even met my wife at that same company! Even though she was also laid off by them 13-ish years ago, it was a blessing in disguise when she gave birth to our eldest a week later!

Find your path, but know that it will twist & turn. And - don't be afraid to turn down that side road if that's where your heart leads you. Or, if the choice to take a different path is made for you, remember that you aren't starting from scratch - you're starting from experience. Take the initiative to invest in what matters, and - I hope some of you will choose to invest in sharing your voices. You can do that with a comment here as an easy place to start, or if you're already an expert you might share some of your experience, too!

- Ross