Why We Need to Evolve In Our Career

My 9-year-old son is a big Pokemon fan. Not a day goes by that he doesn’t give me another update about his Pokemon card collection. The iconic trading card phenomenon originated in the late 1980’s and is now a multi-billion dollar business. If you’ve never dived into it yourself growing up, you probably know someone who has. Talking with my son, I’ve always been intrigued about how Pokemon creatures evolve. They upgrade from their original size and skill set, to new and improved physical attributes. I dug into this a little more and found the following description on a fan site (I hope I'm not losing you, lol. Trust me, I’m going somewhere with all of this):

“One of the biggest elements of growth in the Pokemon world is the phenomenon of evolution. A Pokemon takes a form more suitable to its environment and circumstances. This is a much more simplified and rapid form of the same general idea of evolution in the real world. [To clarify] Pokemon evolve because that’s what their environment demands of them."

Yes, I know this is a youthful, fictional idea, but Pokemon evolution can be synonymous with how we can evolve in our career.?

If we’ve learned anything over the last 2 years, evolving in our career is something we need to continually strive for. The increase in hybrid and remote work has not only transformed the way we function and communicate with our colleagues, but it’s opened up new ways for businesses to market and sell products and services to their customers. As these new opportunities become available, it’s natural to feel uncomfortable with the status quo. Most of us have a biological desire to have new experiences and solve new problems.

Evolving in our career is not just about achieving a promotion or finding another opportunity that provides you with an increase in pay and benefits. It’s about upgrading your skills and finding ways to solve uncommon challenges that arise in today’s economy. It’s about giving yourself purpose and excitement each day as you wake up and face another workday.

It’s natural to feel uncomfortable with the status quo. Most of us have a biological desire to have new experiences and solve new problems.

The Great Resignation of 2021 signaled the end of meaningless work for millions of North Americans. During that Summer an estimated 4 million North American employees resigned from their current positions. They resigned because there was a record breaking 11 million new open job openings by the end of July.?

As Ian Cook describes in an Harvard Business Review article, the pandemic pushed many to think about evolving in their careers. “Months of high pandemic workloads due to hiring freezes and other pressures caused workers to rethink their work and life goals. [This led to] mid-level employees leaving their jobs in droves.”

The Atlantic’s Dereck Thompson’s take on the Great Resignation is slightly different. “The increase in people quitting is mostly about low-wage workers switching to better jobs in industries that are raising wages to grab new employees as fast as possible. [Resignations in the] leisure and hospitality [sector] have increased four times faster than for the largest white-collar sector. More people are quitting their job to start something new.”

Evolving or developing ourselves professionally has also been proven to increase the levels of our brain’s neuroplasticity. Learning environments that offer plenty of opportunities for focused attention, novelty, and challenge have been scientifically shown to stimulate positive and rapid changes in the brain. When we were young, it was easier to experience improvements to our brain’s plasticity because we were eager to discover and learn new things. New neuron connections and brain pathways were consistently being created. When we become adults, we often settle in a career and slow down this neurological process. Challenging ourselves to evolve professionally or personally builds intrigue, growth and excitement. All factors that increase the development of our neuroplasticity.

In the late 1800’s George Washington Carver proved enhanced personal neuroplasticity can breed innovation within our companies and have a positive impact on our communities. Aside from being a brilliant scientist, he had a knack for creative artistic impressions, specifically in the area of botanical drawings. Before the days of photographs, botanists (or plant scientists) depended on precise drawings that displayed the essence of a plant’s physiology, reproductive organs, and commercial potential. In discovering this, Carver combined the two skills together, using art to provide visual insights for his scientific discoveries.

As an agricultural scientist, Carver’s ability to combine art and science led him to discover marketable products from crops that poor southern farmers could grow, including sweet potatoes, peanuts and other horticultural products like fruits and vegetables. In 1941 TIME Magazine labeled him the greatest African American scientist alive. They referenced his multiple discoveries including finding 285 new uses for peanuts and 118 products from sweet potatoes. Carver’s evolution from just being an agricultural scientist had an impact not only on his life but on thousands of others, socially and economically.

From reading about Carver’s contributions, to understanding our brain’s full neuroplasticity potential, there are unlimited possibilities for us to evolve in our work. Our personal evolution process begins when we're...

…intentional about identifying opportunities that are not in our place of comfort or familiarity, and putting ourselves in situations where our thinking and creativity can be stretched.

…vulnerable to admit when we don’t know something, and commit to lifelong learning and professional development.

…build strategic relationships based on a willingness to serve and develop others, as well as learn from others, without the expectation of getting anything back in return.

As the Pokemon expert explained, “Pokemon evolve because that’s what their environment demands of them”. What does our personal situations demand of us? Our ‘why’ of evolving is just as important as how we go about achieving it. Stephen R. Covey sums this up best in his book Primary Greatness:

“Security today no longer lies in the old psychological contract of lifetime employment. Security lies in the ability to continue to produce what the marketplace wants, and those wants are constantly changing. Unless people learn, grow, and progress to accommodate the market, there can be no security. Our personal development should be relevant to the economy, the industry to the company, and to our current assignment”.?

Our assignment is our purpose. And our purpose is the very thing that will ignite a passion to evolve.?

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Sheldon Barrocks?is an author, freelance writer and?Award-winning?Supply Chain professional. Since 2010 he has published articles covering business, career advancement, creativity, pop culture, music, fashion, sports and more. He's provided creative solutions for major brands like?Mars, Kelloggs, General Mills, Conagra, B&G Foods, Ingredion, Henkel and more. Check out his book?Unstuck Mondays?and join his?mailing list?to level up in your creativity and career!