Winning in the Workplace with I-TALENT: T is for Thriving

We will begin by ending our I-TALENT series with the last of the T3 values – T for Thrive.

To run through the other values: I for Integrity, T for Taking Ownership, A for Attitude, L for Learning, E for Excellence, N for Networking, and T for Thrive.

What does it mean to thrive in your career?

A few years ago, I would have described thriving as the point in your career journey where all the lines have fallen into place aka the “dream job”. You have achieved the tripartite El Dorado of career fulfillment, a job that:

1.????? allows you to do the thing you love every day.

2.????? pays very well.

3.????? gives you room to advance.

All these are true. However, there’s more to the story. Getting there doesn’t mean staying there. Getting there doesn't mean there will be no challenges, heartaches, or temptations to give up.

The journey continues as long as you have more in you to give.

There is a Japanese concept called IKIGAI. It can be described as life purpose, life worth, motivation, or finding joy through purpose.

For me, Ikigai is the meeting point of purpose, passion, and the professional’s payday. It’s that sweet spot to where it feels like your whole career was building up.

There is, however, one more “P” that turns the tripod into a table, the fourth leg that is implied but not overt – PROCESS.

Because process is not the destination but the route, it is easy to see it as something to be avoided when it appears hard or laborious. We then look for the quickest way, or the shortcut and we say things like “work smart, not hard”, forgetting that the “smart” tools that save us time today, themselves came from someone’s hard work.

Process sometimes feels like punishment.

However, for a seed to grow, it goes through several stages of apparent failure before its progress is evident.

After planting, the seed first splits before it puts down roots and begins to sprout.

For an observer above the ground, it’s easy to judge the seed as a failure because he can’t see anything that signals growth. To the gardener, though, this apparent lack of progress does not mean that there is a problem. The seed is going through the proper process, it’s doing what will support its overall health and its present and future success.

It is thriving.

And yes, thriving is by degrees; so, you can thrive more and more!

What this means for your career is that along your unique journey:

·?????? A job loss is only a blow if you do not emerge better from it.

·?????? Taking a job for convenience rather than preference is only 'delay' if you were not intentional about gaining skills that would serve you when you did get your desired job.

·?????? That bad boss is a drawback only if you did not learn how to be a better one when your time comes.

It’s all part of the process.

Career fulfillment now looks something like this:

From: “the job allows you to do the thing you love every day”

To: even though your influence has not spread as wide as you aim, and you’re not yet calling the shots to the extent that you want to, you’re focused on living your purpose every day. You’re making impact through growing your competence and touching lives on a smaller scale and you’re doing it consistently.

From: “the job pays very well”

To: ?your earning capacity grows as your value grows. You get to a point where the debate isn’t that you’re not earning enough but that you increasingly attract more as you invest in upskilling, learning, networking, and growing others.

?

From: “the job gives me room to advance”

To: a promotion is not the only evidence of career advancement. It could be knowing when to leave paid employment to become an entrepreneur. It could be having enough capacity to manage an enterprise in addition to your 9 to 5. It could be starting a community outreach that spotlights and meets a societal need.

And the fourth thriving element…

You recognize that any job you choose is an opportunity to improve your skills, grow your influence, and discover more about who you want to become.

The conclusion of the whole matter? As long as you’re growing, gaining, and giving, you are in the process.

You are thriving.

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