Ten Things I Learned During My Career

One of my colleagues recommended to me an article by Arthur Brooks which indicated that professional decline for most people starts earlier than almost anyone thinks in most professions. In contrast, crystalized intelligence which is the ability to use knowledge gained in the past and understanding how to use it, tends to increase in later career and does not diminish until very late in life. In the spirit of crystallizing knowledge, I thought I would share the following ten things I learned during my career.

On self-awareness

If you take away all your years of work experience, company and title, would you still know who you are? Try to introduce yourself without mentioning your work. The more you know yourself as a person including your strengths and unique capabilities, the more likely you can be a confident leader.

On diversity and inclusion

Everyone has different needs and every one has struggled to get to where they are from where they were. It is through those struggles that we found our strengths. Take the time to understand each individual as a person. There is a big difference between a human being and being a human. Show empathy.  

On relationship

“Whatever you want in life, you must be willing to be it first. If you want honesty, be honest, if you want trust, be trustworthy, if you want friend, be a friend.” This is a quote from a video posted recently by Niren Chaudhary, the CEO of Panera Brand. If I can paraphrase: you do not attract what you want, you attract what you are.

On leadership

With the dynamic and fast changing business environment, the key is not to expect leaders to have all the arrows in their quivers but rather to have an open mind and willingness to learn and unlearn. Everyone has to develop his or her own leadership style and be authentic. Everyone can be a leader but you will never be someone else.

On career

Find your own unique path. Control your own destiny or someone else will. Set ambitious goal but enjoy the journey. Listen to many but decide on your own. No one knows what’s best for you than you. No one else can understand your internal motivations for why you do what you do.

On influence 

People with technical background often intuitively focus on the facts, logics and statistics when we try to exert influence or drive changes. However, first and foremost, one needs to establish credibility which is mostly based two components: expertise and trust. Expertise is the foundation but without trust, whatever you try to influence is not likely to be accepted. Furthermore, leveraging story telling to resonate with the emotion of the people you want to influence requires effort to understand their underlying emotional needs.

On team work

The best way to tell the health of a team is to see how it responds a problem or crisis. Great leaders show their true colors when times are hard, not when wins are easy. A cohesive team come together and become energized and strong, rather than start blaming each other. Lack of trust of the leader is the number one reason for dysfunctional team.

On positivity

You become what you feed your mind with. If you read junk news, your mind will be filled with junk news. If you keep thinking about negative things, you will always feel frustrated. If you focus on the positive things in life, you will feel energized.

On learning

The world is becoming a leaning contest. What got here won’t get you there. One way to measure your commitment to learning is to keep track how much time you spend for reflections vs tasks. “Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”

On risk taking

You take a much bigger risk by not taking any risks. It is true for business but also true for career. Playing safe and following the rules are dangerous to your career. Don’t wait until you are ready. “Whether you think you can or you can't, you're right.” Sometimes you just have to say yes first and then figure out how. The doors will be opened to those bold enough to knock.

Finally, I should emphasize that those are my reflections but none of the ideas are necessarily my own original creations. It is hard to pinpoint a specific reference but most of the ideas have been shared in different contexts by others one way or another. I simply summaries the ideas to share with you for you to ponder and reflect. Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts on which items resonate with your personal experience.

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