In life there are those who plan and those who are planned for and I know which of the two I prefer to be.
It’s inevitable that in one area or another, we all have to be a part of someone else’s plan, but what we do have the power to do is to have a vision for ourselves and make sure there are key areas of alignment between our plan and theirs.
Imagine for a moment two scenarios:
Scenario A: Tomorrow morning, your manager jumps onto a zoom call, full of life and clearly excited about something. She lets you know that she has just been promoted into a different department and would like to take you with her.
She has already planned for your pay rise and will retrain you in areas where you have no expertise. You quickly share in her excitement and accept the role. After moving into the role you realise that the role lacks the things you were passionate about. Also that department is unlikely to exist in three years, because of the introduction of AI.
Suddenly you find yourself having gone from a job you loved to a situation where you are hopelessly miserable, albeit with more money. You start job seeking and find a better role, which leaves both you and your manager with some disappointment.
Scenario B: Tomorrow morning, your manager jumps onto a zoom call, full of life and clearly excited about something. She lets you know that she has just been promoted into a different department and would like to take you with her.
She has already planned for your pay rise and will retrain you in areas where you have no expertise. You share in her excitement and request some time to think about it. The following day you politely decline the offer because it’s not aligned with your goal of working in a future centric and essential department, and also because you won’t be able to do the parts of your job you truly love.
Your manager moves on and eventually (having demonstrated an understanding of the future of business, peppered with empathy, collaboration and a passion fueled work ethic) you get her role and get to do even more of what you love.
The difference between the two scenarios is having a clear understanding of who you are, what you want and what you need and being armed with knowledge about where the world of work is headed.
Sometimes it’s the littlest things that make the difference. Even if it is just shutting out the noise and spending half an hour weekly, arming yourself with information. It pays and will ultimately save you time and make you money.
Michelle
Following her degree in Politics and International Relations and a Masters in Public Policy and Management, Michelle has spent her entire career engaging with senior leaders. Over the past 7 years in particular, Michelle has enjoyed working as a trusted advisor to over 200 CEOs in entrepreneurial businesses, as well as larger organisations such as Microsoft, BP, Rakuten, BT and Unilever.