How Many Chapters In Your Career?

And don’t forget the footnotes…

If you’ve had a modicum of success in your career, looking back on it, you can likely make sense of it.
“First I did this, which led me to that, which created an opportunity for such-and-such, (and so on and so on) …and that’s how I ended up where I am today.”
In retrospect, it all seems to make sense. It’s a nice story.

But it’s likely not true.
Although the chapters of our careers, in hindsight, seem to flow well together, it’s likely because that’s how we’ve told the story.

What’s often missing are the “oh, $%&# !” moments that we may have forgotten or happened not to include.
Do you not remember the uncertainty and anxiety when you first started out in your career or job? What about the self-doubt? Or heaven forbid, the setbacks and failures?

But they too are part of your story. And they make it a richer one.

So, when the moment comes, and you have an opportunity to speak with a junior employee about their career and what they see in their future, remember how daunting and uncertain that can feel for them.
Share with them the “full” chapters of your career, including the struggles, the setbacks, and, yes, the failures.

You’ll be much more three dimensional to the junior employee. Much more human. And more courageous.

Because you survived it all.