The Critical Path to a Great Career: Step 2, Make Your Mark

I got it wrong. For 15 years I got it wrong. During that time as a recruiter I saw many candidates walk into my office with a common complaint. “I’m just not happy,” they would tell me. “I’ve lost my passion (assuming they ever had it) for what I’m doing and I need to find another job.”

And I, the dutiful recruiter (seriously, I really was) would listen to what they were looking for and then went about trying to help them find that in their next job. But guess what? Many weren’t any happier after the 6 month honeymoon period in their new role then they were before they moved. And I saw some candidates become quite Quixotic, forever chasing windmills never finding fulfillment.

I kept asking myself ‘what’s missing’? So I became a Career Coach where I made it my mission to help people find their true passion and not only change jobs, but sometimes entire careers.

Then I read Seth Godin’s Linchpin. That’s when I realised that I’d gotten it wrong. People don’t necessarily need to change jobs or careers in order to find their passion (and sometimes they do). Many times they just need to figure out what makes them unique and apply those unique talents to their current role. This lets them express themselves in their own way and leads to fulfillment, greater engagement at work and an entire career where they are doing what they love.

I was going to summarise the book in this article, but a friend pointed me to Book Rapper’s summary. I couldn’t possibly do a better job. Go to www.BookRapper.com and scroll down to "Purple You."

So what is the premise of Linchpin? That we are experiencing a Post Industrial Revolution Revolution. The Industrial Revolution reduced blue collar jobs to the lowest common denominator. Globalisation, outsourcing and the Internet have done the same to white collar jobs. And this is the source of much frustration in the workforce.

Jobs have become more and more specialised. Companies have become more and more structured and prescriptive in telling people how to do their jobs, squeezing much of the creativity and joy out of the workplace.

But now globalisation, outsourcing, the Internet AND the recent GFC (or downright recession, depending on the area of the world in which you live) is changing the rules again. Everyone is being asked to do more with less. And we’ve got new and different problems appearing every day that need to be solved.

White collar workers, freed of the mundane tasks that have been automated or outsourced are once again able to, indeed required to, become more creative and strategic. More right brain, less left.

The Post Industrial Revolution Revolution is upon us.

But has anyone told you this revolution is happening? Probably not. Because very few actually recognise it. Firms are requiring right brain thinking but their structures are still primarily left brain in nature. For the most part, employees are still incentivised to follow the rules: show up on time, do your job within the parameters set down and go home.

What I’ve been seeing over the last 15 years is unease (and sometimes disease) at having to be a square peg in a round hole and, more recently, unease at now having to figure out if you’re really square (as opposed to being a triangle or dodecahedron!)

The antidote? Become a Linchpin. Figure out what your unique abilities are and apply them in the workplace. This will help you shine in your role, become known in your field and live in your passion, not just dream of it.

I’m not talking rocket science here. Maybe you are you good at influencing people and energising them for a common cause. Maybe you can translate technical speak into laymen’s terms. Maybe you can see patterns in a jumble of information and can clearly articulate a way forward. Or maybe you have laser like focus and persistence and are a machine at getting things done.

How do you find out where your uniqueness lies? I offer several tools free for the taking on my website, www.MyCriticalPath.com including; how to combine what you know with what you love, going with the flow, figuring out just why you rock and using 360 degree feedback. But I can also recommend another book, “Now Discover your Strengths.” by Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton. Easy read with 180 question online test that will help you discover your top 5 strength themes.

And how do you, as a manager, help your employees discover their uniqueness (which inevitably leads to greater engagement and better retention)? Do away with job descriptions! That’s right! Use job objectives instead and let them find their own way. Statistics will show that companies become more profitable and employees more engaged when left to figure out how to achieve results for themselves.

So figure out how to ‘Make Your Mark’ and enjoy your career infinitely more, leading to greater opportunities and fulfillment.