Tell Me About Your Career

Summing up a career is tough to do in a sentence or two. It is a thought-provoking question that we all respond to differently.  Reflecting on our career, and trying to explain it to someone is not as simple as it sounds. The immediate response may go to whatever our job title is at the moment, the company we work at, or perhaps the one we worked at the longest. But a ‘Job’ can have very little to do with a career. Tasks and responsibilities associated with most jobs are just that, the actions we must take each day to complete the work associated or assigned to the job. Most people bring more to a job than their ability and willingness to complete tasks. A Career has focus, purpose, meaning, presence, attitude, that we bring with us to every role we take, and any company we take it to. Approaching the work we do this way, rather than the completion of assigned tasks is how we proudly state what our career has been about instead of listing the jobs we have done.

What if the answer is:

“My career has been about making a positive impact on the world. I strive for the difference I know my work has on people every day. I bring kindness, energy, and approachability, and personalize every interaction I have with people. I recognize that people take their cue from my attitude and demeanor, and why I approach my work professionally and purposefully. I am able to lift people up every day, prompting them to go forward from our interactions to do likewise. I role-model team spirit and people-first thinking that encourages my peers follow my lead, through which we are able to impact many, instead of simply achieving this one person at a time. The positive feedback and customer compliments I receive, as well as the repeat business that secures and increases revenue I know is a direct result of having a positive, purposeful approach every day”.

Am I a Congresswoman? A Priest? A CEO? Do I run a community outreach program? Am I a Motivational Speaker? A Psychiatrist? An M.D.?

(D: None of the Above.)

“I’m a server at a local breakfast restaurant. I smile at everyone who walks in, greeting them with a warm, sincere ‘Good Morning! Good to see you!’. I work with purpose, energy, and investment in all aspects of my work. I make eye contact, and every effort to make people feel good. I understand the impact the early part of the day has on the rest of it. I am the first stop and often the first human interaction a customer will have on most days. I relate in a way I know resonates with people, starting by sharing my name, making conversation about great weather, local news, sports, or whatever I perceive will fits for a customer. I celebrate customer choices, complimenting and affirming their great decision-making on whatever they order, creating excitement and anticipation for the meal to come. The experience I create each time, and attitude I display is infectious, as I see smiling faces, happy conversations taking place over their meal, and know this experience is something a person will carry with them throughout the day to offer the same to the people they work and interact with. The inspiration I exude for my customers makes them better co-workers, neighbors, friends, leaders, confidants, wives and husbands – any of the roles we take on each day. My customers come back as often as they can to not solely have breakfast, which they can get anywhere, but for the experience and emotional uplift that is not on the menu. They come to be appreciated, treated like a VIP, and to leave inspired to go and make their own positive impact on the world – to Pay it Forward”.

The core values we have, and the choice we make to share them with the world, through the journey of our career, is what our career is about. No one remembers the tasks and projects completed. We don’t recall and share stories such as: ‘Remember Lainey, how she finished her work on time and led that project that was completed on time and on budget? What an unforgettable experience. Lainey was one-of-a-kind!”.

Who the hell remembers that? A True Memory, the fondest, most impactful memories we have, require far more to push their way from the depths of our brain and explode to the surface. They go beyond an ability to dole out tasks and track progress to achieve a desired outcome. Such joyful , standout recollections are about what ‘else’ Lainey brought to her work, and what she knows her career has been about.

“I miss Lainey. Working on projects with her gave me some of the best moments of my career. She consistently got us energized and focused on the key areas, and milestones we needed to accomplish each step of the way until projects were completed. She never once dictated which project team member was to do certain tasks. She welcomed us in, collaborated on how to approach the work, asking what role we felt we could play, telling us what we had to do. Lainey asked that we share our strengths, asking for our input, and how we may go about the contributions we believed we shared that we could make. She encouraged our creativity to bring something unique to our work that could made a project distinct and different from what would otherwise have been the ‘same old’ stuff. Lainey served as a partner to everyone, not just a project lead, allowing everyone to chose what they would do, offering her support for us to get it done at the highest levels. She even allowed the team to create reasonable timelines that worked for us and served the team, and the project, advocating to those above for an ‘appropriate timeline’, rather than committing to what may be unrealistic, or not server the project and team. Lainey was a wonderful, transparent and collaborative communicator, keeping us apprised of changes we needed to make, ensuring we could work through them seamlessly. When we couldn’t, she partnered with us to incorporate change and keep the project on pace. Most projects are a straightforward mix of assigned tasks attached to the project team selected to achieve the outcomes by any means necessary.

Lainey inspired us to believe there was an impact to be made on every project that would benefit the company, the project itself, and everyone in the organization if we did it well. Each project team member took so much away from their work with Lainey, moving forward from every completed project with the feeling that a difference was made within and beyond our work-world. We had certainty and pride in knowing something great had been accomplished that had far-reaching impacts well beyond anyone’s vision for the desired outcome. Lainey led us to never miss deadlines, or complete projects that were below an exceptional level, while providing an experience that each project team member used as a template for all projects we joined or led thereafter. I don’t know if the work I have been done, or been a part of ever subsequently, rose to the level and standards Lainey set and role-modeled, but I know they were done at an elevated level thanks to her example. Lainey inspired us to work with purpose, empowering everyone to choose their approach, their attitude, and the purpose we brought to our work. It is why so many of us are better colleagues, partners, and leaders for one another, and what makes Lainey among the most impactful, memorable people I have had the great fortune to work with throughout my career”.

These are not among the bulleted list of skills and accomplishments on person’s resume, nor listed among responsibilities within a job posting. We have no expectation nor belief that this is what we will get when we hire ‘The Lainey’. But we can hope! And if we follow the example such people make on us, and not rely on having a Lainey at each career stop to do it all herself, the impact is immense. We can choose to set the tone, and be the example to impact the world, the workplace, and the people we touch everywhere we go in our career.

Understanding the power every one of us has, no matter our role or title, is why it is ‘We’ that are memorable, not our work, and what a Career is Truly About.