Author: Mary Ila Ward

It’s Okay to Go Gray- Making Career Decisions in a Black and White World

While coaching a young man this week that had returned home from college with a degree but with no promising job prospects, I realized that is it much easier to point people towards traditional career paths through traditional educational channels than to take them into a “gray” zone.

Becoming a teacher (although this is not what he had completed a degree in college for) was one of the career routes, among others, that was a possibility after talking with him and reviewing his career assessment results.

I found myself, whether best or not for this young man, wanting to point him down this path because I could concretely tell him how to get there.  Get a teaching certificate, student teach, apply with school systems. I could tell him what educational avenues to pursue to get a teaching certificate and what would make him marketable to school systems.

The other few potential avenues for him, not so black and white. In fact, they would require much more exploration, planning and effort on his part. But would these routes make him happier and more “successful”?

In a guest post on UnCollege’s blog this week, I highlight how to define successful career.   Defining success is very personal and oftentimes takes people down very gray pathways.

UnCollege has realized that traditional avenues of education beyond high school may not be the best for everyone inhelping to achieve success. Their unique approach focuses on what the founder Dale Stephens says are, “the real requirements” for success: “curiosity, confidence, and grit.” They have created a “gap year” to help people hone these requirements for success via an untraditional or gray channel.

Don’t choose a career just because its easy to map a course to get there

In making wise career decisions, you need know your talents, passions and values,  and then create a game plan to chart your own course to get there.This may be through black and white channels or it may take you down the gray road. Regardless of the path it takes you to get there, we’ll be offering up success tools for the next several weeks to help you create your own plan and chart your own course to success.

Did you choose or are you tempted to choose a career because the path to get there is or was clearly defined? If so, do you wish you’d thought in gray instead of black and white or do you need help creating a game plan for your gray zone?

I will never forget the conversation in the car on the way back from a meeting in Montgomery with my then boss.  I had been accepted into the graduate school program of my choice and was working full-time in economic development.  The graduate program was full-time and a two-hour drive away, but I didn’t want to give up the job.

I waited until about half-way into in to the two and a half hour car ride home, to say. “I want to go back to graduate school.”

“Okay,” my boss said.

“I got accepted.”

“Where?”  He said.

“Middle Tennessee State” I said.

“Okay.” he said.  “Isn’t that two hours away? Is it an online program?”

“Yes. No.” I said.

“So are you quitting?” He said.

“No, I don’t want to quit. I want to work part-time and go to graduate school.”

“Oh…” He said.  “Why do you want to do this?”

“Long term, I’d like to own my own business.”  I said.

“Oh….” he said.

I explained to him, that although I loved the work I was doing in economic and workforce development, I didn’t see an opportunity to advance, and even if he left, and even if I had a chance to be considered for his job, I didn’t even know if I would be interested in it.  What he did most of the time in his role I wasn’t passionate about doing.

I wanted a way to combine my passions- helping other people find their passion in work coupled with maximizing productivity in the workplace- in a realistic way. And I needed his help.

Our conversation turned into more than one to two word exchanges.  It led to me going back to graduate school, working part-time, and starting my own business.  This conversation took place almost 5 years ago, and I’m still doing consulting work for him.

I may not have ever taken the risk to pursue my passion had it not been for this boss that was willing to think outside the box with me.   He allowed me the opportunity to safely jump off into the unknown by taking an full-time employee-employer relationship, convert it into a part-time one, and then change it yet again to an employer-contractor relationship.  Throughout each arrangement, the same work gets done and results (or at least I hope he thinks so) get achieved.  I get to spend the majority of my time pursuing my passions through the work with other clients while continuing to pursue passionate areas in the work I do for him.

I wouldn’t have jumped if he hadn’t been willing to jump with me.

Just like I didn’t want to give up my job, I didn’t want to give up my marriage either! My husband was unbelievably supportive (despite his risk aversion) of us in taking the leap.  My parents who always taught me I could do anything I wanted if I just put my mind to it encouraged me, and my mentor gave sound and splendid advice about jumping.   The board of the organization I worked for has been supportive through these transitions, my brother has been a key critic and bottom-line minded brain behind my plans and my in-laws and parents are always available to keep our child during demanding work times.  My friends and colleagues talk ideas with me and motivate my thinking, not to mention help me have a good time while doing it!

What does this have to do with being the COO of Facebook?

Lean In, by Sheryl Sandberg who is the COO of Facebook, is about “Women, Work, and the will to Lead.” Like most books it begins with a dedication.  Sandberg writes,

“TO MY PARENTS

For raising me to believe that anything is possible.

AND TO MY HUSBAND

For making everything possible.”

I think she sets the tone of the book as well as who she is with her dedication. I learned more from it than the other pages that followed.

The Bottom-Line

We are who we are and we have the chances that we have, not entirely because of ourselves, but because of others who have supported us along the way.  Want to be the next COO of Facebook, or even just a wife and a mom with dream to pursue her passions in and through work?   Look around, build your team of cheerleaders, and thank them.  They will be the ones that will help you pursue your passions and maintain them.

Who has helped you take the leap into your passion?

WHAT NICK SABAN HAS TO SAY ABOUT DOING THE LITTLE THINGS RIGHT

With football season fast approaching, my house is all-abuzz with excitement.  You would think my husband (and my dad, and my brother, and well, most of men in my life) were five year olds anxiously awaiting Santa coming down the chimney.

With the all the buzz, my husband’s inbox, twitter feed, and texts have been dinging football talk, and I get forwarded anything that he feels is a “must know” for this season.  Every good wife in the state of Alabama surely needs to know what high school standout Nick Saban has just signed, right? We also need a daily countdown of how many days (and even hours) it is until the season kicks off.

But a few weeks ago, he emailed me a story about Nick Saban, with the words “You need to use this article for a blog post.”   It was about Nick Saban speaking to a group of Mercedes Benz employees.  The Mercedes plant is just a few miles outside of the home of the Crimson Tide, and Saban was there to talk in a ceremony where the “steering wheel” of the plant was being handed over to a new Mercedes North American President.

He praised the workers of the plant for their 99.4% attendance rate, but discussed how with each success, such as 3 out 4 of the last National Championships in the highly competitive college football arena, the next success becomes harder to achieve.

Do the little things right

What struck me as the most important take-away from what he said about that nearly perfect attendance rate is that success comes from doing the little things right, like simply showing up.   Want to be a champion? You’ve got to show up before you can even begin the hard work of getting there.   Want to be a champion?  Well you’ve got to continue to show up even when you think, or even when you know through your winning record, that you’re the best in the business.    Want to be champion?  Its actually harder to do the little things right when things are going well than when they aren’t.

In working to coach individuals towards success, my focus more than anything is on helping them create habits to create success.   These aren’t ground-breaking habits, but simple ones like showing up, doing small things right consistently in order to create performance cultures.  Its not rocket science, it’s the science of habit and behavior. But like Saban, I find that the habit breaking happens more when the habits have created success and the thought process becomes, “Well I’ve gotten success, I don’t need to do this anymore.”  And then the success diminishes.

If you want to be a championship-like leader, keep your eye on the ball.  And that ball encompasses the small things, like showing up 99.4% or more of the time.

What habits do you find are the most important to your long-term success?

 

More next week on what Saban has to say about being around mediocre people.