On Growth

“What are you thinking of doing after this role?”. It was three minutes in to my first interview with Microsoft, and the question caught me off guard. Surely the answer is, “I want to do this role first”, right?

We all know and dread hearing “Where do you see yourself in 10 years?” in an interview, but this time it felt different. What followed was both enlightening and harrowing, as the hiring manager took over half the interview to run through his own career development plan, his planned time to move, and which roles were next for him.

Afterwards he again asked me: “What comes next?”.

This formed the foundation for what became my own lived truth: The best time to develop your career is while you’re happy and inspired in your current role. The best time to learn skills for what’s next is while you’re feeling fulfilled. The best person to own your career growth is you.

Even today – I catch myself forgetting it. In a world where we’re ruled by KPIs and leading indicators, QoQ growth % and RoBs, top line vs bottom line revenue – the day-to-day grind can be all encompassing. But the reality is that our impact is dictated by the most important thing of all: our own growth and development.

I’m a constant – and unapologetically loud – voice for the importance of career development. I’ve been lucky over the last 20 years to have peers, managers, mentors, and friends help me on that journey; not by providing me answers but by holding me accountable and giving me a push or perspective where needed.

I have worked in companies where I had a job, and I have worked in places where I built a career. The difference is profound. A job asks you to perform, a career challenges you to evolve. A job measures your output, a career finds space to exhibit your potential.

The most meaningful work you will ever do is building the person you are becoming.
Choose an environment to help you do exactly that.