11 minute read
Ladder or labyrinth
Is your career path a ladder or a labyrinth?
Understand the differences between being on your way up a career ladder or navigating in an unpredictable job maze. Some prefer ladders, others labyrinths. And many don’t know which way their career path will be headed.
Whether your career journey is up a ladder or through a maze, it will require grit. Grit is an eye-opener for many, so let us begin with grit, one of my favorite terms.
Why grit is at least as important for your career as talent and luck When teaching seventh grade math in New York’s public schools, Angela Duckworth noticed that her best students were not necessarily her smartest students. After a few years she left her school classroom to better understand why some students performed better than others even though they weren’t the brightest students. Today Angela Duckworth is a psychology professor at the University of Pennsylvania. Grit is key. That is Duckworth’s conclusion. One way to define grit is to consider what is not grit. Grit is not talent. It is not luck. It is not about wanting something right now. What is grit then? Grit is a combination of persistence and passion for long-term goals. Let’s put it into a semi-mathematical formula:
Skills & Effort + Engagement & passion = RESULTS
Results being e.g. getting the job you want, or having the career of your dreams So, grit is about having a goal or an ultimate concern. This goal or purpose will help organize and give a direction to what you do. So, even when you fall down a couple of steps, meet bumps along the way or even mess up, and the going gets tough or slower than first anticipated, you still keep on moving forward. You hold on to your goal. Of course, talent and luck matter. But don’t underestimate persistence and passion, determination and enthusiasm. According to Angela Duckworth, grit matters just as much as talent and luck, if not more. The traditional ladder or the labyrinth alternative When it comes to choosing your career path, some prefer ladders, others labyrinths. And many don’t know in which direction their career path will head. After a long career many will look back and think, this wasn’t at all how I had expected my career to be after completing my engineering degree. Maybe he or she moved up, up and up to the top of a career ladder? Or maybe this engineer took a labyrinthine path via teaching at a gymnasium, working as a civil servant in a ministry and taking a job in the private industry. Regardless of whether you are a manager or a professor, a student or a job seeker, consider your career approach. Are you choosing the ladder route or the labyrinth?
Remember, grit is required when you meet obstacles, both if you are moving up the ladder or through the labyrinth.
A golden ladder and gold earrings In my office I have two special objects. These are often the starting point of an existential conversation about motivation and priorities in life.
The first object is a two-meter-long gold bamboo ladder leaning up against the wall. It’s wider in the bottom than at the top. The other object is a pair of gold earrings that I often wear. They are formed as labyrinths. My gold ladder and my labyrinth earrings represent the two different career perspectives. Neither perspective is right nor wrong. But they do differ quite fundamentally. The ladder and labyrinth perspectives pose existential questions regarding your decisions.
Labyrinth earrings © Miklos Szabo The ladder route - Do you perceive your professional life as a career where you begin at the bottom step and hopefully one day end up as high as possible by working diligently and strategically taking the straight route to the top? - Do you aim for the top of the ladder as CEO, company owner or professor?
A traditional academic career is a long and historically well-trodden path. The higher up you get, the fewer positions there are. For good measure, there are exceptions to the ladder, also in academia. For instance, some professors have taken a more labyrinthine route before getting their professorship. When taking the ladder route, it’s important to understand the mechanisms that support this route. In the academic world at DTU, it’s beneficial to be able to write white papers, to collaborate with external partners, and excel at obtaining funding and grants. Spice these up with being a passionate teacher and successful researcher, then you are a strong candidate for promotions. Therefore, it is important that you understand what will get you to where you want to be, so you can use your time and efforts accordingly. You will need to prioritize your resources wisely to reach your goals further up the ladder.
The labyrinth route(s) Do you see life more as an organic labyrinth where there isn’t a clear plan or direction?
You play it by ear. You meet barriers such as being laid off due to Corona job cuts, or face dead ends as your specialized field is disappearing. Or perhaps someone nudges you in a certain direction. They see a potential in you that you weren’t aware of: Project management, special people skills or a knack for technical sales.
Your career path may seem less determined, more random. Nonetheless, this perception may also bring you to unexpected and exciting places. You grab the opportunities that come your way. My career path started in the ministry in ‘Folkekirken’. After eight years I left the ladder even though I had been offered a promotion to move up to the next step. I said goodbye to a stable life as a civil servant and became an employee in the private industry.
Today, I run my own business and can look back at 30 years of an exciting career where grit allowed me to move forward. Labyrinths are popular as never before Career ladders as such will never disappear. They are here to stay. Nonetheless, some career ladders will be replaced by labyrinths due to a number of external factors and choices. Here are a few reasons for this shift towards labyrinths:
No clear picture
Many people today don’t have a distinct idea of what they are good at, what they enjoy and where they want their career to take them. First after a few jobs, do they realize that they like to be project managers or specialists or something else.
Wrong choice
Some start on the bottom ladder step and realize this isn’t the right path for them. They would prefer to work in a start-up or they want a different work-life balance than the one offered to them by their workplace.
Tall walls & many hills
Many hit walls they had not anticipated. Some walls can be quite terrifying such as being fired from your job due to a crisis, acquisition, new technology or jobs moving to other countries. Others meet bumps along the way, e.g. that your colleague is promoted rather than you or companies merge and there is more competition than anticipated.
Combining professional and personal life
Couples initially planning individual careers using the ladder model may find it difficult to make this come true with a growing family, a home that needs fixing, etc., so either one continues up the ladder or they both make a move towards a labyrinthine way of life ramping up at times and down at other times.
Curiosity
Some people prefer stability and structure in their work life. Others are just naturally curious or more risk tolerant. They are experts at creating momentum on the job and move on once it becomes too operational. Some enjoy switching between being in a corporate environment, being in scale-ups and being self-employed.
In a labyrinth with many paths, many choices, detours and bumps along the way, you won’t always have a clear picture of where you are headed, but be driven by a goal or a greater purpose.
Sometimes a peer sees a potential in you that you didn’t realize you had. He or she may nudge you in another direction than you had envisioned offering new opportunities. Other times you may find that you enjoy your current role and have no desire to advance to the next strategic step ahead. This perspective of just thriving and doing the job may be less stressful than constantly thinking of the next move for more influence, a higher salary, more prestige, etc.
If you are on the labyrinth route, it’s still permitted to be tactical. This career route can at times be quite demanding where you have to muster lots of grit. Think of courses and networks that may enhance your maneuverability in a labyrinth with many paths to move down.
One-size does not fit all In my job I meet many people who question traditional career paths. Particularly younger people, but also people in their 40’s and 50’s who are trying to reorient themselves.
Perhaps they no longer see their career as a ladder with a path going towards the top. Rather, they see life as various phases where they at times have to tread hard to keep up with the requirements at home or on the job, at other times they take a timeout to spend extra time with their family, focus on a hobby or take tailor-made education programs. There isn’t a one-size-fits all path, but rather a number of different legitimate options.
Whatever career route you choose, it will require grit. You can go a long way with talent and luck, but perseverance, passion and long-term goals are at least as important, if not more.
Job Hunting Tips Even though engineers have a fairly easy time getting a job, please do your due diligence anyways. You aren’t obliged to say “Yes, thank you” to your very first job offer.
Be curious. Spend time finding a good match for both parties, and make sure you match your expectations with your future boss.
Safe journey!
What is a good job to you? Figuring out what to ask for in a job can be a difficult task, especially right after graduating. A good starting point is being aware of what motivates you.
What gives you energy? What creates a spark in your eye? When would you get a kick out of your job? How do you measure your success?
Here are some definitions on the good job. Which ones do you identify with?
• “Crack the difficult nuts” • Obtain patents for new creations • Create smart & robust software or simulations
A good job is to have great colleagues
• Having a social life with colleagues on the job, and maybe outside the job as well • Working together with others gives you satisfaction and inspiration.
• Win sales • Win contracts • Get promotions
A good job is to have a good life balance between work and personal life
• A job is a means to ensuring quality of life when not at work, e.g.. having time for hobbies, family and friends
• Thriving with troubleshooting and finding solutions along the way.
A good job is to know what to expect at work.
• Thriving with clear guidelines, SOP’s and structure.
A good job is to make a meaningful difference
• Help cure sicknesses • Preserve nature • Find new forms of energy • Managing in a smart manner by optimizing
A good job is...
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of all jobs are publicly posted… • 75+ questions that you might encounter at your job interview – and an overview of questions you can ask – and questions you don’t ask! • Reflections about what life is all about... What is the good (work) life for you?
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Contact Birgit O’Sullivan, O’Sullivan Consulting at birgit@osullivan.dk.
Author Birgit O’Sullivan
