Is it possible that you could be feeling like a failure, lost or miserable because you have a wrong job description?

As we wrap up 2022, I'd like to give you something to think about. That thing is about career success and fulfilment. Life has proved to us time and time again how fragile it is, and how too short it is for one to live a life that's in a suffering rut.  Today's category is #CareerSuccess. I would like you to reflect on your career or should I say your job...although the two mean two different things, I'd just use them interchangeably for now. As you reflect on your job; are you feeling like you are growing and maxing out your strengths or do you feel like your job is squeezing the juice out of your life? This is not a 'follow your passion' article but more of 'being in the right job' kind of article. As a person who understands how sometimes it is a luxury to be 'choosy' when it comes to jobs, besides the fact that unemployment is rife and breaking into the world of work can be one of Tom Cruise' installments, sometimes you just can't afford (literally) to be choosy. The luxury tag attached to career choice sometimes drive people to jobs they hate, being miserable, feeling like failures and sometimes the dark valley of depression. I've met people, mostly older than me, who hate their jobs and as a result are totally disengaged in their jobs. Hate although a strong word, in this context just means, 'I'm just going to work because I need to get paid.' Sometimes these people don't literally hate their jobs, they've just learned to resent where they are at at the moment (job wise) because deep down they either know they want something else and they're not going for it or they are not fully aware that the job that fully engages what sets them on fire is something else. And that disconnection between what they are doing and what they're yearning for, is what causes them the distress and disengagement.

This phenomenon is not that deep. It is just about you abandoning your childhood dreams or rather true dreams. Getting a job as a clerk whereas you want to be a lawyer is not abandoning your dreams - but staying in clerical work forever and never pursuing the law route when you know fully that's what makes you 'come alive', that's dream abandonment that could potentially lead to you hating your clerical work and dreading to wake up whenever your alarm clock goes off.

In my second year of Metallurgical Engineering studies at the Vaal University of Technology when I had a career choice crisis, I sat down with myself after all the key people around me didn't know how to help me because there I was smart and capable of studying anything because I had performed so well in matric, but there I was feeling conflicted about what I was studying and what I wanted to do as my job. In my attempt to redo career choice after countless aptitude and psychometric tests, I decided to no longer choose a career by starting with a job title but rather describe what I see myself doing everyday as part of my job. And that's what would inform what I study and the career I pursue. It was not about a job title or career name anymore but about activities I wanted to do. And that my friend is what led to me dropping out of Engineering and pursuing Strategy Consulting in the company I founded while studying. I dropped out entirely, a month later and not switched courses because everything was a luxury to me. At the time my mental health was in shambles. The previous year I was on an involuntary gap year because I had been financially excluded. I had no idea how much of a punch in the gut that was until the following year after making it back to varsity I found myself signing an anti-suicide pledge given by my campus counsellor. I literally had to choose between staying alive and exploring my fascination with material science further. The former would mean dropping out without any guarantee of getting back to varsity because I had already fought hard to get funding for my studies, and the latter would mean studying with the brain that went blank on me at times and seeing just how far I can push before I totally run out of vitality.

It is still an interesting incident that my career choice crisis coincided with the deterioration of my mental health. It is an egg and chicken kind of situation - did my mental health deteriorate because deep down I was pursuing the 'wrong' course and I went with it because being an engineer was a sure way to 'save' my family out of poverty because I was the lucky one who made it to varsity, OR did my mental health deteriorate because the previous year's gap year hit me hard (a village girl with no tools to navigate having her dreams suddenly crashed)? Whatever led me to that incident it is immaterial right now, what remains true is that at that point, it was apparent that I had no vitality to live not to mention attend classes and be the participative student I am. It was also apparent that I was no longer excited about Metallurgy. Just like that, the light was out. Whether I lost the fire because my wellbeing was in the redzone (just outright depressed and emotionally drained) or because I was having my God Moment of getting an opportunity to discover 'my path', the jury is still out.

When I had that career choice crisis, when the lights went out, like an employee that suddenly dreads going to work and keep on scrolling through memes during work hours to push time, I sat down with myself and wrote the following on a piece of paper regarding the work I wanted to do, of which I hoped would lead me to a course I could study (at this time I thought the source of my lack of vitality was the course I was studying);

•   "I want to be a progress catalyst in people's lives, businesses, organizations and government" (I had a strong conviction that besides the passion for wanting to see people succeed, I had wisdom and great ideas that could push people forward in life, make businesses succeed and the government to have a competitive economy. )

The people part had already been proved in my 'freelancing' motivational speaking since I could remember, the business part was after I won a debate on youth unemployment and I used Entrepreneurship as a solution, and went on to do research and found out about the startup failure rate, the government part I just felt like I'd add value as part of the President's advisory committee. I felt I had ideas about how to make public education competitive, make local government work, and develop local economy. (Some of this came from my civil society society done during the gap year)

• "I want to do research on why things fail" (the reason why I got into metallurgical engineering, besides my fascination with science and why I went on research why Titanic sank and Grayston Bridge collapsed, it was because I wanted to be a forensic engineer - deal with metallurgical failure analysis, and do research about new materials, to beat corrosion, build safer planes and buildings. That was why I wanted to do it. Research and Development. 

I went on to start a strategy consulting company (after dropping out) that gave me an opportunity to learn what makes businesses fail and an opportunity to give solutions. And I spent the last 6 years working with entrepreneurs and business owners helping them with new venture creation, strategic planning, proposal writing, access to funding and markets solutions. It was a successful pursuit and growth experience.

• I want to share my insights, knowledge and hunches about the above-mentioned. I believed, still do, in sharing information and knowledge. And I knew I loved teaching (tutoring my fellow classmates from high school through to Varsity ignited this) and presenting (I always loved oral presentations). Hence I went on to fall in love with the stage. On stage I get to heal, teach, guide, and inspire. My soul wants to do this more. To hold space for people, champion people, share insights and provide guidance. And this is what now I do, full-time, as a professional speaker and author. 

To get to do what I love and excel in, speaking and writing, took describing what I wanted to do everyday at work. And I think that's the revolutionary way to choose a career. You don't even choose it because you already embody it, you just decode it, voice it out, make it come alive. This is career choice stemming from Self-awareness. Most of us chose careers/jobs because of ego or because it was imposed on us. We choose job titles because they mean something to the society and do something to our egos, and not because that's the job that can help us max out our potential and enable us to thrive. We choose jobs because mama once said 'No kid of mine will be a deejay. It is law or nothing.' or we modelled the life of someone to the T and abandoned our own dreams.

This article is not about getting in your face and calling you out, it is about giving you a chance to just reflect, more so if you are feeling stuck, miserable, like a failure or are starting to disengage from (read as hate) your job. This article is about giving your self a shot at achieving both career success AND thriving in your career. You may be having the IT job and paycheck but depend on numbing substances to feel whole and happy. And sometimes we just don't know that the sudden void and dread of going to the workplace is a result of a pulled curtain revealing that something is out of sync - possibly having the IT job and paycheck that sucks the life out of you, than a job that makes you come alive.

So, coming back to the is it possible that right now you're feeling like you're failing, lost or miserable because you have a wrong job description? You went for the title and not the activities - the job itself? 

I'm not one for suck it up because life becomes too short for people who settle and live in survival mode because they're stuck in jobs they hate. I'm also not for quit your job (although sometimes you may need to), I'm for 'what's your pivoting strategy?' How do you now shift gears? Can move to a different division, can you give yourself a year to bounce to a different role or company? Can you go on and study part-time or full-time? One way or the other, you will need to find a way to bring that fulfilment into your life. Whether you integrate it partially or fully. It depends on what you've written down. If you want to save whales, maybe you may not need to quit your job and just volunteer with an organization that saves whales or start one. 

As a passive rant, I wish companies were agile enough to allow switching of careers. They allocated their employees not according to qualifications and experience only but according to their strengths. I think that would do wonders. Imagine every portfolio in your company being led by a person who's not only great at that particular job but who's also happy to be doing that job. They'll go an extra mile. Even take extra courses not to leave your company but to advance their skills so that they be more and more excellent at their job.

When all is written and read, know that I just want one thing for you: To gain competitive advantage and thrive. That's all. And today, that competitive advantage and thriving pertains your career success and experience. Go on and reflect, who knows, next year you could find yourself taking up a new course, applying for an exchange program, submitting that application for a promotion, going back to school, upskilling yourself, volunteering to save whales, taking art classes on weekends, or even joining the band at church - because you tapped into what makes you come alive.

This article will be my last one for 2022. Thank you so much for indulging me and my thoughts since I officially started back in June. I appreciate you, and I find it a privilege to have the opportunity to add value to you. I am looking forward to continuing the journey with you in the new year.

If you'd like to indulge my insights over festive, do get a copy of my book/s;

In Retrospect this is what it takes to build a successful business (best fit for entrepreneurs and business owners.

The book is a recollection of lessons learned over 5 years I spent working full-time in the entrepreneurship development and strategy consulting space both as an entrepreneur (an accidental entrepreneur at that) and a business strategy consultant to SMME operators, on what it really takes to build a successful business.

Gain Competitive Advantage (best fit for corporate professionals and team leaders)

In the book I introduce Brave Leadership and Courageous Culture as the birthplace of Competitive Advantage, and share 10 practical strategies you can use to unlock team engagement and performance, and maintain relevance in this constantly changing world - from how to use Diversity & Inclusion as a source of competitive strategy, to how to create a workplace culture that makes innovation happen and enable innovative ideas catch fire.

The books are available in Hardcopy, eBook and Kindle formats. Purchase the book/s here: www.kgadimmanakana.co.za/books or DM me here on LinkedIn or via my WhatsApp line 079 408 7866 or email kgadi@bravingcorp.com (whichever works best for you, use it)

eBook @ R180 and Hardcopy @ R350 (Courier included, 3 - 5 days, SA only). For out of South Africa purchases of the hardcopy, get it on Amazon, Amazon will handle your courier

That's all from me today. Have a beautiful and safe festive season.

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Kgadi Mmanakana is a Competitive Advantage Strategist on a mission to create possibilities of success for individuals, entrepreneurs, teams and businesses. She is a professional speaker and author on Employee Engagement, Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Resilience. Learn more about her and her value proposition here www.kgadimmanakana.co.za