Shaping Professional Success

Here’s a tricky question I attempt to answer regularly: What does professional success mean to me? Right now, it's all about learning and growing every day, but it isn’t a definition that stays constant. I used to think success meant knowing everything and being super confident. But now, I've come to realise that true success involves being a little fearful at times and prioritising empathy - for myself and others. It means stepping out of my comfort zone, constantly learning new things, and pushing myself to grow. So to be successful is to be uncomfortable quite often, and that didn’t instinctively feel like success at first, but now I know when I am uncomfortable, it's a moment of growth to be cherished, so I embrace it. As I think about my role models, a few people come to mind for what they taught me, consciously or not.

Grit and Grace

My dad is the first person that comes to mind when I think of success. Despite coming from a  humble background and finishing his formal education in high school, he never let that hold him back. He has never stopped learning and challenging himself. He learned English at 40 to pursue an international career and leapt into the unknown. His resourcefulness, resilience and humility helped him navigate through the difficulties. He climbed all the way to the top of his field, becoming a sought-after trainer in his field. He let his success speak for itself, never seeking praise or attention for his achievements, and this inspired me unconsciously to put learning first and always be humble. 

When the Intern Knows Best

During my master’s, I started an internship at my university’s library. I had no idea what I signed up for; as it turns out, I had to help them get a government-level customer service certification for their Learning and Development centres. It was a big deal because if they didn't secure accreditation by the end of the project, they would have to reapply next year. No pressure, right? Here’s where it gets interesting, my manager had no idea how to make this happen, so instead of giving me a to-do list to complete, which I expected as an intern, we had to figure this out together.

Although this was a high-pressure situation, the approach that my manager took at the time made everything so much easier: We laid out everything we were doubtful about, he asked great questions, and we worked out solutions to all the unknown issues. This director-level leader was so humble and so transparent during his learning journey with me, an intern, which made me feel valued and made me see that, no matter how much experience one has, there’s always room for more learning. Chris taught me how to show vulnerability and how strong that makes you come across as a leader. He also taught me that everyone in a team is equally important and everyone’s contribution matters when you’re trying to tackle challenges.

The Boss You Never Want To Be

Over the years, I've had the chance to see some truly incredible people in various leadership roles. These servant leaders always lead with empathy and have achieved so much success. In a former company, one leader stood out for all the wrong reasons. He had a leadership style that I definitely don't want to emulate in my future. He made me question whether I wanted to pursue a corporate career and climb the proverbial ladder. But as I pushed myself to see the silver lining in this cloud also, I've come to realise that even though our interactions were not pleasant, he played an important role in my growth. As the anti-hero in my leadership learning journey, he showed me the risks of being unintentional about your impact. 

The person was a high-ranking leader, clearly very knowledgeable in his field, but he seemed to have made it his life’s mission never to show vulnerability. The way this manifested was in a lot of aggression and shouting matches whenever things would get hard. It was hard not to take these interactions personally, and in many instances, I lost sleep and cried out of frustration and nervous anticipation ahead of our interactions. It made me realise two important things: First, I need to be very intentional about how I show up every day and second, the importance of considering both intent and impact. While I don't think anyone intends to make others cry, it's crucial to be mindful of the effect our words and actions can have, especially when we are entrusted to lead a team. Failure and change are inevitable, especially in a corporate environment and showing your frustration through aggression and shouting is never the answer. Instead, I strive to create psychological safety around me so we can spot failures early on and address them if we can. If not, what can we learn from these failures? 

I've learned to be open, grow, and remain humble from my father. Chris, my first manager, displayed openness and humility, along with collaboration. His style of admitting "I don't know" and then working together to find a solution strongly influenced me. Finally, recognising a style I don't want to emulate has inspired me to create a better work environment, shaping my definition of professional success. 

The views in the article are my own and do not necessarily reflect Contentful.