My Career Lattice, Not an Ordinary Ladder
[Today’s Tuesday Reading is from Marcia Dority Baker, Leadership Coach at MOR Associates. Marcia may be reached at [email protected].]
“I describe my career path as a zigzag, not a career ladder.” Denise Morrison
I recently gave my leadership journey during a MOR Leaders program workshop. As a facilitator I was on the hook to keep it under five minutes to demonstrate it could be done! I took on the challenge to really reflect on my leadership lessons. Some lessons I had listed in the workbook exercise seemed more like complaints whereas other journey stops were accomplishments I may have wanted to brag about. I drafted five or six “biggies,” the lessons that are also shiny packages that look good on the outside. I then added five or six unglamorous leadership lessons; the ones that helped me grow but hurt, the “thanks but no thanks” items that were a blessing in disguise.
If it’s been awhile since you reflected on your leadership journey – I challenge you to take some time this week to pause and list out several lessons from the past 5-7 years. This includes identifying the event/experience/person that resonates with you and more importantly, the leadership lesson or value you learned from it. I don’t know about you, but I am not the same person I was a few years ago. Life has shifted for many of us, including the things that were once important along with what we spend time on. Our life experiences change us, creating lessons on how to be a better leader and a human. Think of your leadership timeline, what experiences were positive or negative for you? For me, I learned more from the experiences that were uncomfortable as they pushed me to pause and reflect on life in a deeper way.
Some of the best career and life advice I ever received was from Rick Fredericks, one of the great leadership coaches at MOR Associates. Several years ago, I shared a career challenge with him; I was struggling with climbing the ladder in a place that did not seem to have a space for me. His advice was as gentle as it was a lighting bolt moment, he suggested that not everyone has a career ladder. Many of us have a career lattice – instead of going straight up, it’s okay to pivot to the left or to the right as long as you’re making forward progress.
With Rick’s advice echoing in my mind as I reworked my leadership lessons, I purposely removed the shiny lessons and added a few of the blessing in disguise lessons. What I offered in my leadership journey was four lessons that resonated with me as a person, as I strive to be the best coach and leader I can be today. My first lesson was from grad school where I learned the value of the quote attributed to Desmond Tutu; “there is only one way to eat an elephant: a bite at a time.” My second lesson was learning to advocate for myself when I did not fit into the higher education environment where I was working. I quickly learned to ask questions that I did not know to ask, to find a niche to show value, and grow my skillset in spite of a lack of support. Both of these lessons reminded me of the power of our personal and professional networks, the people who support us at home and advocate for us in the workplace. Because I know the value-add they have in my life, I will be that person to those I can help be successful going forward. My third leadership lesson was, the mindset attributed to Mahatma Gandhi, “be the change” I wanted to see in the world outside of work. As a runner, it’s important for me to give back to my running community. This includes coaching runners, volunteering at races, and taking care of our trails. This third space outside of home and work brings me both satisfaction and joy which then influence my presence as a leader and coach. Frankly, it makes me a better person to go outside, run my trails, and invest in my community. My final lesson was the invaluable advice from Rick. One that I have grown to appreciate more as I reflect on my leadership journey. While I did not know what a career lattice was when I started out, it’s exactly where I’m supposed to be at this time.
Part of being a leader is the humility to admit what did not work. More importantly, being a leader is recognizing the people or the pivot that got you where you are today. That acknowledgement allows me to scan the horizon for the next leadership lesson.
This Week’s Survey
When you reflect on your career, how would you describe your leadership journey? |
From Last Week Last week we asked: Which topic do you find most captivating to further explore how you impact your organization?
Of all the Tuesday Reading surveys we’ve done to date, this one has had the most even balance between all the options. This suggests what resonated most with us in considering our own leadership pilgrimage and leadership lattice is the balance it entails, where we intentionally seek to learn who we are, how we can positively influence others through optimism and truly hearing, how we can best adapt to circumstances beyond our control, and how together we can achieve great things. |
- October 2024 (5)
- September 2024 (4)
- August 2024 (4)
- July 2024 (5)
- June 2024 (4)
- May 2024 (4)
- April 2024 (5)
- March 2024 (4)
- February 2024 (4)
- January 2024 (5)
- December 2023 (3)
- November 2023 (4)
- October 2023 (5)
- September 2023 (4)
- August 2023 (4)
- July 2023 (4)
- June 2023 (4)
- May 2023 (5)
- April 2023 (4)
- March 2023 (1)
- January 2023 (4)
- December 2022 (3)
- November 2022 (5)
- October 2022 (4)
- September 2022 (4)
- August 2022 (5)
- July 2022 (4)
- June 2022 (4)
- May 2022 (5)
- April 2022 (4)
- March 2022 (5)
- February 2022 (4)
- January 2022 (4)
- December 2021 (3)
- November 2021 (4)
- October 2021 (3)
- September 2021 (4)
- August 2021 (4)
- July 2021 (4)
- June 2021 (5)
- May 2021 (4)
- April 2021 (4)
- March 2021 (5)
- February 2021 (4)
- January 2021 (4)
- December 2020 (4)
- November 2020 (4)
- October 2020 (6)
- September 2020 (5)
- August 2020 (4)
- July 2020 (7)
- June 2020 (7)
- May 2020 (5)
- April 2020 (4)
- March 2020 (5)
- February 2020 (4)
- January 2020 (4)
- December 2019 (2)
- November 2019 (4)
- October 2019 (4)
- September 2019 (3)
- August 2019 (3)
- July 2019 (2)
- June 2019 (4)
- May 2019 (3)
- April 2019 (5)
- March 2019 (4)
- February 2019 (3)
- January 2019 (5)
- December 2018 (2)
- November 2018 (4)
- October 2018 (5)
- September 2018 (3)
- August 2018 (3)
- July 2018 (4)
- June 2018 (4)
- May 2018 (5)
- April 2018 (4)
- March 2018 (5)
- February 2018 (5)
- January 2018 (3)
- December 2017 (3)
- November 2017 (4)
- October 2017 (5)
- September 2017 (3)
- August 2017 (5)
- July 2017 (3)
- June 2017 (8)
- May 2017 (5)
- April 2017 (4)
- March 2017 (4)
- February 2017 (4)
- January 2017 (4)
- December 2016 (2)
- November 2016 (7)
- October 2016 (5)
- September 2016 (8)
- August 2016 (5)
- July 2016 (4)
- June 2016 (12)
- May 2016 (5)
- April 2016 (4)
- March 2016 (7)
- February 2016 (4)
- January 2016 (10)
- December 2015 (4)
- November 2015 (6)
- October 2015 (4)
- September 2015 (7)
- August 2015 (5)
- July 2015 (6)
- June 2015 (12)
- May 2015 (4)
- April 2015 (6)
- March 2015 (10)
- February 2015 (4)
- January 2015 (4)
- December 2014 (3)
- November 2014 (5)
- October 2014 (4)
- September 2014 (6)
- August 2014 (4)
- July 2014 (4)
- June 2014 (4)
- May 2014 (5)
- April 2014 (5)
- March 2014 (5)
- February 2014 (4)
- January 2014 (5)
- December 2013 (5)
- November 2013 (5)
- October 2013 (10)
- September 2013 (4)
- August 2013 (5)
- July 2013 (8)
- June 2013 (6)
- May 2013 (4)
- April 2013 (5)
- March 2013 (4)
- February 2013 (4)
- January 2013 (5)
- December 2012 (3)
- November 2012 (4)
- October 2012 (5)
- September 2012 (4)
- August 2012 (4)
- July 2012 (5)
- June 2012 (4)
- May 2012 (5)
- April 2012 (4)
- March 2012 (4)
- February 2012 (4)
- January 2012 (4)
- December 2011 (3)
- November 2011 (5)
- October 2011 (4)
- September 2011 (4)
- August 2011 (4)
- July 2011 (4)
- June 2011 (5)
- May 2011 (5)
- April 2011 (3)
- March 2011 (4)
- February 2011 (4)
- January 2011 (4)
- December 2010 (3)
- November 2010 (4)
- October 2010 (4)
- September 2010 (3)
- August 2010 (5)
- July 2010 (4)
- June 2010 (5)
- May 2010 (4)
- April 2010 (3)
- March 2010 (2)
- February 2010 (4)
- January 2010 (4)
- December 2009 (4)
- November 2009 (4)
- October 2009 (4)
- September 2009 (4)
- August 2009 (3)
- July 2009 (3)
- June 2009 (3)
- May 2009 (4)
- April 2009 (4)
- March 2009 (2)
- February 2009 (3)
- January 2009 (3)
- December 2008 (3)
- November 2008 (3)
- October 2008 (3)
- August 2008 (3)
- July 2008 (4)
- May 2008 (2)
- April 2008 (2)
- March 2008 (2)
- February 2008 (1)
- January 2008 (1)
- December 2007 (3)
- November 2007 (3)
- October 2007 (3)
- September 2007 (1)
- August 2007 (2)
- July 2007 (4)
- June 2007 (2)
- May 2007 (3)
- April 2007 (1)
- March 2007 (2)
- February 2007 (2)
- January 2007 (3)
- December 2006 (1)
- November 2006 (1)
- October 2006 (1)
- September 2006 (3)
- August 2006 (1)
- June 2006 (2)
- April 2006 (1)
- March 2006 (1)
- February 2006 (1)
- January 2006 (1)
- December 2005 (1)
- November 2005 (2)
- October 2005 (1)
- August 2005 (1)
- July 2005 (1)
- April 2005 (2)
- March 2005 (4)
- February 2005 (2)
- December 2004 (1)