It's a big world, after all
Back when I was in grad school, like a lot of academics, I measured my success by the prestige of the publications on my CV. The path to success was clear, if challenging: publish the papers, go to the conferences, do the job talks, get the academic job offers.
When I started my tech career at Microsoft, the specific rules were different, but the clarity of the system was similar. I measured my success by how fast I got promoted, the size of my bonus, and where I fell in the stack rank.
In both cases, success in my work environment felt like the biggest possible deal. In both cases, it felt indistinguishable from success in the wider world. In both cases, I was wrong.
Hype is a liar
Have you ever known someone who can't stop talking about the Game of Thrones drama happening in their team at work?
Maybe it's a friend of a friend you see at parties from time to time. Maybe it's a parent from your kid's class at school. Maybe it's someone you knew in college. Whoever they are, everyone finds them kind of annoying.
This person was me during the first decade of my tech career. But when I left BigCo to start Textio, the conversation changed. It no longer mattered how many times I'd been promoted or which random executive was replacing which other random executive.
In BigCo life, I learned linear rules for linear advancement. As a startup founder and scaleup CEO, I had to play many games at the same time. Convincing customers to trust us. Convincing investors to take a bet on us. Convincing well-compensated tech employees to try to change the world with us (and hopefully, end up with even better comp in the long run). Convincing press and industry leaders that we were doing all of the above. Things went from linear to multidimensional overnight.
Going multidimensional
Some people change companies every few years, but many put down roots in one company that last for a long time. Whether you move around or stay put, your career growth is bigger than where you happen to work right now. It's bigger than your next performance review or the reorg happening around you.
Here are a few things I wish I'd known in starting my tech career, working in the same place for many years.
#1: Interesting careers have narrative and texture.
If you've been at the same company for 10+ years, the honest truth is that all your roles sound the same from the outside. Even if you've changed teams or had different job titles along the way. This is true even if you are a superstar getting promoted every year.
Most people tell their career stories literally, in chronological order, steadfastly marching through each role in detail. But you are interesting because of your big decisions and risks, not because of your promotions.
#2: Look outside the building.
Most day jobs take a lot of time and energy, especially if you care about being good at your job. You put time not only into doing your work, but into networking, following company strategy, and bonus projects. The time adds up.
My first time at a big company, I wish I'd spent more time immersed in what was happening outside my environment. I focused heavily on my own employer because that helped me advance faster. But I would have been better served (and my employer would have been better served) if I had spent more time building industry context and less time speculating about our team's move into Building 9.
#3: The drama doesn't matter. Seriously.
Many years ago, I worked with a talented engineer. Over our years working together, we became friends. We often stayed in the office way after hours comparing notes on two things: what we were working on, and our theories about power in the exec ranks above us.
I look back on the work parts of those conversations fondly. The discussions expanded my thinking and made me better at my job. But when I think back on how much time we spent analyzing office drama, I wish I had the hours back. Those discussions gave me nothing durable or valuable, and they were the least interesting thing about me.
#4: Maybe they're just that into you.
Having hard conversations is no fun. Struggling with a project, getting a mediocre performance review, not getting the raise, all no fun. If your only reference point is your current environment, it's too easy to conclude that your struggle means something is deeply wrong with you.
I'm not saying you should disregard your struggles. Critical feedback often has merit, and failure is real data. But the fact that you aren't clicking with one environment doesn't mean you won't click with others. They might just not be your people.
These days I'm back in BigCo. But it doesn't feel like it did the first time. Maybe it's because the industry has changed, but I suspect it's more that I have.
Don't let your employer define your career. You contain multitudes.
Kieran
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