A Seat at the Table

There is so much value to be had in fighting for your spot at the table and finding your voice in a strategic conversation. I had the pleasure of being able to sit at the table with a my department, the COO and the CEO every Friday to talk strategy. I was an idiot for taking it for granted for even a second. I learned so much about personalities, work styles, leadership styles, the reasoning behind decisions whether logical or not, how my leadership makes decisions, how much of their decision making is influence by their own biases. I figured out what it took to get them to say yes to an idea, and saw how easy it was for them to say no to even the greatest idea if it was presented poorly.

Now, I don't even know where the table is. In a larger company, it could takes years - even decades - to find a place at that table. I feel like the teen who got stuck at the kids table for Thanksgiving and will be there forever, pending a larger table or a family members absence - neither of which are in sight. 

So what do I do now? Do I kick and scream until they slide to the side to make room for me? If anything, it might just prove my placement at the kids table.

Instead, I plan to take an approach that has been trending lately in resume writing and job-finding (really since 2009, but even more so since Millennials hit the job scene hard in all of our innovative spirits) - I will identify the space that is empty, the gap that needs to be filled and argue that I am the only obvious choice to sit in that spot at the table.

But how?! Well I haven't done it yet, but I'll tell you how I'm going to start:

1) Identify the other members at the table that would and could advocate for my placement there.

2) Gather intel from resources in #1: how are the meetings are run, what's talked about, who's involved, what kind of decisions are being made, do they find the meeting effective, do they come away with action items to be delegated to me. 

At this point, I might discover that I have no place at the table and then I need to figure out if it would make sense for learning purposes to be involved in a limited way - for example is the table is really a conference call, I would see if it would be worth it to listen in but maybe not necessarily participate. If even that is not necessary, maybe it's time for me to find a different table.

After all the information is gathered, I can build my case and present it to my advocates. From there, I will ask for their opinions, feedback and see if it's something 1) They can take to the decision maker and advocate for, 2) I need to take to the decision maker, and use them as references if necessary, or 3) It's time to give up the fight. 

No matter what happens, when I do finally get a seat at the table, I will know that I earned the right to be there and can speak with confidence. 

_____

Update: Executed perfectly on plan. Got some great feedback, felt like my voice was heard and I have some great advocates. Still... time to find a different table.

It's that #EntryLevelLifeStruggle

Resurrection

Wow! It has been a very long time since I've posted anything. How tragic. I write all the time for my job so it's no wonder that I haven't had any urge at all to "put pen to paper" and write for myself. It's time to resurrect this bad boy and get moving again.

Yes, it has been almost two years since I've graduated college but I promise you there are still so many lessons to share and entry-level doesn't go away with time. If you go through life and learn nothing and process nothing you'll be an entry-leveler forever.

Turns out I'm a verbal processor and by verbal I also mean a writing processor. So I've been sitting on all these thoughts and observations and I'm afraid I've been at my entry-level position because I just can't climb the hurdle that is my mind. "Get out of the way self!"

This is the resurrection of my blog and it's coming back with vengeance - taking down all your preconceived notions about the lameness that is an entry-level life. Entry-level life is the best! You can make a ton of mistakes, learn how to fail and fail hard, apologize, recognize and be stronger than ever. You can do things that would get most people in trouble but because you didn't know you couldn't do that, something AMAZING happened!

Be fearless my fellow entry-levelers. Own your entry-levelness. Be a learner, be coachable. Crave mentorship and wisdom.

Life will get you down no matter where you are in your career, but God is faithful and he will surround you with the people that you need to #LevelUp.

Okay, this was a good talk. Let's reconvene soon. I've got lots to catch you all up on.

P.S. I noticed my resume is pretty old by now, but I would still encourage you to reference it for entry-level position.

Confidence to Follow Legends

I love my job. I know that's kind of a big deal and I'm so grateful to God for him allowing me to be in the field I want to be in, doing what I want to do, supported by an incredible staff, doing amazing things just 4 months after graduating college.

But nothing is perfect. That's the problem of living in a fallen world. Whether you work in an amazing place or not, you will run into problems. One in particular that I have experienced is walking into a new position that was previously held by an all-star. People who have come before you and cast a long shadow can be very intimidating. Whether they are still employed there and in a different position or have moved on completely, you have to compensate for the loss.

The few times this has happened to me my initial reaction was to learn what they did and do it exactly the same therefore, the team would get the same results. The problem with this approach is that it only takes into consideration the strengths and weaknesses of the other person. Not only will the team lose out on the potential you have to build and grow in your position, but also there's a good chance you'll fall short of filling the legendary shoes of those before you.

If there's anything I've learned from following legends is that I need to have the confidence to be myself and cast my own shadow. You do too! If you don't know your strengths and weaknesses by your first entry-level job, 1) your college didn't do much for you did it? and 2) you have to make that a priority. Take a test! There are a billion free strength tests online. When you learn the tools you are equipped with by God because of who you are, you will be able to reach your potential.

Once you know your strengths and weaknesses, be confident you can use them. Own your position and the tasks you are asked to do. Do them to the best of YOUR ability. The best thing you can do is become incomparable to the person who was in your position, not necessarily because you are better, but because you are yourself - a unique human being created by God.

Have a great week!