Work ON your Career; not just IN your Career

3 Oct

Written By Petra Zink

Petra Zink on Leadership Personal Branding Executive Coaching

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Transcript

Petra

1:05

Thanks so much for having me. Prina. I'm really excited about this conversation, because honestly, I think it's a topic that's becoming more and more relevant, but hardly anyone talks about it. And how I landed on this topic, and the specialization, and the role that I'm doing now for some branding and digital strategy for professionals, is because I found myself in a very vulnerable spot. I always thought my first career is my only career, I started in brain and product marketing for the fast moving consumer goods industry.

And I thought, This is my beginning and the end. So I didn't see the end coming from somebody else, putting an end to towards my career. And I also found myself after 10 years in a very toxic environment, I thought, you have to be exhausted and burned out. When you're progressing in your career, I didn't realize that it was not the case, I just found myself in the wrong environment with the wrong people doing the wrong tasks. And sometimes, when you progress very quickly, which was in my case, the situation, you don't see the tree for the forest for the tree, and you don't realize how much responsibilities are changing. So there's actually a name for it because I researched a little bit further into it. I thought this can't be the one and only, you know, end result.

Some it's called Peter Principle, you are progressing in your career until you fail. You are successful until you are unsuccessful. And this simply happens because you're not aware of your strength of your weaknesses. What are you naturally drawn to what are you're energized by what are you trained by.

And this is how I eventually got into personal branding, because I just invested so much in my personal developments that are then progressed so quickly in my career. And I thought every single person needs to know about it, how they can create careers and opportunities, based on their point of difference. And now with the future of work concept where we have to change not only jobs, but careers more often, this is exactly what everyone needs to master. This is where we landed with our current topic, working on your career and not in your career.

Prina

3:15

fascinating, fascinating. From a young age, you really excelled in the corporate world. And our traditional teachings, you know, from a corporate perspective is climb hierarchy, climb the ladder, climb the ladder, work, work, work, extra hours, extra hours, then you become a people manager, then you become a leader and subject matter expert, blah, blah, blah, and off you go.

That's a traditional, I guess concept. You know, most people go by if we're working in the corporate hierarchy, right? Your story is a fascinating one.

And you shared a message with me as well, which you say you shared a quote with me a while ago, make your mess your message. And I think that has really helped you turn around from where you were in your corporate career to creating your business now to help people who are in the same boat as you when you were in corporate land. Right?

Petra

4:08

Exactly. Because as I said, I never thought I would do anything other than this one career. I had my uni degree in it, my network was built on it the 10 years experience in a professional environment in it. I didn't think anything beyond that. Now nowadays, so many changes and disruptions happen, maybe due to technology economically changes. Maybe your boss hates you right other way around, you just never know what happens you fall sick. So we need to be able to not only go from one job to the other but create new careers upscale quicker and also now with the wealth being more connected. It's also more competitive. So how we tell our story, how we actually position ourselves makes all the difference. Because if you are the best, but you're the best secret you're still a secret.

So I always say if you are not this If you can't be considered, and especially when you want to make a bigger impact when you want to influence people, you need to show up, you need to share your thoughts, you need to create content, you need to collaborate, you need to work strategically, with partners, you need to build a high net worth Mark network, there are so many aspects to it.

And I realized when I got into recruitment, that I wasn't the only one who is struggling with not being able to pitch myself to not being able to share the value in a way that's not douchey or comes across as self promoting. But there's so many others are struggling with this. And this is how I thought, you know what, there must be a bit of a process that everyone can learn. And this is how I developed my process, how you can actually clarify your brand DNA or what makes a difference, how you then communicate it, and of course, how you can commercialize your strength. So make your message message simply because I didn't see it coming, I found a way. And now I'm teaching others to do it.

So many of us are going through those challenges, they may be burned out at work, they may have been sick, they may, you know, have been fired, whatever it might be, there's always a challenge somewhere. And if we can find what it actually is that drives us, we can exploit our passion and turn it into a purpose, meaning we are actually delivering results and benefits for others.

Prina

6:20

Fascinating, fascinating, Petra. So how can one a high level work on your career and not in your career? What does that mean, you will deconstruct that statement? Well, yes.

Petra

6:32

Well, it all starts with self awareness. And this is what so many still misunderstanding that term of personal branding. It's not about showing how good you are, it's not about bragging about yourself, it's not about me, me me time and content, it's about going deep.

And starting with what makes me different, what are my values, what I am driven by, and also what are my natural strengths, because in the end, you're never getting happy or satisfied, if you are just pursuing your passion. Everyone says just follow your passion. Yes, it's nice. But if you don't do any good for others, we are never ever happy.

This is why so many are still depressed, even though they are quote unquote, successful, they've got everything, but they don't have this giving back aspect to it. They don't know how else they can benefit others. And this is where we get our feel good feeling from it. So it all starts with you.

I always do a couple of tests, brand archetype tests, and then personality tests. So it combines your brand DNA, what makes it different, what you can't change, but then also looking at this case, and so many tests, like Myers Briggs, and so forth. They are good in what they're doing.

But they don't necessarily go a little bit deeper, and uncovering your subconscious mind. And this is exactly what a brain archetype test actually does for us. And this is the combination. And often this is enough for people to realize, now I know why I respond this way, or why I'm drawn to this person, or why I love this task and hate others. And in a second, you've got this clarity, you have got the confidence and as much as we buy into competence, we also if not moreso, buy into people's confidence. They know.

Prina

8:17

Yes, completely. And you're completely right. So once you know more about yourself, you know what your strengths are, you know what your triggers are, as well. And you can be far more emotionally intelligent in response to the workplace. Very, very, very fascinating points that you make better. And often many people don't go through their career looking at themselves in this perspective, right?

Petra

8:43

Exactly. Because it is also not taught it's not part of a education. And you mentioned before, we don't just have one linear career path any more, which we were trained in, we've got now sidesteps and cross steps and completely out steps. The instance again is it's everything has changed.

It's more like a triangle and not a ladder anymore. And people are so busy doing the doing and doing the work that they forget to build the bridge as to what's next. And this is also what I found myself in a situation I was doing. I was the first in last out took every project and responsibility on because I thought this is the way how I show that I'm ready for a promotion for the next step.

Well, I didn't realize that they saw me as to do it and thought I get the benefit or get the joy out of doing and not delegating. Now when you're progressing into leadership roles, you're changing skill sets. Again, nobody's telling you that or teaching you that you have to figure it out. And as you said, it all starts with this emotional intelligence. What are your strengths and your weaknesses, and then build a team around you that can help you complement your strengths and your weaknesses because as a team, we always go much further

Prina

9:59

completely You make a really good point there as well, I, Petra, I've worked with a lot of people who have gone from subject matter or technical expert on the ground. And now, because you are so brilliant on the ground, here you go, here's a, here's a promotion for you, without any training or without any extra support of how to manage people, how to manage yourself, how to delegate, and how to manage your brand, as well. And one of the things that I have come across especially, is as a leader, if you lose the trust or respect of your team, it's so hard to regain. So you want to start off on the right foot from the beginning that way, don't you?

Petra

10:40

Exactly. And, you know, I definitely think that personal branding is a leadership requirement and not an afterthought or a nice to have, because what you just mentioned, it all starts with yourself. And then you can also show up very differently to others. And I always say personal branding is personal development on steroids. If you've uncovered it, and experienced what this clarity actually does, you cannot go back you cannot unsee it.

Prina

11:07

100%. Last week or two weeks ago, actually, I delivered a training session to a team who there was a new manager in the team and the rest of the team had been working together for a long time.

And one of the things I actually did was for them to get to know each other as people first off, so we had some activities in that respect. But then I stepped back. And I put them to do a bit of a psychometric test on their work behaviour styles.

Then we had conversations around that. And conversations in relation to the way I like to be communicated to the way I communicate. the kind of work that I like, the kind of environment that I like working in, when I am stressed, I am when I'm stressed, I need to be you know, whatever left alone, or code or whatever it might be. But those are the kinds of conversations often the teams don't have, or leaders don't understand off their team members to get the best out of them. Right?

That's so missing. Um, are there any tips you can give for people who are going from you know, that technical experts subject matter expert position to a role of people manager or leader now, that transition? How can they help themselves?

To get it right from the get go?

Petra

12:30

Well, I would say it again, starts with a self awareness piece, is it the right step for you? You know, there are so many types of leaders, I thought I want to make people so I manage large teams in the end. And to be honest, I didn't enjoy it. And I don't want to go back to that anymore.

12:46

Prina

People management is hard, it is hard. Oh,

Petra

12:49

Yeah. And you know, you don't realize or understand how much conflict resolution and management is there.

Also, attention to detail, because you can't miss something. Also admin, all of the things I'm not good at. So, I thought, you know, I need to get out of this also, after experiencing a few years, and I would consider myself most of a thought leader or a change leader, I want to impact with my thoughts with my content, and not so much people directly within my circle.

So, there is no right or wrong, we need to get rid of the idea that the only way you can be successful is when you lead a team and then a bigger team, and then a department and then organization, because not everyone should be a leader. And this is probably the biggest realization that we all need to you know, start with ourselves and be very honest with ourselves. Is it the right path?

Or is it the path that others tell me to do and that have others that others have gone prior to me?

Prina

13:51

Yeah, that questioning of yourself is really, really important. I remember a few years ago, when I delivered and aspiring Leaders Program, I walked into the room and one of my first questions was, what do you want out of your career? Pretty much 80% of the room said, I want to be a leader. I want to be a people manager.

And I just had to stop them there and say, so do you know what that involves? People management is so so difficult. It's full of surprises as well. It's not an easy thing. And yeah, really questioning your career as well, in terms of Is this the way I want to go? all my other options, people don't consider other options as well. Right?

Petra

14:30

Exactly. And it could even be a project leader that you still have responsibility over as a result, but it doesn't necessarily need to be the people aspect of it. And you know, even simply managing the days of sickness and the promotions, all of the admin that comes with it. I honestly get bored with it. And when you're bored, you can also get burned out and people also don't realize that it's not just about having too much on your plate and too hard task and too tight deadlines. It's also being bored being not challenge being not in your genius zone. So again, it comes down to emotional intelligence about yourself.

Prina

15:07

That happens to a lot of people. And I'll be honest in saying that I have come across it through my, you know, coaching support that I do consulting work as well be better. So people often sit on the career fence that can be really damaging to not only your own reputation, but it can be really damaging to the team Carnage, Could you expand a little bit more about sitting on my career fence?

And yes, I've got that leadership role, but I really do hate it. I don't want to but I'm not sure.

Petra

15:39

Yes, absolutely. Well, we've seen especially the last 12 months, when COVID-19 hit, everything has changed. And the trends that we've actually been seeing for last 10 years, it's nothing new, have just been accelerated. And now all of a sudden, they're here.

So, what it shows us is that the world doesn't slow down. With more technology, everything changes, not more significantly, but also quicker. There's even research that is conducted every two years, and I think it was in the 90s, even an average life cycle of an organization was 75 years, which means you go to university, you climb the ladder, you retire, you probably die, and you still haven't seen a change in organization. And now, even with high investment and high-risk industries like mining, where there's so much investment to just have the infrastructure set up, even mining industries, and those kinds of industries are going through a change every seven years, seven to 10 years.

Which means that if you're not evolving, if you're not changing, if you're not upskilling, if you're not maybe even pivoting, you're already behind. Because so many skill sets are not required anymore, we transition into a new era, and just putting the blinkers on and say it doesn't happen to me, I'm in demand, it already sets you backwards.

So, you cannot go wrong in a second you're moving. And if you are on the fence, the best way to see what's right or wrong is by literally taking one step after the other because you can only pivot if you're moving when you stand still, you're going to eventually, you know, be overruled by everything and every 100%.

Prina

17:14

You run the future of work campus. And is that Can you can you expand what that is? And is that something for a leader who's in this position of Oh, I'm a leader now. I'm not 100% feeling it or I'm loving it, but I need to continually work on myself. Is that something?

Petra

17:31

Yes, yes, no, I launched a Future of Work Campus last year after during COVID-19. Because so many have realized that their job is not what they want to do they have been made redundant, they have been stood down.

So, we started the actual career course basically, how can you pivot into new industry and profession without necessarily knowing what it is yet? And after those students have gone through the course, they asked me So what's next? And I said nothing is next. I haven't even played the agile career course. So you go.

But I thought ongoing career development is something that, you know, it doesn't stop. It's ongoing for a reason. And especially those mid-level professionals will be in between the See, what I started is not quite what I want to do, but also not sure what's next. They are the perfect fit for the campus. For leaders were working mainly one on one, or in a team setting, just because new levels new demos that we have other conversations.

Prina

18:32

Yeah. Oh, I'm gonna put your details in the show notes. So if people want to reach out to you, they definitely will. I have one. I have one final question for you, Petra, if I gave you a magic wand, what is one way that you would change the way of the workplace,

Petra

18:50

to be honest, and this is not because I'm doing it. But because I've experienced it is to introduce personal branding to everyone from a young age, and also that companies are having that as a must have program in the organization. Because what it also helps us is the self-awareness, which means that you can take control over your career, you can see based on what's happening in the economy and the industry and the company, how could I shift my skill set? How could I upskill? How can I position myself also within the company, it's not always being outward facing when you build your personal brand, it could also be inward facing, and how can I position myself that it gets to the next step that I can go into this different department?

And I was just running actually a training for one of the largest IT companies in January. And it was they call it the emerging leaders, but they were already heads off. So I would classify them more senior leaders but different story. And one guy had the same issue that I had, you know, nine years ago. He was to do it. He was already the Senior Project Manager, and he went have become the project director. And he's been in this role for three years. And he said, I physically can't get any more projects on my plate. And we did a 360.

So self-assessment, and he thought he was a strong leader and communicator and often, but the executive board, what they associated with him, he was to do it, he wasn't able to delegate and let go.

So simply having this awareness, what do I perceive myself as what do others see myself to be? Next already, all the difference. And you mentioned that exercise before, when I can't communicate how I need to be managed, how I get motivated, how I, you know, perform my best work, I can't expect anyone else to manage me the right way. So I would say, having the self-awareness and being able to position yourself in a way where you can get the best out of yourself, helps the organization big times. And you also don't need to leave the company because you think, quote, unquote, there is no further opportunity. Just because it doesn't go upwards, doesn't mean you can go sideways, or it can create your own commercial opportunity.

Prina

21:06

Absolutely. So I think that's a real missing market, isn't it? organizations don't tap into their own talent and nurture their talent from our perspective as a professional leadership development programs and whatever else.

But from, you know, from my corporate career in HR, never have we looked at individuals and how they brand themselves so they can be the ambassador for the organization, especially if they're high potential people that you want to retain, there's a different thing that you can do to support them and their development, right, beautiful, better.

Petra

21:38

Exactly. And you mentioned a really good point, that retention rate is something that organizations consider now more and more so senior recruits the talent pool, especially in those high demand roles, yes, tighter and tighter and more competitive. And our talents in Australia, they can now work for us based or European based company, and they can get another 10, 20, whatever grant more.

Now, if I've got the choice, and I've got five different offers, the loyalty also goes down from those talents, and they're not looking to stay with a company forever and two days, they only take a role to progress to the next role. Now, when I am invested in my talents, I give them the opportunity to develop within your organization, because that also means that they are very aligned with what's going on in the market and take initiative.

We don't need any more task pushers and paper pushers in the workforce, we need to have people who think on their feet who are creative, who can take initiative without anyone telling them that they have to do it. And again, it all starts with this self awareness piece.

Because when you're confident, you're putting your hand up and actually say, you know what, I really good with attention to detail. I don't have any of that in my current role. But I see in departments so and so this is everything that doing? What do I need to do to shift what courses to need to do? Which work experiences to get? So it's all about helping also our managers and leaders to get the best out of us?

Prina

23:03

Yeah, yeah. And Okay, another thing I could talk to you forever about this. Another thing, I think the other thing on the flip side, so organizations need to offer this kind of support to their high potentials especially. But then people need to speak out as well. You need to ask for this, right? If you are really lacking it. And there's something there's a question mark that you're feeling, and something's amiss. Ask for it. Right?

Petra

23:28

Exactly. If you can't ask for it, you will never get it. And so many still sit back and say, Well, I'm just waiting for my manager, my HR leader to tell me what's next. We don't know what's next. And if you don't know what you're actually good at, how could we expect those people to create a pathway for us that we probably even, you know, fail in simply because it's a different skill set. And there are so many jobs and careers and industries that haven't even been created yet. Like last year, how many new apps have come out and you know, brands have been launched and products and services that we couldn't even imagine? 12 months ago?

Now, think for a next 12, 24, 36 months, there's just so many, there's so many opportunities. And again, this is also why I'm such a big fan of building a portfolio career to try to test the waters. You asked me a question before that I not quite answered thinking about it.

What can we do when we are a bit on the fence? proximity principle, put yourself out there. And it doesn't mean that we have to quit our job and go all in into what we think is the next step. It's about experiencing it. Some of my clients, they want to become a public speaker. I'm all in for it. But I also want them to experience first what goes in. I can't tell you how many hours of practice in front of a mirror, recorded, deleted, changed, written, deleted.

There is so much that goes behind the scenes. And if you can't take that sandwich that counts with everything, then it's probably the right way. But the only way to figure it out is to experience it, put ourselves out there pitch ourselves to local meetup events or industry events and say, you know what, I would love to talk about topic, x, y, Zed, is there an opportunity for me to speak for free?

And if we say, Oh, my god, that was the best thing that I could have done, I want to do more of I do it another three, four or five times, and then make the decision, what do I need to do to make this my full time role, but just saying, you know what, this is my next step, and I'm going all in, it's actually a little bit risky.

Prina