You would be terrible at most jobs...and that is perfectly ok!
I was reacquainted with this truism recently while getting first hand experience executing a new process within one of my businesses (TalentCMO). The administrative work required strong organizational skills, conforming to a process, and working efficiently. I am not a master of any of these and the experience left me stressed and humbled.
Why did I suck at this work?
Quite simply because I don’t possess the right skills or traits. I am very good at generating conceptual ideas and building the framework to bring a concept into reality. I am very good working in an undefined space with lots of unknowns. None of these strengths helped me succeed in the work that I was doing…..which led to my suckiness.
Could I have “just tried harder” or “ground it out”? Sure. I did. It took a disproportionate amount of energy, errors were high, and I found little satisfaction in achieving mediocre results.
We have all found ourselves in this position at some point in our career. We should stay in such positions for as little time as possible because we are doing a double disservice. First, we are in someone else’s job. They are better at it and we are in the way. Second, the job we can awesomely succeed at is vacant. It is waiting for us to show up and rock it!
As you think about your next great career opportunity, please do yourself a favor and focus on finding a position that is desperate for your skills, traits, and experience. You will succeed massively because your strengths will be strongly utilized and you will be happier.
Written by: Austin Meyermann, Founder and President of Hunter Crown, LLC
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