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Choosing Lanes

A post by a client from a long time ago popped up on my LinkedIn feed recently. I have not been in touch with B for over a decade now so it was interesting to see what he has been upto since that time.  He stayed with the same company for going on twenty years now which in itself is quite remarkable in this day and age. He started as an intern after grad school and just stayed put. Doing that, making the right moves and finding the right sponsors has got him pretty far long. 

B was unremarkable at the time I knew him and there were others in his peer group that could outshine him easily. The fact is none of them did what he did - they got restless, moved on - some a couple of times, others far more often. B hunkered down and built a brand for himself. I am sure who I knew this person to be once is far from who he is now - he applied effort to grow and transform himself. It made me wonder of internal motivation that drives people to do that. B's well curated LinkedIn profile reminded me of a TED Talk I watched a while back about finding sponsors and it made me think about those who don't care to do that - like my other former client P. After twenty years at the job, he was recently laid-off. P is one of those that can deliver results in the most adverse conditions and do so consistently. The workhorse everyone counts on and he has a very pleasant demeanor. 

Yet, he never got promoted and more importantly, he made no effort to get visible or rewarded. He just did a great job everyday. He had both performance and relationship currency in spades but he never cashed on either. What I remember most about P is how his face would light up when it talked of his wife and his young son. He had been through divorce and found this amazing woman a few years later. P was genuinely grateful to have her in his life and for the fact that she made him a father even if late in life. I am going to guess that family gave a lot more validation and happiness than any promotion at work could so he chose his lane. 

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