In a typical week, I have 2-3 connections to talk career and development with someone in our business. These conversations are something I thoroughly enjoy! Usually, we are talking about the next role they want. Even as I reflect on my career there was a time that I was much more role or job title focused. This changed with a conversation I had with one of my mentors.
Up to that point, I had success in promoting into the titles I wanted. I was in a sales executive role leading the sales efforts for some large National and global clients. I had fell in love with the interaction with our local sales people. I enjoyed the development work and helping them be successful.
One day, I had a meeting with a person focused on my development into a sales manager. I had set my sights on being a people leader and had saw that title as my next step. My goal of that discussion was to understand what makes a successful sales manager and what were some of the pitfalls to avoid. Instead, I got a point of view that changed my whole career approach!
Admittedly, I was at that point enamored with the title, the position, and what those leaders did each day. This was an okay way of approaching, but a very limited mindset as career development is much more dynamic.
The advice given that day was to actually think about career as a collection of experiences. If we think about it, no two experiences are exactly the same in any given job title. Being intentional about what experiences you want is actually way more important than the title!
The advice was to imagine being at the end of your working life, if you reflect back on your career, what experiences do you want to have?
Make a list of those!
Do not think too much or try to make them perfectly worded.
Then share that with others, like your leaders, peers, mentors, etc.
Use those experiences in your current job to find projects or new ways to grow!
I have found that I have been able to gain experiences much faster than titles and often get opportunities that others don't get because I share my experience list.
I encourage you to make your own 'experience bucket list'. Let it guide you toward growth and development in your career!