Do You Want Your Boss’s Job?
Starting off in New York or any job that is unfamiliar to us can be difficult. For most of us, we came to the city after school or after our first jobs out of school. Young, full of energy, and ready to tackle the world. As we start our careers, a few things cross many people’s minds:
- How can I climb the ladder?
- How can I achieve the success to get to the next level?
- What can I do to prove I am a valuable employee?
Then there are some questions we don’t realize until we are head down in the work world. A question that has always been in the back of my mind
“Do you want your boss’s job?”
When you look at the people in positions above you, it’s hard to not think about what it would be like to be in their shoes.
If the answer is somewhere between yes and no, evaluate the reasons. For examples, if you think that you would enjoy certain aspects of your boss’s job like running a team or working across teams to ensure the best product makes it to market, then it might not be a bad option to stick out a job for a period of time before trying to find a better fit.
The next question you would ask yourself, what changes would you make if you were promoted to that position tomorrow. This helps you not only understand your personal priorities in a job, but also helps you evaluate your strengths.
At one of my first jobs, I asked myself this very question. As a consultant, you can be exposed to all levels of leadership during projects. I was constantly impressed by the leadership and work ethic of the people at higher levels. The speed and efficiency in which they were able to come up with brilliant solutions to our client’s problems from experience and pure intellect was inspiring. Learning from people that are passionate and great at what they do can help you to understand aspects you need to work on as well.
There will always be certain aspects of a job you will not enjoy, but if you like the opportunities and the work those are good places to start. Continuously challenge yourself at work to grow, so one day when the people report to you they will want to follow in your footsteps.
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