Whenever I think about my work, I’m often reminded of this Venn diagram that we talked a lot about during the fast-hiring days of Buffer:
The goal with every role is that it nestles into the intersection of all three circles. You end up working on something you’re good at, something you love, and something that Buffer needs.
It also makes for some interesting thought exercises:
- If you can’t have it all, then how do you prioritize the circles? e.g. Which circle matters most to you?
- Where is your current role within this Venn diagram? e.g., Are you doing work you’re good at but don’t love? Are you doing work that Buffer needs, but it’s not work that fits your best skills?
In my experience, being at the intersection of this diagram is uncommon, particularly with the rate of change in certain industries (startups & tech, for instance). So don’t worry if you feel slightly askew at the moment.
To be honest, I’ve traveled throughout this diagram every which way during my time at Buffer. There have been times I’ve done what I loved, times I’ve done what I’m good at, and times I’ve done what Buffer needs. A couple times the stars have aligned for me. More often, I’ve made tradeoffs.
I find this topic to be quite timely whenever I’m reflecting back on the past few months, and thinking about career growth.
What do I love doing? Do I get a chance to do it?
What am I good at doing? Is this a key part of my role today?
And then of course the third ingredient is what Buffer needs. There’s a chart in our career framework that shows some ideas of the areas that we’ve validated or that seem promising.
It’s mostly all still accurate (a couple bits could be open for interpretation). From a higher level, looking ahead to the next six months, I could see our team growing in this direction:
- 1–2 people working on content
- 1–2 people working on community
- 1–2 people working on future of work
- 3–6 people who are broad, T-shaped generalists
Of course, those are just the general roles themselves. There’s also the area-specific flavor within those roles, things like PR, social media, etc. We’ve validated those and will continue to invest in them.
I see a primary function of my role as manager to be supporting every teammate toward arriving at that perfect intersection of love, skill, and need. I want to see everyone get there, and I hold myself accountable to always making progress toward that goal.
Where do you see yourself in the Venn diagram? Which element of the diagram is highest priority for you at this stage? I’d love to hear what you think!
