More than a job title
Written by Dave Seddon on
A couple of weeks ago I posted a piece entitled Live Your Dream in which I wrote “self-reflection and self-knowledge are the two most valuable gifts you can give yourself – if you don’t know what you’re looking for, how can you expect to find it?” Like any other type of journey, those of self-discovery have a departure point and a destination. Mostly we focus on the destination because, well, we all know where we’re starting out from – don’t we?
There’s something I’ve started to notice in my conversations with clients and it’s one of those things that, once you’re aware of it, you see it everywhere. People tend to describe themselves in terms of their job title, more than anything else. I’d go so far as to say it’s ingrained in our society. When you meet someone for the first time, say at a party, the most commonly asked question is “And what do you do?” In response, we rarely tell them about our hobbies and interests, instead we’ll say, “I’m in sales” or “I’m a nurse” or “I’m a librarian.” It’s odd because there is so much more to us than that.
Every one of us is unique. Our combination of strengths and weaknesses is personal to us, as is our set of experiences. Our passions, dreams, and values are singular. All these things are the building blocks of our individual identity and differentiate us from everyone else, even if we do the same job. The biggest problem with describing yourself by your job title is it robs you of this inherent richness because job titles are generic and reductive.
Think about yourself as a product – a can of baked beans, for example. Do you want to be a generic can of beans, indistinguishable from the other cans around you, ultimately selected either on price, or worse at random? Or do you want to be something a little bit different, something that catches the eye and the imagination? Something that’s worth paying that little bit more for because the buyer knows they’re getting a premium product. I’m assuming none of you voted to be the generic can of beans, so why describe yourself in generic terms like IT Director or Sales Manager?
Start thinking about yourself holistically. You are greater than the sum of your parts, so start describing yourself in terms of the value you deliver, the outcomes you achieve, your strengths and the culture you create around you. Premium products invariably have a narrative that entices the buyer and convinces them why they should choose this one and not that one – and why this one is worth paying a little bit more for. A generic product has no narrative and invites the buyer to apply his or her preconceptions of value to it. If you choose to be a generic product, you’re allowing someone else to write your narrative for you and nine times out of ten, it’ll sell you short.
I think one of the reasons people fall into the generic product trap is because they want to appeal to as wide a range of people as possible. I think that’s a mistake. To my mind, a better strategy is to clearly understand who and what you are, then work out where you can deliver the greatest value.
First understand your niche. Understand the value you deliver and the skills and experience that make that possible, the things you love and bring you alive in a role and also the things that drain you Understand your values and hence the kind of culture in which you’ll be able to do your best work and which you create around you. Build up a clear picture of what makes you uniquely you and sets you apart from everyone else with the same generic label. Don’t be scared of being niche. Niche is just another way of saying less competition and a clearly articulated value proposition.
Understanding yourself is only half the task though. The other part of the equation is understanding what a prospective employer or client is looking for. Like people, jobs are unique, despite sharing a generic description. Do your research. Take the time to the need the person who’s advertising for the role is trying to fulfil. What challenges they’re trying to address? What goals are they trying to achieve? What risks are they trying to manage? Most hiring managers will be worrying about two things – can you do the job, and will you fit into their team/culture? Think about how you can reassure them on both points.
When you achieve this shift in mindset, you might find something counter-intuitive happens. As well as understanding your niche better, you might discover your skills and experience can be applied to other niches and roles in different situations or industries. When you stop thinking of yourself as a programme manager and instead think of yourself as someone who is adept at building efficient and effective teams, managing board-level stakeholders, and orchestrating complex, dynamic streams of activity under stressful, time-critical conditions, you might find a new range of reinvention opportunities present themselves.
Think about what makes you remarkable. Understand your value – because if you don’t, how can you expect anyone else to?
At changemaker, we help companies and individuals manage change. For individuals, we provide both expertise, guidance and – sometimes most important – a sounding board. We’ll challenge you and support you through with tools and experience gained through years of developing people.