There are lot’s of different hard and soft skills that will be important to develop as you build your career. But there are four meta-skills that are required and involved in any career. If you don’t develop these skills, you won’t be able to reach even your most basic goals.
Self-control
Doing great work over the long-term means controlling your actions in the short team. Saying no to the momentary urges and distractions so you can make progress on the big picture.
When you start your career you are likely to be distracted my all kinds of flashy objects and ideas. But the project of creating a career over the long-term happens by developing the self-control to work on something day after day for months or years.
Courage
Growth comes through courage. To have a great career, where you are growing and taking on bigger and better opportunities, you need to get comfortable working from a position of courage. It’s easy to do work when we are confident, but if you strive to always be confident, you won’t be growing.
Showing up and working on new things, developing your skills, sharing what you think with coworkers, and reaching for new opportunities requires you to get very comfortable with being courageous.
Judgement
The value you bring to a company will almost always depend on your judgement. When is it the right time for a potential solution. Who is the best person to ask about a problem. How can I create a solution to this challenge? If you can’t be trusted to make decisions, you are not worth hiring.
Integrity
Clarity about your values and a willingness to reject situations and requests when it clashes with your values. This will help you find your way to the right projects and the right teams. We often think of being spineless as a way to get ahead in a corporate world. But it’s not the way to get what you want out of a career.
To have a great career you must identify what matters most to you (personally and professionally) and align your actions with it. Sacrificing your beliefs to keep your job may help you not get fired in the short term, but it will kill your spirit and the things that make you valuable in the first place.
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