Just own it - Success or failure is on you.

Suck it up buttercup, your career success or failure rests entirely in your hands

I know you’ve probably heard that said a million times, in a million different ways, but it is true. You and only you are responsible for how much progress you make along the path of career development. You are the architect of your career success or failure. While many factors can contribute to making the journey harder or easier, ultimately, what matters is what you do and where you end up.

I’m a straight, white, middle aged male (you’re shocked I know) so career success has been easier for me than most of the population. Correct, that’s statistically true. Privilege is real. The senior female and minority leaders I’ve worked with have got there because they chose to fight the odds. They often needed to be better than peers to progress, they owned that and found a way. I don’t condone discrimination, I do recognize it’s real and as a leader you rail against it. As a person you can’t become victim to it. 

Oh, I also have a learning disability, a neurological condition and am an immigrant to my home country. I also had a few challenges to overcome in my career.

My advice remains. Focus on the positive, what you can control and lose the victim mentality – work twice as hard and find a way. Take ownership and you’re already a few steps ahead.   

Internalize this concept, say it to yourself over and over, put it on a sticky note, do whatever it takes to help you remember this. Because if you do remember this, then you are on your way to a successful career. You would have no problem actually making the required changes that would need to make to achieve success.

‘Just own it!’

How do you know if you’re not owning it? Simple - anytime you are faced with a question about your professional life, is your response always about you or someone/something else?

If your response when asked why you didn’t you get a promotion is “I didn’t get it because of < name >… then you aren’t owning it.

Blaming others, or circumstances feels good. It removes blame and accountability. It also kills careers. Let me explain my view on this.

If you notice that you are progressively giving excuses, citing other people and situations as reasons for any form of challenge or professional failure, then you need to change how you think and talk. The responsibility you take for your professional life, the more options and avenues for improvement you begin to see. Learn to answer to yourself and to others “I didn’t get it because I…”.

Our minds are wired to solve problems. To work most effectively they need a problem to solve….this is where your mindset comes in. Once you take responsibility for your career development, your mind can then begin to work out how to solve any challenges or obstacles that may prove obstructions to your career development. If you don’t take ownership then your career is not an opportunity for you to solve.

A simple exercise is to write down your professional goals and challenges, and continually repeat to yourself till you are convinced that you have both the power and the responsibility to make the needed changes to your career path. Once you reach this stage, your mind is primed to begin to create ways and avenues to see your goals met and surpassed.

No matter what stage of your career, whether a college graduate, early career or a corporate leader, this attitude shift will help you to make the most out of your professional life.

So… just own it! It’s hard and doesn’t always feel good. But it’s the first and biggest step to a successful career.