ILTA10 Session on Power of One

The session was right after lunch, and was sparsely attended, to say the least, but I think it went pretty well. At least a couple of folks seemed to get something out of it, so there’s that.

I wanted to share a little bit of the idea for my section of the discussion. I drew inspiration from the quote “I’m a name, not a number” that was in the description, choosing to focus on the individual, instead of the overall organizational culture, because I firmly believe that it doesn’t really matter what your organization does, you owe it to yourself to grow your career. So, I answered the “I’m a name, not a number”, complaint with a simple statement. “So act like it.” Learn how to build relationships and trust, learn how to effectively communicate, and continually educate yourself on your business, clients, and the industry as a whole.

In this economy, you either prove you bring value to the organization, or you risk being replaced. It’s that simple. If you continue to grow, learn new skills, and bring new ideas to the table, you’re going to appear much more valuable than the folks we have to ask what they do around here. My one line takeaway from the session was this:

Your Career = Your Responsibility.

Don’t wait for the firm to decide what skills you need, that will always be reactionary, and based on their needs. Go out, connect with others in your field, and see the skills that will serve you well in the future. Take the initiative to grow, that is a skill that will serve you well in and of itself.

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