We have often times had opportunities in our careers when the "opportunity" was not in our area of expertise. But, in order to advance in our careers, we accepted the offer or took a role that might not have been the best fit. Been there, done that! But, we can't let the fact that this may not be the role of our dreams, hinder us from doing our best, being our best and excelling in that role.
I had so many employees, that I coached as an HR professional, that were not in their "dream job" and were ready to give up and throw in the towel. My advice was to make the best of that opportunity in order to get to the next opportunity. If they were not excelling in that role, they would not get the opportunity to get to a better role and could even end up with performance issues. My advice follows the advice of Mascelia Miranda, who is one of the 14 Remarkable Women in the book, Mentoring Moments: 14 Remarkable Women Share Breakthroughs to Success. She provides an amazing account of advice that she received early in her career to "Grow Where You are Planted". This is such awesome advice since we don't just want to stand still where were are planted, it is critical to grow and if you are growing, you have the ability to excel and benefit from that growth.
Here is an excerpt of Mascelia's chapter:
*************
Grow Where You Are Planted
by Mascelia Miranda
Excerpt from "Mentoring Moments: 14 Remarkable Women Share Breakthroughs to Success"
I was able to grow where I was planted!
I discovered early on that learning does not end with a college degree. High learning agility is a critical success factor. I attempted to quickly learn as much as I could in all the roles in which I worked. I sought out mentors who were willing work with me and who would get to know and understand me. I built strong relationships and networks that were rich and fertile. At least 20 percent of learning should come from mentors (those who enable strategic objectives) and coaches (those who help with specific skills or tasks).
Experience should be the best teacher. Seventy percent of learning should come from experience. Employers may not be able to offer experiences or pay to develop skills for future success. I did not expect my employer to help me change career tracks. My career was mine alone, so I stepped outside the organization to gain initial knowledge and skills. In addition to the part-time job, I leveraged professional organizations and nonprofit boards for professional growth.
**************
To read the entire chapter of "Grow Where You Are Planted" by Mascelia Miranda, you can purchase the book, Mentoring Moments: 14 Remarkable Women Share Breakthroughs to Success from our website: www.EnhancedDNAPublishing.com/mentoringmoments. For more books published by EnhancedDNAPublishing, visit the store: www.EnhancedDNAPublishing.com/shop.