Long-term career planning is like managing investments

It is interesting to observe how certain areas of life lend themselves to repeated errors in judgment on the part of the smartest people. Investing in the capital markets is one such example where all proven principles are disregarded by the savviest of investors in favour of irrational sentiment. The few who manage to stay rational and remember the elementary lessons emerge winners in the long term.

Managing a career for the long term is similar in that proven wisdom is often ignored.

The reasons are not hard to understand:

It is not easy to go against a popular view, however, unfounded and stupid that view might be, especially if it is being peddled by “experts.”

A long-term, correct approach calls for patience as results are not discernable in the short term; most often results are actually negative in the short term.

In this article I attempt to identify some principles that I believe will be helpful in taking a more long-term view of a career.

Self-awareness is the starting point

No career planning is possible without a degree of self-awareness. It is not unusual to see young people, early in their career, underestimate the importance of self-awareness only to discover its value a decade or two later into their careers.

When I first heard the term “burnout,” I tried to understand what causes it. I gradually discovered that burnout is really the result of two things:

Doing something that you do not enjoy, day in and day out

Doing something that you are not good at, day in and day out

Even one of these two factors can cause burnout in the medium term; the combined effect then, is lethal.

Certain roles call for implementing unpopular decisions and resolving conflict constantly, while others may call for pursuing million-dollar enterprise deals. Some individuals are inherently adept at performing either of these two roles, but others would simply not enjoy either in the long run, even if they are able to handle such situations successfully once in a while.

The question then arises as to why people aspire to roles that do not play to their strengths. Usually, it is the power and prestige associated with some of these roles. There are many roles that are rewarding, especially if they play to our strengths, but our criteria are often defined too narrowly by what others perceive as rewarding or successful.

Invariably, in the long term, one recognises the futility and short-sightedness of this approach, but it is often too late.

Continuous learning is at the core

Everyone who views a career as a marathon would appreciate the importance of continuous learning. In fact, when you interview such a person, he/she can very neatly summarise the learning gleaned in each of his/her previous roles, however small and insignificant the learning may appear to others.

For example, in one role, this person may have understood the prudence of consultation before implementing a policy; in another role, he/she may have distinguished a key soft skill in managing a globally distributed team; and in a different role, mastered the art of story-telling.

It is important to recognise, therefore, not only that no learning is too small, but also that while in the quest for the big strategic lesson, we often miss out on the small lessons that really matter and give meaning to our careers and lives. It is, thus, not surprising that “learning” is more of an attitude and less of a capability.

Stability has value

Stability, or the lack of it, is one of the most visible indicators of how a person views a career. But what is stability? What constitutes a good tenure in a role or in a firm? And, most importantly, why is stability important?

The analogy of making an investment will again assist us here. Stability in this scenario would be reflected in a person's being willing to take the right bets based on certain principles and wait it out for the time required for such principles to play out and show results. A stable investor is also one who can recognise an error in judgment and can take decisive actions that minimise losses.

Similarly, an individual who takes a long-term view of a career is able to measure a role against more “fundamental principles” and recognise the timeframe for measuring results.

Consider the following questions. If the answer to one or more of them is “yes,” the principle against which you are evaluating a role can be considered a “fundamental” one:

Will this role help me learn new things, build new skills, or develop new competencies?

Does this role play to my strengths?

Can I leverage my strengths in this role to attempt something that can give me great satisfaction?

Does this role help me fill a strategic gap in my repertoire of skills that, if fulfilled, can put my career on a different trajectory?

… and finally, character building is a critical component in the long run

As we progress in our careers, we are often faced with the temptation to do things that we would otherwise not do if we knew that others would find out. Most of us take chances assuming that others would not find out. I believe, however, that such temptations do not necessarily test our moral uprightness or lack of it, but that it is about being aware that eventually a transgression does not pay. It is about realising that character is tangible, and that it is valued in the marketplace — valued more than any skill or capability at a senior level. Therefore, the more you progress in your career, the more it pays to be upright and honest.

In summary, managing a career with a long-term goal in mind is less about the specific principles behind the process in that a different person could come up with a different set of principles that may be more appealing. Managing a career for the long term, then, is about internalising any set of meaningful principles and living by them.

(The writer is Managing Director and Global Head of Human Resources at Amba Research.)

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