Rite of Passage

“When the light finds you kid, Glow!”
—Director’s charge to a young actress

Can a Career turn on a single moment in the spotlight?  A single presentation?  Is it that simple?

Well, yes.  And five year’s preparation…

The subject: “How to get ahead; How to get noticed; How to get Your Career Shot on Center Stage.”

In our experience, three central themes emerge:

Endless Preparation: Depth of Knowledge
When the opportunity presents itself, you should not be short on the details.  You must know your stuff.  This is where the “shiny people” often break down for lack of knowledge or preparation.  But you are special; you’ve got the details down cold.  Now, if it’s only about facts, you might fade.  But if you have the numbers, and what they mean and what they imply…  Now you’ve got the goods.

Excellent Communication Skills: Command Presence
There’s a moment when the side conversations take a pause and the Chairman looks in your direction and says, “OK Shelley, you’re up!”

“The light finds you…” It’s the moment when you can own center stage.  You have the opportunity right now to reveal yourself as a leader.  You look people in the eye and say, “This is the right choice, let’s do it!  Come with me.”  Command Presence.  So, you’ve got the goods, but you also make the point.

Motivation: Soul
Now they weigh the intangibles…  What’s the risk/reward equation?  Can they gamble on you?  Have you got the courage, strength, span of attention and solidity of character to pull this off?  It’s all about what’s behind the handshake, the sustained glance, indications of strength.  Soul…  You’ve got the goods; you can make the point and will stand by it!

It’s over.  The moment fades…  But they can’t discuss this at the table with you in the room…  They excuse you and the other presenters.

Now, they go down the hall for coffee, stretch their legs, and come back to talk it out. Everyone takes some time to reach their conclusions — about the work of course — but also about you.

“She’s right you know… and she sure nailed that presentation, Yes?!”

“Home Run! I’ll bet she was up all night.”

“I’m thinking we should get her out of the minors and bring her up to the show.”

“Yeah, she was great, but she’s awful young, I don’t know…”

“Hey, we gave her a shot and she tattooed it right out of the park.  People die for this kind of opportunity; let’s see what she can do.”

And that’s the conversation over coffee.  That’s how a career can turn on a moment — and five years of preparation.

Reality.  A career seems endless as you’re living it, but as you look back, you can pick out key moments — win or lose — where those same three components were either all there — or not quite.

So, what’s a rising player to do?  Can one “create an opportunity?”

We think so.  Here’s how:

• Study your field — endlessly on top of the details — become the “go to” person in the office.
• Study the tools — what’s new; is it better than what we have now?
• Get a mentor!  Of course you need a mentor!  Can a single person manage their expertise, their career, their life, their relationships and their health without some outside coaching?  Really?  Get off your high horse and get some help!  Be able to phone the teacher/advisor in your pocket when you need something extra…  Yes, not everyone does this…  That may be the very point we are attempting to make…

It takes a lot of years.  When the light finds you, make sure you’re a star.

Applications

1. Individually
Come early, stay late, read everything.  Master the basic skills. Business Planning — but not just the numbers and predictions — also the soul of the enterprise — the dream of the bright future that makes planning worthwhile.  Learn the Industry! Find your elders — either inside the firm or out — and have them let you in on the lore of the industry.  Just ask.  And Listen.  Learn to Present!  At first, it may resemble a mere “craft”, but done well, it’s an Art, and it makes your wisdom accessible.

2. At Home
The Kids, the Spouse, the Family — won’t magically take care of themselves.  They require the same careful attention to detail and planning as a career. So teach the children the value of looking up and ahead to a dream.  Then teach them to work backwards to outline the steps required to reach it.  Teachers usually don’t have the time to be that wise — parents must do that.

Learn storytelling and take turns being the star.  Recognize that your career, your family and your life are all resonating to a story telling metaphor.  And remember, the magic in the marriage has to be tended and dutifully polished to stay bright and tarnish free.  Have you had fun lately?  Cast your mate as a star of a new story.

3. At Work
One can go years between moments in the spotlight.  So when a moment appears, make the most of it.  That means you have to be prepared, and you have to be looking for it — and there isn’t usually any warning.  So start now on the five year’s preparation!  Industry forums provide exposure and “Off-Broadway” experience before your Prime Time Shot.

The conversation over coffee should go like this: “Well, we asked for the moon, we gave her a shot and she nailed it!  She looks, sounds and behaves like someone with a future.  Let’s give her the Division!”

“When the light finds you kid, Glow!”

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