Ability and Confidence …

 

A discussion with a colleague turned into a soul searching session questioning our perspective towards our career and what makes us wonder if we should begin to disrupt the normal course of life and bring about a change.

 

We were just discussing randomly about my impending change (change of company, that is) when we started talking about the motives of change. Incidentally, in either of our cases, Money was not the driving force. We hadn't taken the leap because we were offered a bomb of a salary package. In fact, in his case, he was being offered a bomb to stay back. He was offered several privileges too. But he still decided to move on from his company (which is the biggest brand in its category, the largest player in that field)

 

We both moved because we wanted to disrupt the status quo. We were both in good jobs, good companies, having a pretty decent pay package, well respected in our area of work and considered the best in the company for the particular role/profile. BUT … we needed a change.

 

After doing the thing which excited us most … for several years ... Even THAT excitement had turned to becoming monotonous. It was time, we felt, to bring in something else. The risk of disrupting a stable life was there but the strive within for a change made us take the 'leap'. Something else also did ….

 

My friend put the question to me … "What is that is most important for us to sustain our Career?  Is it association to a big and stable Brand / Company … OR is it your skill set?"

 

Performance is a given here. Unless you perform, you will be unceremoniously shown the exit.

 

A big and stable brand can ensure that you have a job for long and you would be continuously recognized and rewarded. But then, even the biggest of brands can fall prey to recession and lay off people by the thousands. Dependency in this case is on the company.  

 

A strong skill set can keep you afloat irrespective of your company. Whether the company stays or shuts down; your skill set will keep you employable. Dependency in this case is on your own skill set and not the company so this is probably a better situation. BUT what if your skill set goes out of fashion; or it becomes redundant or out-dated. Technology is moving ahead at a pace we can't really keep pace with.

 

Keeping these in mind, I came up with the thought that the only things needed for a person to survive in the career and even life in general is ABILITY and CONFIDENCE.

 

The ability to learn a new skill set / new capability / embrace change ... and the self-confidence to go ahead and take the bold step

 

Any person with these two will tide over any circumstances.
 
.... This also reminds me of something which was one of the first things I learnt from Mr. Muralidharan Jayaram (my boss at Satyam) .... The 2 keys of Professional Life are 2 C's ... Competence and Credibility. Create your Credibility in the minds of your stakeholders / people around you and prove your competence.
 
 

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