Propel Your Career Forward by Looking for ‘Extra Headroom’

Career advice from disruptive innovators, entrepreneurs and thought leaders.

By Laura Deck, guest blogger

Wait. I know what you’re thinking. You’ve heard all the salient career advice and most of it just rehashes what has been offered before. A recent Google search for “career development advice” yielded 38,700,000 hits, so there is no shortage of wisdom out there. One way to get it would be to pore through all the online expertise, assuming you had the stamina. Another way is to meet some experts face-to-face and listen.

A few weeks ago I did just that. The Automattic Lounge at WordPress in San Francisco was the site of a lively event hosted by the Indiana University Alumni Association. The program featured a panel of disruptive innovators, entrepreneurs and thought leaders who shared their career advice with the crowd.

After a welcome by Indiana Lieutenant Governor Sue Ellspermann, moderator Caroline Dowd-Higgins, Director of IUAA Career and Professional Development, introduced the panelists:

• Tony Conrad – founder, about.me and partner, True Ventures
• Valerie Grubb – head of Val Grubb & Associates; former senior executive at Oxygen Media and NBC Universal
• David Krane – general partner, Google Ventures
• Deborah Collins Stephens – executive in residence at IUAA; executive coach; author

The panelists agreed that the new normal of our economy requires constant reinvention and rule breaking to stay on top of the game and find that “extra headroom.” They offered the following advice to help you get there.

An entrepreneurial mindset is critical whether you are an entrepreneur or not.

Most business problems are ill-structured and require creative approaches to solve them. It’s critical to apply interdisciplinary expertise to all problems; for example, don’t just assign engineers to solve engineering problems. Innovation starts from looking for extra headroom in existing technologies and asking how to make them better (See: nest and uber). Don’t assume all the work has been done; there are always more opportunities. Sometimes innovations are simple, like two recent Indiegogo campaigns for bike helmets with built-in LED lights and self-locking bicycles.

Keep your career relevant by identifying and addressing your blind spots.

Surround yourself with a personal Board of Directors who can tactfully point out your blind spots, whether they are technical knowledge, interpersonal skills, or a less-than-professional image. Add a dose of honesty and periodic self-reflection to proactively identify any deficiencies in your brand. One panelist believes that everyone should learn to code because every aspect of society is impacted by technology, and you can’t escape it.

Don’t walk the tightrope without a safety net.

Failure and mistakes happen for many reasons – you lose sight of priorities, you ignore your “gut,” you scale too fast or not fast enough, you misread people, and many more. You can’t always prevent awful things from happening, but surrounding yourself with people who will catch you when you fall is a good insurance policy.

Control your career destiny through storytelling.

Everyone has an inspiring story about their uniqueness that they take pride in. Hiring managers want to hear the context of your story beyond your highlight reel of accomplishments. Be prepared to explain the how and why behind what makes you special.

The DNA of your team determines its outcome.

In Silicon Valley, it’s about authorship – what are you and your team creating? Surround yourself with people who are good listeners, can see around corners, show interest in others’ ideas, and are not afraid to fail. Adopt this authorship mindset no matter where your career path takes you.

Whether you want to start a business, transition to a new career, or invent the next big thing, first try looking for “extra headroom” in the opportunities around you. Objects in mirror may be closer than they appear.

Watch the video of this power career wisdom panel for free by registering via this link.

Laura Deck is a freelance writer, editor and program manager living in the San Francisco Bay Area.