Hey you! Yeah, you. I saw you looking. You’re thinking about applying for that Strategy job at Nomadic, aren’t you? That’s cool. Does the job description excite you? Do you meet most of the qualifications? Yes? Great.
There’re a few things that job post doesn’t tell you, though. Important things you probably ought to consider before you apply. Things about me.
Let me introduce myself… I’m Dawn. I lead the Nomadic Strategy team. Before joining Nomadic, I spent the best part of a dozen years in Integrated Marketing at Kimberly-Clark.
While that job description tells you about the responsibilities of the position and the preferred qualifications, it only hints at the kind of intrinsic behaviors I expect from members of my team. Let me elaborate. Being qualified for the position is important because I’ll expect you to be able to perform the duties assigned to you. Equally important, at least to me, is the way you conduct yourself.
More specifically, here are 10 things I expect (that aren’t included in that job description) (oh, and no, they’re not in priority order):
Ask questions. Read. Think expansively. Think critically. This is your chosen profession. The learning never stops. Commit yourself to learning and growing every day.
We hired you because we believe you will bring value to our organization and to our clients. I want to hear what you think. I want to hear why you think what you think. The best strategies, the best ideas are created when a diverse group of thoughtful individuals challenge each other to be better.
Diversity makes us stronger. Appreciate diverse teams, diverse thoughts, diverse experiences, diverse backgrounds. Take advantage of diversity to broaden your perspective and your thinking. Ask the youngest person for their opinion. Ask the person least like you for theirs. Seek out and actively listen to diverse points of view.
Hit the ground running.Embrace assignments you know you can handle. Embrace assignments that challenge you. I want you to grow and develop. At the end of the year, I want you to be able to look at the body of work you produced, the varied contributions you made, and think, “Wow! I did that.”
Each day we make decisions. All of our decisions have consequences. Sometimes those consequences are positive. Sometimes they’re negative. Own your actions. Own your decisions. And own the consequences. Share the praise. Recover quickly from mistakes – we all make ‘em. I don’t expect flawless anything. I do expect you to understand and be able to explain what happened – what you did – and what you will or won’t do in the future to prevent a recurrence. If you’ve wronged someone, I also expect you to say “I’m sorry.”
We’re all human. We have joys and sorrows and burdens that we carry from our personal lives into our professional lives. So if someone upsets you, before you get too upset, give them the benefit of the doubt. Talk to them. Keep an open mind. Be compassionate. Use the experience as a chance to forge a stronger connection, a deeper understanding and a better relationship. After all, I firmly believe relationships are the backbone of success.
This one is admittedly tricky. But, here it goes. I expect you to take a broad purview of your responsibilities. And, at the same time, I expect you to understand what is and isn’t in your scope of control. Similarly, I expect you to be honest about what you do and don’t know. And to understand that these factors will influence your influence.
We’re all learning and growing every day. Help others be better. Offer feedback openly, genuinely and non-threateningly. Ask others how you can be better. And if someone cares enough to give you constructive feedback, hear it. Consider it. Value it.
You are responsible for your career. You are responsible for your growth. You are responsible for your success. I expect you to communicate your aspirations, your strengths and your growth opportunities. Open, transparent, two-way conversations will give us, that’s you and me, the upper hand in meeting both the needs of the business and your professional goals.
If you walk away remembering only one of these expectations, let it be this one. Operate each and every day, in each and every encounter with integrity.
