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Coaches’ advice for a successful career – Part 1
I know a lot of people have cancelled their Netflix accounts, and in many ways understandably so, especially since last week a Texas grand jury indicted Netflix for the film Cuties. But despite this controversial film, Netflix has some great documentaries highlighting the good in this world. One of my favorites has been a perfect example of pursuing your passions in your career. It’s called Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey, and I highly recommend it! It’s very inspiring and encouraging.
But, in this post, I want to focus on the lessons and advice shared in another documentary series called, The Playbook: A Coach’s Rules for Life. In this series, several well-known sports coaches lay out five to six rules they’ve developed for their athletes, which can translate to success in your own life.
Below, I’ve selected the coaches’ rules that can also translate to your career, and bring you career success.
5 rules for success in your career
1. “Risk is opportunity.”
Jill Ellis – Coach for the US Women’s Soccer Team
A lot of people come to me feeling stuck in their careers. This is usually because they’re afraid to take a risk. Sometimes it’s fear of the risk of rejection when applying for something they’re not 100% qualified for. Or, it’s fear of the risk of failure when starting their own thing.
But more frequently, they have a fear of financial risk. This includes fear of losing a job offer when negotiating a higher salary, fear of rejection when asking for a well-deserved pay raise, or fear of spending money on career coaching without knowing what’s going to transpire from it.
Coach Ellis talks about the importance of passion over paycheck. If it’s not obvious from my web site, passion is something I specialize in helping my clients discover. But I also understand the importance of earning what you’re worth. Which is why I also help my clients earn back the money they spend with me, by teaching them their worth, and how to negotiate a higher salary or pay raise.
When you take calculated risks in your career, you discover more opportunities, like jobs you’d never previously considered, better benefits, or exciting entrepreneurial endeavors. Is it time to let a career coach help you calculate the risk?
2. “Never be afraid to get fired.”
Patrick Mouratoglou – Professional Tennis Coach to Serena Williams
This can be a tough one to apply, especially if you’re an over-achieving rule-follower. But some rules are made to be broken. What Coach Mouratoglou means is the same thing Coach Ellis means by “risk is opportunity”. He’s basically saying, “Don’t be afraid to take risks.”
These risks could include sharing your ideas on how to do things better in your job or company, even if they might get shot down.
Also, this piece of advice could refer to the need to have a back-up plan for your career if you suddenly find yourself out of a job. In fact, I talked about this in last week’s post, “What Happens When a Pandemic Disrupts Your Career?“
Having a back-up plan for your career can reduce your fear of getting fired, and give you more confidence to take more calculated risks, resulting in more career success.
3. “Emotions are the worst advisors.”
Patrick Mouratoglou – Professional Tennis Coach to Serena Williams
Coach Mouratoglou hit the nail on the head with this one! Emotions cloud your judgement. This is why I always tell my clients to never make big career decisions when they’re emotional.
If you find yourself making a career decision based on fear, anger, sadness, or too-good-to-be-true happiness, it’s best to at least sleep on it and make a decision once your feelings have subsided.
4. “Mistakes are inevitable, but don’t let them define you.”
Patrick Mouratoglou – Professional Tennis Coach to Serena Williams
Many of my clients who are on the fence about starting their own business are so worried they’ll make mistakes or experience failures. You may have similar concerns about your career, especially if you’re also thinking of starting your own business.
Let me go ahead and tell you, you will make mistakes and you will have failures. This is inevitable. And the same is true even if you continue working for someone else.
But you don’t have to let your mistakes or failures define you. Instead, learn from them and keep moving forward.
5. “Keep moving forward.”
Doc Rivers – NBA Head Coach (Boston Celtics and LA Clippers)
You’re going to experience obstacles and set-backs in your career. But, according to Doc Rivers, you must keep moving forward.
Keep in mind though, “forward” doesn’t always mean “up.” When it comes to your career, it could mean moving “over” to a company whose culture is more in line with your values. Or it could even mean moving “down” to a job that pays a little less but provides more flexibility and better fulfills your purpose or passion.
Even if your resume gets rejected, you get ghosted following your interview, you get furloughed or laid off, keep moving forward in your career.
You can do this by strengthening your networking efforts, being more proactive in your career planning, and making your job search more focused. Career coaching can help you do all of these things more effectively and efficiently. And the investment will pay off in dividends. Click here to schedule a complimentary initial consultation.
Stay tuned for more coaches’ advice!
Check back next week for more coaches’ advice in Part 2. I’ll share five more rules for success in your career, including advice from professional soccer coach Jose Mourinho, and women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley.
paNASH was recently voted as one of the top coaches in Nashville by Expertise.com for the fourth year in a row!
