by Ami Kaplan | 9:30 AM March 15, 2011
When I graduated from business school and started my career with Touche Ross in 1982, I planned to stay just two years. Twenty-nine years later I’m still at the same company (it’s now called Deloitte) — because I’ve been able to create the career and life I wanted, even as what I wanted and how it could be achieved has changed over time.
People say how lucky I am to have “such a good life.” I agree, but it has less to do with luck than with a concerted effort to create a life that works for me. I’ve learned over time that life doesn’t just happen; it must be created, and I’m the architect in charge of designing it. Realizing that I am accountable for assuming career responsibilities commensurate with my life goals has been an epiphany for me.
In my 20s I was determined not to waste a minute; I headed straight up as fast as I could climb while also joining the ranks of motherhood. More than a few mornings I fell asleep in the shower. More than few late nights I rocked my newborn and two-year-old to sleep. To this day I recall reflecting on why I was leaving them in the morning. Yes, it was so I could provide a wonderful life for them — but it was also because I really loved my work.
In my 30s, a young partner now with four children at home, I continued navigating career-wise, but more slowly and strategically. My children’s lives were so full of fun and adventure that I didn’t want to miss a thing. So I chose positions that required less travel and demanded less of my time on weekends. I was no longer able to plan five years into the future as I had when I was younger, because my next move depended on the frequently changing needs of my family.
As I moved into my 40s the complexity continued and the whole family played an active role in making my career and our life fit together.
This all was possible because I worked at a place that allowed me to move up, down, diagonally, and across. I haven’t been climbing the corporate ladder; I’ve been traversing what my colleague Cathy Benko has dubbed the “corporate lattice.” Lattice organizations provide options that align career aspirations and personal needs with corporate objectives and operational requirements. They deliver growth and development opportunities that increase people’s skills and enhance their value in the marketplace — a big win for both the organization and the individual.
The term may be new, but “lattice” is something that many of us have been living for quite some time: Through the rear-view mirror I can see that I’ve been partnering with my employer all along to create my own lattice. I’ll bet many of you are living the lattice too.
While we often think of a lattice career as one that evolves over the long-term, the truth is that I dial up and down depending on what is needed every day, and I’ve seen that this more short-term view is equally important for others. In the past I’ve counseled junior colleagues by asking them what they wanted to do with their careers. Often they truly didn’t know, and it’s hard to be an architect if you don’t know what you’re building. But I’ve realized that perhaps that’s the wrong question — or at least not the only one we should be asking.
When I ask instead, “What would a perfect day look like?” just about everyone can answer with vivid detail. This helps them see how they might take the next step to building their own lattice careers. Too often we think that we need to design the whole floor plan for our careers and lives before we start building — a daunting vision. Sometimes it’s far more realistic to build a solid foundation and then renovate our plans as we go.
So how about you? What does your perfect day look like? And will it look different five years from now?
Ami Kaplan is a Senior Partner at Deloitte, advising some of the firm’s largest global clients on business, risk management and other financial and organizational challenges. This is the fifth in a series of posts related to the book The Corporate Lattice: Achieving High Performance in the Changing World of Work (Harvard Business Review Press, 2010) by Molly Anderson and Cathy Benko. The previous posts are How the Corporate Ladder Became the Corporate Lattice, Moving From Top-Down to All-In, A To-Do List for the CEO of Your Career, and
The Productivity Payoff From the Corporate Lattice.
The Productivity Payoff From the Corporate Lattice.
AMI KAPLAN
Ami Kaplan is a Senior Partner at Deloitte, advising some of the firm's largest global clients on business, risk management and other financial and organizational challenges.
No comments:
Post a Comment