CLIMBING THE CORPORATE JUNGLE GYM

We have received a number of emails congratulating us on leaning in with the launch of Aherne Executive Search. While I have been leaning in throughout my entire life, these congratulatory notes did encourage me to read Sheryl Sandberg’s LEAN IN to appreciate the sentiments first-hand. The most relevant takeaway was how Sheryl confidently veered off a traditional career path. Sheryl aptly describes her career as a jungle gym scramble.

In recruiting, I often encourage candidates not to focus on conventional titles and compensation plans, but instead, to assess each opportunity based on how they might grow, stretch and ultimately impact the business. In some cases, this means moving sideways, not up.

In today’s workplace, where convergence of commerce and technology are king and performance, and speed is revered, broad-skills, along with insatiable curiosity and drive are mission-critical. Executives who focus on rites of passage promotions with singular skills will be left behind while those willing to take risks will be rewarded.

It’s from this vantage point that I ask you to craft your career. Have an open mind and assess opportunities based on high-growth and impact. Sheryl Sandberg received this prescient career advice from Eric Schmidt, now Executive Chairman of Google and former CEO, and I wholeheartedly embrace it: If you are offered a seat on a rocket ship, you don’t ask what seat. You get on.