Your career is a staircase. But not in the way you think.

Most people associate growth, progress, and success with forward or upward movement. The vertical trajectory is a constant reminder to develop and master a lucrative skillset and to generate external interest or overcome external competition. A staircase takes people up, forward, and to a new destination. Sure, the analogy sounds nice – eventually you end up at the top of countless steps, or at the tail end of countless memories. A career well served. A life well lived. But what if you are on the wrong staircase?

Most of my experience as a career advisor is with young professionals just starting their professional journey. As conversations and questions have taken twists and turns, I have learned to appreciate that career changes happen all the time, for people of all ages and areas of expertise.

As people navigate questions about what they want to do, who they want to be, and where they want to go, other thoughts about being too young or old and/or too inexperienced or wrongly experienced creep in. If you find yourself on the wrong staircase, just turn around. Walk down. When you get to the bottom, hopefully you are in the right building and there is another staircase waiting for you. If not, walk outside and hopefully you are on the right block, street, or in the right town for finding your next staircase. Get it?

The exploration never ends. Sometimes our staircases are on the other side of the world. If we get too caught up or comfortable in our current building, we risk missing out on other great opportunities.

Our circumstances are always unique. Human beings are rarely satisfied, and if they are, it’s temporary. We are born to wonder and to think about what’s next. Commit to this lifelong process of exploration and you will be successful.

“The Future Belongs to Generalists”

I have been reading up on self-improvement a lot lately. I have become fascinated by the varied approaches for tackling similar concepts. Some authors come from a background psychology, others athletics, and there are even people with zero experience who throw their two cents into the conversation. I find all perspectives to be valuable while I am learning.

Here are a few recommendations if you don’t know where to start! I just started Daniel Goleman’s Focus, and just finished two podcasts, How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie and The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Personality Development Tools by Stephen R. Covey.

These authors and a majority of others are well-read, and often considered experts in fields like medicine, psychology, sales, finance, and so on. History has proven that becoming an expert, one that outperforms its competitors, leads to success, or what Ron Adner would call Winning the Right Game, in an ever-changing competitive professional landscape. Will the next 50 years really belong to people who become slightly above average in multiple areas of expertise?

In my search for another podcast or audiobook, I stumbled upon a recently updated article from CNBC titled, Harvard Lecturer: ‘No specific skill will get you ahead in the future‘ – but ‘this way of thinking will’.

From CNBC, “To begin, it’s important to zoom out and pay more attention to the context in which you’re making decisions. Read the whole paper, not just the section about your industry. Is your primary focus oil and gas? Study the dynamics affecting the retail sector. Are you a finance professional? Why not read a book on marketing? Think bigger and wider than you’ve traditionally done.”

Initially I thought, “Yeah but I want to watch the best baseball players on TV. I want to read the best writing by the best authors. I only want the best surgeon to perform my surgery. Specialization matters a lot.” After thinking about it more, why can’t we have both?

Let’s avoid the overused answer of “it depends.” For example, when the article stated that “the future belongs to generalists,” many would say that “it depends” on the profession. Unfortunately, it typically does. Specialized professionals exist for a reason. They tend to operate in environments that require the highest levels of understanding and performance. However, as technology changes rapidly and enables instantaneous, worldwide communication, I think there is something to be said for becoming a generalist. It doesn’t only apply to your career either.

In my article, Writing a Resume, I discuss the development of transferable skills. Some examples include public speaking, sales, data analysis, teamwork, problem solving, leadership, and computer skills. Generalists, at times, experience benefits associated with being able to adapt to several job responsibilities or industries through common transferable skills that mesh well with multiple settings. These skills also apply to being in a relationship, organizing our personal finances, and prioritizing time spent on our health.

As we consider this access to limitless information, we should think about its application to other parts of our lives, not only our career. Yes, we work for a living. We are also supposed to exercise regularly, eat a healthy diet, plan time for fun, interact with people, and take care of a range of other responsibilities we acquire in our commitments. In a lot of ways, people are generalists no matter what. There are just too many parts of life to work hard in, enjoy, and explore.

Consider doctor’s for example. Most people see them, and a lot of people know one personally. Doctors are known to make between $150,000 and $500,000+ depending on their specialization but it’s also typical for them to handle their money very poorly. See Dr. Jimmy Turner’s article for more.

There is no longer an excuse for doctors to mismanage their money, for writers to ignore math, or men and women to succumb to traditional societal norms. People with less active professions/interests should pursue fitness and the outdoors. People in physically demanding jobs/overly active hobbies could benefit from a book, article, or video as a way to slow down from time to time. There are always exceptions in these considerations, but the most important thing is off-setting our norms to incorporate a well-rounded lifestyle. People have the option to learn just about anything if they make time for it, and it may be the best way to prepare for the future.

From CNBC, “The one certainty about the future is that it will be uncertain. The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence and technological innovation have commoditized information. The skill of generating dots is losing value. The key skill of the future is, well, not quite a skill; it’s an approach, a philosophy, and way of thinking — and it’s critical you adopt it as soon as you’re able.”

No matter what staircase you are on, or think you are on, your career is comprised of everything you know and all of the actions you take. To perform at any job you need to pursue the best health possible. Some things are unpredictable and out of your control, but staying informed, learning more, and building yourself up financially, mentally, and physically is the best way for finding and climbing your staircase. It is not always about making it to the next step.