How to Get Ahead Without Ruining Your Summer Plans
Why work that feels easy to you is usually your competitive edge according to HBR, Psychology Today, Fast Company, and more.
Welcome to Reframed by Ashley Rudolph. One idea, every week, that changes how you see your career.
Last week, I shared 4 links that made me feel smarter. I’m still thinking about two of the articles on my list: the one about Lizzo’s career and the other about Luddism making a comeback?!
I’m sure you’ve noticed that I’m intentionally leaning into lighter content this summer; things that you can read on the go. Enjoy it, friends!
You’ll see a greater ROI from taking a strength from a 9 to a 10 than dragging a weakness from a 3 to a 4.
I love the summer. Maybe a little too much, which is why you’re receiving this a little later today :)
My favorite career hack was realizing that you could take the longer lunch, protect your Summer Fridays, ease into your week, and maximize your PTO while still advancing. As long as that lighter energy goes towards the things you do best.
Hear me out.
What moves your career forward fastest is becoming so good at one or two things that your name is the first one people think of. It’s the philosophy behind tools like CliftonStrengths. Gallup’s research backs me up too: the strongest teams don’t obsess over fixing every weakness, they find a way to maximize what people are already great at.
LINKS
How to Get Ahead and Still Enjoy Your Summer
Here’s a few of my favorite reads on leveraging your strengths, including one of my own newsletters :) Save them, read them, share them. Come Fall, you'll be glad you did.
1. The case for getting ahead by doing work that feels too easy (Reframed)
Earlier this year, I made the case that doing things that feel easy to you is the quickest way to differentiate yourself and end up on the fast track for a promotion at work. It’s counterintuitive, but it’s a POV that keeps paying dividends for my clients (and even myself!). I may be biased, but you should bookmark this one.
2. Should you develop your strengths or your weaknesses? (HBR)
While my POV on doubling down on your strengths is aligned with HBR, they make a fresh point that I didn't cover. There are weaknesses you should address, the ones actually standing in the way of your growth. They call them derailers. Some common ones I've seen trip up high achievers:
Rigidity (too fixed in a system or way of working, leadership requires flexibility)
Perfectionism (holding the work to a bar so high that nothing ships and no one else is trusted to own it)
Conflict avoidance (choosing to be liked over being clear or direct, especially in moments when hard conversations are called for)
Defensiveness (treating feedback as something to defend themselves against instead of information to use)
Going it alone (mistaking heroic solo output for leadership, when the job requires getting results through other people)
My takeaway? Focus on your strengths and manage your derailers.
3. People who focus on strengths live happier lives (Psychology Today)
Just in case you needed a quick, science-backed case for why a strengths-first approach isn’t just pleasant advice, it has a real impact on your mood, mental health, and your performance. People who focus on their strengths advance faster at work, lead happier lives, and are more confident. How’s that for evidence? 😉
4. Why it’s easy to overlook your strengths and what to do about it (Fast Company)
In this article, the authors highlight how many successful people fail to recognize the very traits that others deeply appreciate. That’s the sneaky thing about our greatest strengths—they’re sometimes invisible to us. They feel like nothing special (which isn’t true!). This piece gets into why this happens and how to identify your greatest assets because as the article correctly points out, you can’t act on strengths you don’t recognize.
5. Solange: The brilliant ever-evolving icon (Gentlewoman Magazine)
I’m inspired by big thinkers, people who think expansively about themselves and their talents. Solange is the model for living in your strengths, so she’s my newsletter muse this week. She’s built a career entirely on her own frequency. I have a copy of this issue on my desk and I thumb through it when I need an extra boost.
At a certain point in your career, you’re being paid for the years it took to develop the skills and judgment that you have. Understanding how to maximize those things is not cheating. It’s the unlock behind your next up-level. Cheers to the summer and to plotting your next big move.
Good luck! See you next week.
Ashley
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Last month we talked about burnout and how to set the right boundaries at work. It always amazes me how putting smart people in a room gets us from stuck and wondering what the right next step is, to having a fully baked action plan in less than an hour.