PB 03/05: The two things that matter in a career
If you want to know how you're doing - track your Impact and Trajectory.
A shift into talking more broadly about careers this week. It’s very relevant to Product Management, and that’s what I’ve had in mind, but it can really apply to any discipline.
Careers are often intricate and messy things, but there are really just two things that you need to track if you want to know how yours is going: Impact and Trajectory.
I’m going to go through each of them - and then using the little guide above to talk about the four zones. But before I do that, the TL;DR is this:
At some point in your career you need one or more sustained bursts of High Impact/ High Trajectory: where you’re both doing great work and getting rewarded for it.
When you’re not in that zone - you should either be a) working out how to get into it or b) being lucky enough to be reaping the rewards of it.
Impact
This is all about the results you’re delivering. Really these should be ‘outcomes’ not just ‘outputs’ - but these should be achievements that will ideally a) be a positive marker for you in your current role and b) look great on a CV/ be something you can talk about in a future interview.
A quick impact test - write down the three main things you have achieved (and that’s you as an individual, not you as a team) over the last 12 months at work. Read them back and ask three questions
Does this list make me feel good?
Can I use these things as proof that I should be given more responsibility and rewards at work?
Would someone outside my company be able to understand that these are good things and (if they know a bit about product management) impressive for someone at your level?
If you can answer yes to all three, then you’re in the high impact zone. If you can’t, or if you’re struggling to write a clear list of things you’ve actually achieved…I’m afraid you are in the low impact zone.
Trajectory
Now we’re thinking about the measurable progress you’re making in your career - getting promoted, working on more critical and complex initiatives, leading more people, and yes - getting better paid. Trajectory is harder to achieve than impact, because nine times out of 10 you’re dependent on someone else (normally a manager, or potentially a new employer) in order for you to achieve it.
So, four questions about trajectory
Is what you’re working on right now of more importance to the business than what you were working on at this time last year?
Over the last 12 months has your remit expanded to include a broader area of ownership (more products and/or people)?
Have you either had a promotion or are you actively talking with your manager in a constructive way about what you need to get promoted - and have a plan to get you on that track?
Is your total compensation for 2023 and 2024 combined going to be healthily higher (let’s say 15%) than your compensation for 2021 and 2022 combined?
I’d say you really need to be answering yes to at least two of the above in order to consider yourself high trajectory.
The four zones
So of course I have laid this out as a handy 2 x2 and labelled it as four zones. Over the course of a career it’s likely you will find yourself in at least three of these zones (Disclosure: I’ve been in all four). As always the first step is know where you stand..the next is working out what to do about it.
High impact/ High trajectory: The ‘Go Go’ Zone!
Obviously this is where you want to be. Like I’ve said, every successful career needs a sustained burst in this zone.
It’s basically how you step up - most often in your 30s and 40s - both do great work and get rewarded for it. If you’re been in this zone, you will know how it feels. If you’re there right now: Happy days. Don’t let it go to your head. Unless you are a total outlier, this won’t last forever. But keep learning and doing the things that got you into this zone in the first place.
If you haven’t known the Go Go zone, you need to keep reading..
High impact/ Low trajectory: The ‘So So’ zone.
This is the tricky zone - and one where a lot of very capable PMs (and designers and project managers and analysts and engineers etc etc) can find themselves. There are really three use cases for this - two of which are good. One not so much.
You’re getting ready for take off: Often in the earlier stages of your career you can be really knocking it out of the park, but actually getting a break - making that measurable step forward is eluding you. Perhaps you’re not quite where you need to be for promotion; or perhaps given the scale/ structure of your organisation that’s not going to happen.
It’s nothing to panic about. Yet. But if you’re in this state for say a couple of years or more - then there’s a risk you’ve slipped into use case 3 below..You’ve hit a pleateau: You had a couple of promotions within a few years; or you got a big pay bump - now you need to be delivering big time just to warrant the growth you’ve experienced.
This can happen mid-career as you gear up for another surge. That’s fine - just don’t plateau for too long as it’s never easy picking up momentum after you’ve been static for a while.
Alternatively this might be your ‘steady state’ as you get to the latter stage in your career. In which case - it’s just fine to stay here . What matters is that you keep on delivering.They’re taking the piss: OK let’s be blunt. You’re doing great work. You can prove it. But you’re not getting anywhere. Your boss dodges the topic of promotion when you raise it and your remit isn’t expanding. Your annual pay review just about covers the increase in the cost of living. Or perhaps you’ve been ‘bought off’ with a marginal nudge up in one of these ares, or there’s lots of nice words coming your way but no action to follow up on it.
Unless you are incredibly committed to the organisation, or you have some very practical reasons to stay where you are, you should be at least starting to challenge your manager about your need for progress and you should be looking elsewhere. Some other team or company might put much more value on your ability.
Low impact/ High trajectory: The ‘All Show’ zone.
This category shouldn’t exist, but it can: especially in larger corporates where some people’s ability to play the system and give the perception of progress far outstrips anything they have actually achieved.
If this is you - well, enjoy it. But see it for what it is and don’t believe your own hype. You need to push yourself into places where you can have an impact that you can clearly communicate both internally and externally. Because this will not last.
Low impact/ Low trajectory: The ‘Uh oh!’ zone.
No-one really wants to be here, but it can happen. The thing is to face into it and acknowledge what’s happening.
The question is are you here and really working hard? Or are you cruising?
If you’re really working hard - you might have to face the fact that this might not be the right company or, possibly, career for you. There’s a good chance you might be feeling some sense of burn out. Again, if you have some real life practical reason not to move, I get it, but really: life is too short, and ultimately you need to put yourself in a place where you can reap the emotional and financial benefits of success and progress. Perhaps an internal move is what you need first to get your mojo back?
If you’re cruising - well, I doubt you will actually be reading this as you are way too chill to make it to the bottom of some newsletter. Enjoy. For now. But don’t let yourself sit here too long, I suspect you won’t last forever.
Summing up..
So obviously this is very simplistic - and careers are complex things. But the higher level point is that you own your career and you need to keep track of how you’re doing and making sure you’re getting yourself fit for whatever it is you want to do next.
Yes, ambition should never get in the way of happiness. If you’re feeling good about what you’re doing and where you’re working, that’s a pretty special feeling, regardless of how much you’re earning.
That said, particularly in the middle of your career, you need to be making deliberate choices that will put you in the best place to get the most out of work - financially and emotionally.
Need help moving into the Go Go zone?
Get in touch…find me on LinkedIn or just reply to this..