Tajrubah, Furṣat va Tawsi'ah-yi Shughlī: Persiska (Farsi) 1403

The book has some good tips for people just starting their careers or wanting to become managers. Most of the things I knew but I liked the discussion around why making yourself irreplaceable is not a good strategy. The main points from the book for me are: Values are your nonnegotiable foundation, passion is what excites and motivates you, and purpose is your deeper reason for existence. Create a career portfolio (vast and diversified interests and journey), not a career path (climb the ladder in one direction and focus on what is straight ahead). Make connections between your experiences and skills in your portfolio. This will help you create a narrative around your experience and pitch yourself better. Define your unique selling point (USP) by making a list with a column for skills and competencies that you have (soft skills androle-specificc technical skills), another with answering the question What value/ benefit does this offer an employer? Against each item on your list. During the interview ask the hiring manager about the environment, culture, and communication practices the team prefers, how are mistakes handled, how is success measured, how has the team resolved conflicts or difficult situations in the past, hoo managers communicate with and led people from different backgrounds, how would I be supported if my boss works in a different time zone, what are the avenues for growth in this role, would I be supported if I want to upscale, what do they expect from the role in 2 years, ask about employee turnover, internal promotions, and lateral moves and probe for specific examples. Research shows that expertise is not what matters to the new team and collaborators the most but managing the team. Initiate career planning conversation: 1. Reflect on where are you right now and where you want to be in a few years. What do you find energizing vs. draining? What kind of role do you see yourself in? 2. In the meeting share your goals and achievements with your manager. 3. After the meeting draft a plan that outlines the next steps including any new skills that you need to acquire, any projects you agreed to take on, and any important stakeholders you want to begin building relationships with. Making yourself irreplaceable ties you to your job and compromises your well-being, it reduces your growth potential - if no one can handle your job, it’s hard to move on to a bigger arena. You become a know-it-all and limit your effectiveness, people become apathetic and underutilized, lower their ambitions and just do the bare minimum. So how to make yourself valuable? Figure out what needs to be done (eg what is everyone complaining about but not doing anything about, notice the things that frustrate your manager and customers and surprise them with a fix) and do it without being asked. Fill a leadership vacuum - look for situations that lack clear leadership and step up to fill the void. Contribute where you have unique strengths (use your greatest strengths in service for others). Don’t just play big, help other people play bigger. Instead of making yourself irreplaceable make your most valuable contribution.