the grass is greener where you water it

i’ve spent the last 12 years working across early-stage, high-growth start ups and as a result, with a lot of young blood that enters the workforce. some who i have formally led, some who i have watched grow indirectly, some who i have put my bets on, some who i mentor actively and truth be told, some who i just don’t seem to understand.

the one common question i get asked often is ‘how do i grow fast in my career’ - trust me, there are no easy steps or hacks, but some things that you can definitely do to do a little better than the others. what is life after all, if not a race? in no particular order:

• the first step: patience. it takes time to get where you hope to be, and skipping steps won’t help you in the long run. young blood asking for growth, new responsibilities/roles in 3 months of doing a job is good ambition — but remember it takes years to get from ok to great. i spent 4–5 years doing sales in zomato, and like most people in the org, i felt like ‘i’ve seen it all’ in 2 years. i’m glad i had mentors who pushed me to stay the course ’cause my steepest learnings happened much later. one’s that hold me in good stead today.
• what you do with your job is up to you; and no matter what the job is, there are skills to be learned. communication. time management. teamwork. stakeholder management. even making good minutes + following through. those are skills that are essential to success in every single role at every single company — no task is too small/ too dirty. do it with humility.
• be open to more possibilities than you can imagine. say yes for all tasks and opportunities— big or small, weekdays or weekends — doesn’t matter. will take you a long way. looking back, all the yes’s in my career added up. moving cities, changing roles, projects that included more numbers than i’d like, taking salary cuts against esops, agreeing to go for a founder’s mixer on a tired weekday night (which pushed me to resign and start leap.club). you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take is a 100% true.
• interviews: always share a video with your application calling out why you would be great for the role/ what you bring to the table; push for in person > zoom as much as possible; research well (the company + the interviewer); have your ‘why’ super clear; firm handshakes; dress the part; be an authentic storyteller and never talk shit about your previous employer. also stop skipping jobs every 6–8 months. word travels more often than you think, and is a red flag for most good leaders.
• proactiveness: underrated. one common mistake i’ve seen early career professionals make is waiting for things to happen. if you keep waiting, you will invariably get left behind. eg. when working on a project, how often do you update your leads? monthly? weekly? it should be daily. use any means of communication — email, chat, call, text — to keep your manager informed about the progress you’re making/ any help you may need. of course don’t be pushy to the point that is annoying, it’s better to over-communicate than under-communicate — could be simple email/ slack updates. be the person who doesn’t need micro management > complains about it.
• promote: not saying blow your own trumpet, but saying blow your own trumpet :) you do need to make people aware of the work you put in. no one else is going to do it for you. whether that’s building a personal brand on linkedin, sharing monthly target vs achieved mails/ self reflections with your leader — keep the important stuff documented. will help with your next appraisal chat.
• self-analysis: understand your strengths and weaknesses. will this help you in building your strengths? yes, it will. but it would help you understand your weaknesses as well, which at this point of your career would prove effective. figure your circle of competence and keep building on it. it seems non p1, but do hard things, and good things will come.
• find multiple mentors and know how to keep them: skip putting the onus on one person, shoot your shot, always offer to help, share life updates even when not asked and most importantly — don’t go to them only when you have a problem. people see through these things. i’ve picked up my best mentors in the last 5 years of building leap.club. most of them have been cold + persistent reachouts, and in most cases i always offered to help first/ never put the pressure of the word ‘mentor’.
• create a brag folder: screenshot everything. promotions, shout outs, recommendations — go to it on the days you hate your job. we all have them :)
• taking feedback: each piece of feedback you receive can help you grow. rather than focusing on the delivery method or the person providing you with the feedback, do your best to manage your emotions, take the value out of the message you are receiving and move on. the fact that the person is taking out time to give you feedback, remember they mean well. it’s a problem when you stop getting it.
• find things to do outside work: some of us learnt this too late in life. find hobbies, projects, habits outside of work. they grow you in ways you’ll understand only a decade in. could be running, pickleball, art, music - anything that you do passionately. and no, ‘hanging out with friends’ doesn’t count. in most interviews, i end up asking folks what they bring to the table outside of work. and yes, i always end up hiring folks who play sports.
• match your words with actions: if you tell your leader you can finish a project by a certain date, always work backwards from making it happen t-1. most people (specially leaders) can read through last minute work/ any sort of winging. even if they don’t call you out for it, you’re likely not ranking high on their keeper’s test. relationships are essential to any business, and trust is a big component. once you become accountable, you attract people who are also dependable.
• deep work hours: schedule them on your calendar during your most productive hours. lock yourself in a room, switch off the notifications, and go deep into thinking.
• be intentional with what you feed your mind: you can either surround yourself with the cribbers or around people who believe in going the extra mile, treat the company like their own, always outperform. i spent 6 years building zomato with all kinds of people, and am so glad i got my inner circle at work right.
• build a reputation for figuring things out: ask questions (but not if you can google them). people love working with folks who can get things done, say ‘i’ve got this’ and take things off their managers plate > add to it. having said that, if you’re unable to — ask. always ask.
• if you’re under 25, you’re probably too young to get a life coach. let’s do life first.

and of course — my most favorite one:

• time management: set your priorities, look for tasks that are important, urgent, and can be done later, and make sure you plan things in advance. last-minute preparation doesn’t turn out great, and you don’t wanna show up overwhelmed to work every single morning.

some hacks i invariably share with everyone who struggles with this:

→ calendarise everything: deep work, responding to pending emails calling your vendors/ partners or even parents — all of it. avoid going back to back on the blocks to leave time for anything adhoc that comes up/ getting a stretch/ responding to notifications++

→ take out 15 mins everyday to plan the next day: figure what success looks like the next day and ensure you have everything in place to conquer it t-1. approvals, updates from other stakeholders, anything that might be a blocker in you getting done with it.

→ start your day early: get to work early, get that coffee, get those emails outta the way, spend time talking to colleagues about what they’re working on (osmosis is underrated). give your best / most energetic hours to what requires the max brain input. lotta people get the easy stuff outta the way in the first half and always leave the tougher stuff for the second half — criminal. i’ve figured my most productive hours are 8 am to 10 am and that’s when all my deep thinking happens.

→ overcommunicate: running late/ need help/ something might be breaking/ you could help someone struggling with something — just say it. everyone hates surprises, specially if they’re not good.

of course there are lots more points to add here. but in short — aim to be the kind of person who you’d like on your team if you were a leader. and remember: