3.0

Switching gears here to talk about professional growth and how I went from 1.0 to 3.0. When I talk about my growth in relation to these numbers, I always get asked, What happened to 2.0. My reply has that was an engineering release (for my software friends).

When you are young starting out in your career, being a motivated and driven analyst is praised and often encouraged. I capitalized on that. It became the foundation of how I got the work done and the questions answered.

As you start advancing in your career and move into management and leadership positions, what you may have done as an analyst, needs refining. The outspoken bulldog persona that made you the Rockstar analyst has you now being portrayed as difficult to work with and also leaving you confused, lost and frustrated.

Here is my story…..

I am the team lead working a big contract. We have critical milestones that need to be met on an aggressive schedule. The contractor who we are trying to put on contract isn’t always the easiest to work with. My counterpart would make commitments and then at the last minute, change things which would delay our progress. Every delay was a delay yo our program and risk to losing money. So, you can see why I would be frustrated. They wanted to play hard ball…… well I could too. The only thing is, I was hurting myself, not them. Our contracts lead, bless her soul, reach out to me and said, hey, I think we need to take a different strategy. I need you to be nice Ann (name changed to protect the innocent….lol). I looked at her with this strange look and her response was……. Hear me out with this…. the end, I understood where she was coming from and It Worked! They didn’t know how to act and actually asked our contracts lead….. What had gotten into me….. In a good way.

Welcome 3.0……

I needed this especially if I have the desire to continue to advance. I needed to transform that Bulldog into a Strategic mastermind…..hahahaha….. that is still a work in progress. If it wasn’t for our contracts lead, I would still be 1.0 so I am eternally grateful for the mentoring. I continue to choose my words wisely, think before I speak and always look for the win-win.

**Warning** May cause headaches it is only temporary. Continued practice will create a habit that will then become part of your daily routine.