One moment you are lauded as the
‘next best thing’, the ‘promising young star’ or the ‘rising star’ and the
next, you are in the metaphorical wilderness. We’ve always known that the career
of a footballer is very fickle but in this article, I will argue that so is
that of a young, talented corporate superstar.
South African football fans will
remember this. It was in August 2003 when Mbulelo “OldJohn” Mabizela joined Tottenham
Hotspur and then went on to score that spectacular goal against Leicester City
in October of the same year. He was indeed the ‘next best thing’; promising
young defender from Pietermaritzburg, South Africa who was about to take over
the world. After just a year, his contract was cancelled and his career went on
a steady downward spiral from there on. He tried to resurrect it but it was
clear that the promising young talent that OJ was, had unfortunately just
remained that, promising.
As a professional
speaker who has worked in talent development all my life, I’ve seen this
picture many times in corporate South Africa. I’ve seen promising, emerging
talent who suddenly faded into obscurity. I was already thinking about this
topic when I had an honour of chairing the knowledge resources talent
management conference on 16 May 2018. We had about 100 senior talent managers
in the room so I thought I would ask them to name one or two potential pitfalls
that could move young talent from ‘promising to obscurity’. Some confirmed my
own experience but I was also surprised by some responses. Here are the top six
potential pitfalls that could derail your promising career as young talent:
1.
Lack
of self-control. Self-control is a key component to a successful corporate
career. How does this manifest in the workplace? Be productive even the manager
is not around. Have control over your emotions. You don’t have to party every
weekend and come back to work tired every Monday. You don’t have to be
available for every argument you are invited to.
2. Inability
to seize opportunities when they present themselves. As Sifiso Mbhele, talent
practitioner from one of the top telecommunications companies in South Africa
said at the conference, “failing to recognize opportunities to take oneself to
the next level within the chaos of everyday activity is a challenge for
promising young talent”. You have to an eye for opportunities.
3.
Not
assuming personal responsibility & accountability for your own career. As a
professional speaker, I say this all the time; no one is coming to discover you.
Everyday you have to raise your hand by continuously adding value.
4.
Inability
to promote your work. Young talent often thinks “I will let my work speak for
itself” and that is good but you learn very fast in corporate that you must
work but you must also be seen to be working. You have to find platforms to
promote your work.
5. Lack
of social intelligence and not appreciating the role of organisational
politics. Young talent is often politically naïve and tends to think that
politics should be left to politicians. It is true that dysfunctional politics
can sink you but so is being politically naïve. Don’t play politics but also
don’t be naïve to the power dynamics and informal networks in the workplace.
6.
Inauthenticity. A conference delegate who
introduced herself as The Real Faith, said, “When we are not true to whom we
are. When we seek validation and look for acceptance, we run the risk of fading
into obscurity.”
Is your star rising?
Be on the lookout for these potential pitfalls. It is not enough to have a
great start; you must finish strong.
Siphiwe Moyo is a professional motivational speaker.
His specialty is organisational behaviour & talent/career development. He is
co-founder and Chief People Officer at Twice Blue, a human capital agency that
specializes in human performance improvement.
Well written and on point. The '' Inauthenticity'' pitfall. �� I see it a lot in corporate world. Regards, Fumani
ReplyDeleteSo very true. I love the part on organisational politics. It is not only young talent who are ignorant about this issue. Even the older ones who we like to believe have seen it all and are mature, have a tendency to be ignorant. We all need to learn to navigate through this big elephant in the corporate world.
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