Do not take every advice

 Emily White – Director, Business Operations, Instagram (Facebook)


I love to get advice about my job, career decisions, about the choices that I make with strategy and I really care what people think – I listen to the advice that I get.

But the breakthrough moment for me actually was a time when I listened to the advice and I decided not to take it.

I had been at Google for nine and a half years, I have loved my time there and I had just delivered my first child. Sometimes what happens when you’re on maternity leave or break is you have a chance to lift your head up and look around and say: “Is this really where I want to spend the next ten years in my career?”

And I had people coming and saying: ”Listen, you’ve had enough change in your life, do not change one of the following things or many the following things at once. Don’t change the company that you work at, the people you work with or the space that you work at (like the general industry you work in). All at once it’s just way too much change especially you’ve had a baby.”

And I got that advice from a lot of people who I really respect and I decided not to listen to it. In fact I decided right before I was supposed to go back to Google to move to Facebook, where I was changing all three of those things at once.

And you know it was not without its challenges but it was definitely a decision that I am thankful I made at the time and a chance for me to say: “You know, I’ve heard you and I’m not going take this advice in this case”.

That was the beginning of the next chapter of my career.

 

The full package of what it takes to lead

Anne-Marie Slaughter – President and CEO of New America Foundation


My breakthrough moment in leadership came at the end of my first year as dean at the Woodrow Wilson School.

It was a place that needed a lot of change. and right at the end of the year we had a very important vote on a critical matter for the school and it was very very close. I won it but by a very slim margin and many people where extremely unhappy with me.

The breakthrough moment was realizing to lead I’ve got to be able to withstand real opposition, to know that a lot of people are saying not very nice things about me, that there are people who don’t like me but that sometimes, particularly for transformation, you have to simply stand-up
and do what you need to do and not mind that they’re going to be a lot of people who are very unhappy with you.

For me that was a moment where I understood the full package of what it takes to lead.

Editorial Staff

SME Business Academy is #1 place for SMEs.
Valuable and practical advice in crucial business areas. No fake experts!
High Quality knowledge, fresh ideas, inspiration and motivation delivered for you
by a Community of experienced, honest and trusted advisers.

Latest posts by Editorial Staff (see all)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.