This is my 7th year as a consultant! I started off in health IT consulting right after my master’s. I literally graduated on a Friday and started work on a Tuesday and I’ve been going ever since. I’ve picked up some life lessons along the way and I am sharing these with you all today! I decided to pair the lessons with some of my favorite looks … a little throwback to some of the corporate fashions that I’ve shared over the last year.
- Be a duck
2. Don’t sweat alone
Yup! I learnt this one in college but it became oh so true when working in the field! I love working in teams. I know many people who do not enjoy it but I am a fan. I love working with folks who are smarter than me and folks who are looking to learn from me. When working on a project as in life, it’s better to work with people as ‘many hands make light work’. So don’t feel like you have to always have all the answers. You should be able to turn to someone else and ask for help!
3. Murphy’s law comes for us all
Ah – anything that could go wrong, will go wrong – is what Murphy’s Law is all about. Consulting teaches you to have a backup plan for your backup plan! Have a presentation? Email the deck, save it on a thumb drive in the event the email fails, save it on Dropbox in the event that fails and email it to three other people who will also attend the meeting. You catch my drift – be like the Boy Scouts!
4. Take every opportunity to sharpen your skills
When I first started working in the field, I told my boss that I wanted to be exposed to as much as possible so that I could be an invaluable addition to the firm. So my boss did just that: conferences, trainings – you name it, I attended and became a better consultant as the years went by. In life I believe we should take every opportunity and maximize it. Never be afraid to raise your hand and dive into the unknown.
5. You don’t know everything and that’s ok
Oh this was a tough one and it’s still is a difficult one to deal with. Consultants are hired mainly for what they know and you not knowing everything can be frustrating for both you and the client. Let’s face it – no one really know EVERYTHING! So just as in consulting as in life, cut yourself some slack – nobody knows everything about everything!
6. It’s not always personal
This was one of the toughest lessons that I learnt in my years as a consultant. Hearing feedback delivered from managers or dissatisfied clients is always crushing. However, it’s important to learn how to hear what people are communicating and not how they are doing it. This will help you realize that most things aren’t personal. Some people just do not know how to communicate! I honestly keep this nugget in mind in my personal relationships – I try to listen to the person and not necessarily their delivery. It’s helped cut through the noise and solve problems that arise much faster.
7. Fail, dust yourself off and pivot
We all fail. At some point you are part of a team that is unsuccessful in a project. It’s important to remember that even the Greats fail. it’s not how you fail, it’s your attitude. Your attitude when you fail determines how fast you pivot. Remember to keep your head up loves, failure is inevitable.
These are some of my favourite lessons over the years … do you have some key life lessons that you take with you from your work experiences into daily living?
