What would you do differently?

Looking back over your career – whether that means looking back just a few years or several decades – do you have any regrets? What you would change or do differently? Is there anything you wish you had known or done earlier in your career that you didn’t learn or do until further down the track?

In our work with candidates and our coaching of clients over the last two decades, we have often asked them, ‘What is the one thing you would do differently if you had the chance to do things over again?’ There is a huge range of answers to this question but we wanted to share three of the most common responses so that maybe, just maybe, you can learn something valuable a little earlier on in your career.

SPEAKING UP

We are all conditioned to defer to the more experienced, the more senior and the older people in the room. We sit back and don’t speak up when we have opinions or ideas because those people are there. One of the most common responses we get from leaders is that they wish they had started speaking up earlier and sharing their opinions and ideas, even if they were the youngest or least experienced person in the room. They would go on to learn, later on in their careers, that if they had something of value to add to the conversation, then speaking up was of benefit to everyone.

STEPPING OUT

We all become accustomed to our comfort zones, especially when it comes to work. After all, we don’t want to fail for fear of tarnishing our reputation with those above us and damaging our careers. According to many of the leaders and executives we have spoken to, this overcautious approach to our working lives couldn’t be more misguided. They wish they had taken on roles and projects and made the move into industries that challenged them and developed their skills and talents at an earlier stage in their careers. Later down the track, when they were confident, stable or simply brave enough to take up these opportunities, they reaped the benefits of stepping out of their comfort zones and trying something new.

WALKING AWAY

Sometimes we stay because it’s easier, sometimes because we are scared and sometimes because we believe – or at least hope – that the things we’re dissatisfied with can change. Staying in a role or business longer than we should is something many of us can relate to, no matter how far along in our career we are. Knowing when it is time to make a move might not be so difficult but having the courage to act on that feeling can be. Bravery can often come with experience, but many of those we speak to wish they had been bolder just a little sooner.

Can you learn from the regrets of those who have walked these paths before you? Is it time you spoke up or stepped out of your comfort zone? Is it time you walked away? Learning from the lessons of others is a great way to ensure you can get the most out of your career sooner rather than later. So, what are your regrets? What is the one thing you wish you had done differently?