Episode 25: 3 unexpected ways to create luck in your career with Cathryn Carruthers

Welcome to The Career Clarity Show, where we help you find a lucrative, soulful, and joyful career path for you! 

Do you want to be in control of every step of your career (or life)?

You might really want to know what industry you’ll land in 20 years from now, the great side-hustle idea you’ll have in 5 years, and when your boss will get fired for those sexist comments.

But try as we might, we know it’s impossible to plan every single step perfectly.

Even the most Type A, overachieving, perfectionist among us can’t control everything that happens around them. (#SorryNotSorry) 

So the juicy question is, would we honestly want to control everything?

During an interview with leadership and executive coach Cathryn Carruthers, she talked about all the opportunities that came along as her life circumstances changed—working for world-class brands like British Airways, Merrill Lynch, and BlackRock. In our chat, she admitted that her incredible professional experiences were a function of her capabilities intersecting with luck…and there’s no way she could have choreographed all the pivots, twists, and turns. 

If she’d tried to be the master puppeteer of her career, she might never have had the same opportunities to travel, become a consultant, live in different countries, and create her own business.  

While career luck is important, you don’t get hit by the luck truck unless you’re standing in the middle of the road.

So, instead of focusing solely on skills, here are 3 ways to put yourself smack dab in the center of the street to optimize your career for luck.

Make decisions that expand your network.

Cathryn created a robust network before she even graduated from university, building relationships with her classmates and successfully creating a reputation that preceded her during her internship with British Airways.

If you become a connector, the person who’s known for leveraged relationships or knows the key teammates who can get things done, opportunities will naturally flow toward you. Former colleague brainstorming a new project? They’ll naturally come running to you because you can introduce them to the right people…and you’ll know the exact staff to recommend to make that project a success. 

An added bonus of being a connector is that you’ll get the first pick of the possible opportunities before anybody else knows about them!

An easy way to start expanding your strategic relationships? Ask your boss to recommend someone in the company (who’s not on your team) as your mentor. Developing relationships across departments is a simple way to raise your professional profile.  

Make decisions to expose yourself to as much knowledge as possible.

Wanna have your mind blown? Think about this: 15 years ago, most of us wouldn’t be able to do the jobs we’re doing today the way we’re doing it. 

Social media was just catching on, Zoom and Google Docs hadn’t become household names, and the first iPhone hadn’t even been invented yet. No personal computer in your pocket, no capability for 24-7 connectivity. The ways technology completely transformed (and is transforming) the way we learn, teach, grow, communicate, and perform is mind-boggling.  

With the pace of innovation only picking up speed, exposing yourself to new knowledge is a critical adaptation behavior if you want to stay relevant. 

You can gain information and experiences by trying new projects, changing roles, or even listening to a new-to-you podcast. (Might I suggest The Career Clarity Show?!) 

Cathryn says, “Usually, you don’t need to go back to school. If you go back to school, you can get yourself into more debt, you’re not earning as much as you could be over those couple of years, and then you come out and you’re no further ahead. Are you any more marketable? That’s questionable. And you don’t know what’s happening in the market during that time and what’s changed.” 

Make decisions that optimize towards your personal definition of success.

As a veteran of the finance world, Cathryn is intimately familiar with the golden handcuffs that are standard in a high-paying industry. She knows that it’s easy to get pulled off track by zooming: zooming up the corporate ladder, zooming across the globe with seductive work travel, or zooming through your to-do list so fast you can hardly breathe. 

Zooming might make your employer happier with you, but it usually doesn’t make it easy for you to do a check-in with your heart, gut, and soul about what you *truly* want. (So if you’re guilty of occasional zooming, step one is to take a deep breath!)

Being exposed to lots of possibilities via zooming will optimize you for opportunities, but that openness can’t always differentiate between good-for-you and bad-for-you opportunities.

There’s a critical feedback loop you have to implement: after you try each new endeavor, you’ll need to do a check-in with your heart, soul, and gut to determine whether you enjoyed the outcome of the opportunity. If so, keep moving in that direction. But, if not, notice what *did* feel like it worked and what you wish had been there instead. 

“Success looks different for different people.” – Cathryn Carruthers

When Cathryn lost her gold card status, she was delighted. It meant she was truly home, was being intentional about how she was using her time, and no longer needed to get on planes to make money. She said, “It felt good not to have some of the status that used to be important.” 

Want to learn more about our philosophy of career change? Download The Roadmap to Career Fulfillment ebook right here!

SHOW NOTES:

• Read more about Cathryn Carruthers
• Connect with Cathryn on LinkedIn here
• RSVP Now for a Masterclass on the Pivot Method!
• Career Clarity LIVE in Englewood, Colorado

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