Careers & Traffic

Alex was on his usual drive to office in the morning. He was on the last lane, the only one that led to the exit to the right and hence patiently moving forward following the cars in front of him. At one instance the inching traffic led to a tiny bit of a gap between his car and the one in the front. As he was about to make up for the gap, out of nowhere a man poked his car into the lane where Alex was driving. To avoid hitting his car, Alex obviously applied his brake, and the other person happily went ahead. Alex couldn’t help but think why he waited patiently on that lane when a few others without having an iota of care resort to all sorts of dangerous drama on the roads.

Now freeze the above scene and apply it to a corporate environment. You won’t be surprised with what you see if you replace lanes with careers and drivers with you and your colleagues. You are bound to notice quite a few colleagues including you are like Alex who continue to proceed with the career in a steady manner with a destination defined. While you seem to be proceeding with care, one of your colleagues who was either at the same level as you were or lagging, does some drama and suddenly got ahead of you. Resentments are bound to set in, and all sorts of questions start flying high.

This is where you need to remind yourself the value of consistency. You may see people overtaking you in your career with tactics that are unacceptable in professional ethics. Remind yourself that these are the folks that drive recklessly and will eventually end up getting fined or get wounded in an accident. So let them have their path and you take a deep breath and continue cruising forward at your pace.

Let us get back to the roads. You are on a six-lane highway driving next to the speed lane. As you focus ahead, you can see cars zipping past at breakneck speeds on the fast lane. Before even you realize those folks would’ve reached miles ahead of you. In the corporate environment, you will see people who score way ahead of you and reach heights which you think is unreachable for you but all in a legitimate manner.

This is where you remind yourself that not all of us are created using the same mould. Each one of us are unique in our own way and there could be someone with a different skill that he or she makes effective use of to move forward. It is times like this we ask ourselves the question if we are doing full justice to our potential. Are we really delivering what we are capable of? Else it is time for us to improve and see ourselves soon zipping through the fast lane!

Back on the roads again. Depending on which part of the world you drive, there are good drivers who give way to others and patiently wait for their turn so that you have your right of way and even allow you to proceed even when they could have done so. These exceptionally awesome human beings can be seen in the corporate world as well. These are rare and genuine souls who truly want you to succeed for which they are ready to help and support you. If you ever spot an individual like that, cherish them as you will, with an exquisite diamond because these are the people who will give you their shoulders for you step on and see what is on the other side of the fence.

This is where you really need to be thankful and apply this blessing in your life as well. In the next available opportunity that arises, you must help someone and ensure that you become their steppingstone. The rewards will be priceless.

Traffic teaches us a lot in terms of career progression. There will always be good drivers and bad ones. It is up to us to realize the impact each one of them have in our lives and prepare ourselves to respond and not react. This alone will guarantee a pace that will help you proceed while you don’t lose focus on the ultimate destination.

Happy and safe driving on the roads and with your career!