I started my career counseling youth in a treatment center, and even after I got my MBA, I never saw myself becoming president and CEO of the Chamber. I am asked by young professionals all the time how my path led to this work. And, like so many in the business community, the path to our current roles is a combination of backgrounds, experiences and opportunities making it very hard to know where someone might end up. It’s not as predictable as we sometimes might like or as it might have once been.
Some may lament that fact, but I think that’s the cool part of a career path. To me it’s all about being ready for opportunities, recognizing we don’t control when those opportunities may present and we can’t always predict the range of experiences that will prepare us for them.
For what’s it worth, here are a few things I’ve learned.
Take some risk and lean in. What this means to me is be curious; learn as much as you can about anything you can. Take the opportunity to work on projects you know nothing about or that require skills you are still developing. Be the team member everybody knows will take on work, chip in to support the work of others, share your views and thoughts and best ideas—your managers will take notice. You will learn a ton, you will be challenged and you will have more fun.
Develop your skills outside of work. I often encourage young professionals to consider giving back to their community and growing their network through service on a nonprofit board. I don’t suggest this just because I am a nice person; I suggest it because it’s a real way to develop your skills, too. Young professionals have skills and insights to offer nonprofits, and you can hone your understanding of financials, learn how to be a great sales-person (nonprofits need fundraisers on their boards) while developing your leadership skills. It’s also a great way to access key leaders in the metro area that you may not meet through work.
Put yourself out there. As you progress in your career you’ll be spending less time at your desk with your head down working and more time presenting ideas, selling solutions, developing strategies and contributing in meetings. Your communications skills need to be top notch, so start practicing now by getting in front of folks—whether it’s meeting people one-on-one in networking events, running a staff meeting or engaging an entire room—all will help you become a stronger communicator.
Find the people who from whom YOU want to learn. It is so important to find mentors—inside your organization and out. These are people who you can bounce ideas off of (and they tell you the truth about how brilliant they really are), you can vent to (so frustrations don’t get in the way of your success) or who you want to learn from. If you are intentional about the reason you want a relationship, you are more likely to get out of it what you want and to clearly see what you have to offer in the relationship as well.
Never stop developing your skills. Whether young or mature (the polite way to say “old people like me”), we all have areas to improve and develop. And, our Denver Metro Chamber Leadership Foundation was created to help develop leaders in Colorado. We have programs for people at every stage of their careers. Right now, we are taking applications for a program that is directed at emerging leaders: Impact Denver. If you’re interested in learning more about the key issues facing our region, developing leadership skills and working on a project that gives back to a nonprofit in the community, then I encourage you to apply for Impact Denver. The deadline for applications is Monday, Oct. 20.
My last word of advice: a career is no different than any other endeavor in life—you will get out of it what you put into it.
Kelly Brough is the president and CEO of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce.
[Photo credit: Vinoth Chandar]