For me, learning, unlearning, application of learnings, failing, upskilling and revisiting my practices has helped a lot in my career progression. Being a coach, I am also an advocate of coaching and building people stronger as individuals and team. It is a challenging task that I enjoy because it comes with being non-judgmental of the person and evaluating the situation and the reason behind a particular trigger thought. Going to the root cause of something has always helped me to analyse and resolve situations better.
It gives me immense sense of fulfilment when I communicate and with interns, people who are beginning their career journey or in the middle of it. Primarily because there is a lot that I can see from a panoramic view which is also nuanced and also understand their perspectives, challenges, goals and aspirations.
In my experience, one of the behavioural attributes that I have observed closely is how the people in the beginning or middle of their career journey handle freedom. Thankfully I always had bosses who gave me the freedom to operate in my own style and I am grateful for that. However, I have also observed that not everyone is able to handle freedom in the corporate world or they may not be just about ready for it and this is where I love to spend time with our younger generation on how crucial it is to be able to handle and nurture the freedom that you get at work environment. I say this with conviction that not everywhere we get this opportunity, so whenever we get, my take is grab the freedom with both hands.
Allow me to share 5 points on how to handle freedom at work better as this is one attribute, if handled tactfully, can take you places.
- Seek Mentorship and Constructive Feedback
The Challenge: Many early to mid-career professionals hesitate to seek guidance, fearing it might be perceived as a lack of competence. However, the absence of mentorship can hinder personal and professional growth. This is the most important point according to me. I can also say this because I have chosen my mentors at every stage in my career, and it has been transformational.
The Solution: Proactively seek mentorship and feedback. I recall a time when I was entrusted with revamping a client presentation. Instead of going solo, I approached a more experienced colleague for advice. The feedback not only enhanced the quality of the presentation but also established a mentor-mentee dynamic that proved invaluable throughout my career.
- Cultivate a Learning Mindset
The Challenge: Some professionals, when given autonomy, may fall into the trap of sticking to their comfort zones, limiting their potential for growth and innovation. This is also easier said than done as the challenge I have faced is unlearning, which is the key to stay relevant.
The Solution: Cultivate a learning mindset and embrace new challenges. Early in my career, I was tasked with leading a cross-functional team for an upcoming campaign. Despite feeling out of my depth initially, I viewed it as an opportunity to learn and grow. Embracing the challenge not only expanded my skill set but also demonstrated to the team and management my adaptability and commitment to professional development.
- Establish Boundaries and Practice Self-Care
The Challenge: Experiencing workplace freedom may lead to overcommitment, burnout, or difficulty maintaining a work-life balance.
The Solution: Establish clear boundaries and prioritise self-care. I recall a period where I enthusiastically took on multiple projects simultaneously, believing it showcased my dedication. However, it quickly led to burnout. Learning from that experience, I started setting realistic boundaries, ensuring I dedicated time for breaks and personal pursuits. This not only improved my well-being but also enhanced my overall productivity.
- Understanding and imbibing organisational values
The Challenge: I have seldom observed team members in various organisations that I have worked with, that team members and even at times senior executive colleagues not being able to imbibe the organisational values more than what it is printed on the walls.
The Solution: Hosting regular quick workshops on how our organisational values distinguish us and how it forms the core in the way we not only work but conduct ourselves. Only consistency in these discussions and having even fun based activities drives better engagement. Just one time thing once in a while does not help. Values need to be an integral part of serious play.
- Set Clear Goals and avoid Micro-managing
The Challenge: Having the freedom to accomplish your tasks in your own style can be overwhelming, and without clear goals, one might end up feeling lost or spending too much time on less critical activities. In every organisation there is a set of protocols, guidelines which needs to be understood (senior stakeholders & group heads being responsible to percolate and revisit this with their respective teams) to be cognisant of how much of your own ‘style’ one can utilise to get a particular task done. This is because there could be multiple correct roads to a destination and micro-managing can take a toll and is not the right way always.
The Solution: Establish clear goals and prioritise tasks based on their impact. An experience that illustrates this point was when I joined a team in the beginning of my career, initially overwhelmed by the myriad of tasks, I took a step back, identified the project’s overarching goal, and then broke it down into manageable tasks. This not only provided clarity but also ensured that my efforts were aligned with the project’s ultimate objective.
In conclusion, embrace a positive mindset, be cognisant of how much is your learning and how much are you are relevant for not only the present but as we say ‘future-ready’, navigating workplace freedom as an early to mid-career professional requires a balance of communication, goal setting, mentorship, and self-care. By incorporating these practices, individuals can leverage autonomy effectively, fostering personal and professional growth.
And yes, practice consuming content that helps us grow as how we exercise this choice goes long way in shaping us as human beings, leaders and using time to our advantage. Wishing a wonderful 2024!
The views and opinions published here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the publisher.
Extending beyond academia; Ankoor has been honoured with the "CIRCLE OF EXCELLENCE 2024" award by Passion Vista and recognized as the "MAN OF EXCELLENCE, 2024" by the prestigious Indian Achievers' Award. Additionally, he received the "LEADER 2.0 AWARD, 2023" from adgully and was named a "DIGITAL KAIZEN LEADER by DigiAdCon 2024”, Ankoor’s contributions to the field of marketing are widely acclaimed, marking him as an inspiring thought leader in his domain. Ankoor is also a member of IMA India’s CMO Forum.
Ankoor is a key member of the esteemed International CMO Council, member of MarketingKind, and also a GLG Council Member. Ankoor keeps delivering lectures at top Business Schools and colleges at University of Delhi. As an industry expert, Ankoor has also been a member of the interview panel at MICA for their PGP Group Exercise & Personal Interview PI process for PGDM-C/PGDM selection for two consecutive years.
Recognized by DMA Asia as a marketing Ace, Ankoor is now also a LinkedIn Top Voice, advocate of social impact, driven by kaizen, Ankoor believes in the power of Energy and Energize
Ankoor is practicing his PCC (Level 2) coaching from the gold standard International Coaching Federation [ICF]. Ankoor is a people's person and has worked across functions in marketing and advertising with a pedigree of 24 years and ongoing exciting journey. Trained from Dale Carnegie in Mentoring to Develop Talent, Ankoor is a marketing practitioner, a coach, a knowledge manager, a team builder, a thought-leader, an avid writer with close to 100 published articles / interviews and is a Thought Leader, Ankoor wears the hat of a CMO as well. Ankoor's leisure pursuits are reading, effective listening and percussion.
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