Master the Art of Career Growth

By David Maturo

What could a martial arts black belt have in common with a chief financial officer or a partner in a public accounting firm? More than you might think, actually. Regardless of the discipline, the specific career paths, and the training regimens that accompany them, professional growth follows a few basic and universal truths. Many of us are aware of these truths, but few remember to incorporate them into the pursuit of excellence in our chosen fields.

Truth No. 1: Keep Your Eyes on the Road
Dan entered a martial arts school for the first time and spoke with the head instructor. He asked how long it would take to become a black belt. The instructor said, "Five years, training consistently three days per week." Dan asked, "How long if I train six days per week?" The instructor thought for a moment, and responded, “Then it would be 10 years.” Puzzled, Dan asked, "Well, what if I train seven days per week, twice per day?" The instructor smiled and said, "Fifteen years." Confused, Dan asked, "That doesn’t make sense. How can that be?” The instructor said calmly, “With one eye on the horizon, there's only one eye on the road."

Ten thousand hours, or five years of practice, are needed to gain proficiency in any discipline. In martial arts, the standard is, in fact, about five years to become a black belt. Maybe not-so-coincidentally, it takes roughly five years for a public accountant to achieve manager level, and five years for a manager to become a partner. The timetable is similar for accounting and finance professionals in industry as well. During those five years, CPAs work hard at their trade: they train and take CPE, they get advice from mentors, they attend industry seminars and forums, they read industry journals, they show up earlier and leave later than their bosses, they rehearse presentations, they perform their duties to the best of their abilities, and they strive to get better. All these efforts comprise the five-year cycle, and maybe enhance it, but, no matter how much is taken on, no CPA will be able to abbreviate or eliminate it. Experience, prudence, and wisdom come with time. Maximize your time so you attain as much of those qualities as possible, but know that they can’t be obtained via short cuts. Career growth is a process, a journey—one that should take time.

In short, have an end goal and work aggressively to achieve it, but “keep your eyes on the road” and embrace the hard work you need to do during the time necessary to become proficient.

Truth No. 2: Never Break Your Egg
Dan was resolute. He studied hard at martial arts, and, after five years, he attained the rank of black belt. Once he achieved his goal, he started to take it easy. He skipped practices here and there; he put on a little weight. He began to struggle with his technique, and soon became increasingly frustrated. He was not sure what he was supposed to do, but he knew the current state was not working. He sought out his instructor and explained the situation to him. “I enjoy martial arts, but I achieved my goal. I am very proficient and well-respected in the school. So now what?” The instructor thought for a moment, and asked, “How do you drop an egg three feet without breaking it?” Dan mumbled under his breath that it was impossible. The instructor continued: “You achieved a strong level of proficiency and now you are a black belt. If that’s all you came here to do, then you’ve done it. Do something else now. But if you really want to be an expert, you’ve only just begun. Mastering anything requires a lifetime of study. Your skills and experiences to date only put you in a position to really learn and develop along that path. How do you drop an egg three feet without breaking it? Drop it four feet. Extend your journey.”

Along the road to professional development, we achieve base proficiency. Sometimes, that replaces what our original goal may have been. We're so busy trying to become proficient managers, for example, that we forget that we once aspired for more. For many, hitting mid-level somehow became the destination. When they arrive, though, they become bored and disillusioned. They stagnate. These managers will eventually leave their organization in an attempt to recapture that feeling of growth and development. Without real progress in their career, however, they will experience that emptiness again a few years after joining their new company.

To harness and maintain the joy of development and success, we must be in a constant pursuit of arrival, but never arriving. Arriving means you are finished – your egg has hit the ground. Instead, keep the journey going. Never break your egg. Once you’ve achieved one level of proficiency, congratulate yourself, catch your breath, and pursue the next level. Every discipline has levels of growth and success. Once attaining a black belt, a martial artist begins to understand that there are many more lessons to learn to master the art. Similarly, seasoned (and humble) CFOs know that they have only learned a small fraction of the lessons they need to be real experts. There’s enough road to keep the journey going for several lifetimes. Understand the end goal, break it up into levels, and earn it a piece at a time. The important thing is to never stop.

Truth No. 3: Be an Amateur
Dan recommitted to staying in shape, working hard, and continuing to master the art. From time to time, he hit setbacks; some of them were significant. Once, he was injured and had to restrict his training for several months. Coming back, he was rusty and felt like he was starting over again on many levels. At other times, he would hit plateaus, and he wasn’t sure he was developing at all. After one class, the instructor and Dan caught up on how things were going. Dan started, “Never breaking your egg is nice in theory, though I’m struggling to maintain the ambition and the stamina to continue. I want this to be like a career, and for me to be a professional in the art. But I’ve had some setbacks, and it’s filled me with doubt.” The instructor responded, “It’s great that you want to achieve so much, but instead of being a professional, be an amateur.” Dan cut him off: “Wait a minute. I want to be better than an amateur.” The instructor opened up a dictionary and handed it to him. On the page was the word “amateur,” which had multiple definitions. Highlighted were some he did not know:

• One who loves, based on the Latin word "amare," to love
• A person who engages in a study, sport, art, or other activity for pleasure or pastime, rather than for financial benefit or professional reasons
• A devotee, an enthusiastic pursuer of an objective

The instructor advised, “Be a martial artist for the love of it and for no other reason. If you do, then any setback, hurdle, or lesson is just a part of pursuing a dream. You’ll deal with a lot for the things and people that you love. If you have passion, there is no endpoint, no challenge too great, and no question that you will continue to develop.”

A great deal of time and effort is required to develop beyond proficiency. Some of us get bored, frustrated, or disillusioned with our progress, and we blame our current company and leave in hopes that our situation will change. Sometimes, we falter in our development because we’re going through the motions, and that is not conducive to a long-term commitment. Other times, the daily responsibilities of work make it hard to stay focused on our own development. Worse, without passion, many of us want to arrive and be finished because it’s not fun, it’s work. When it is work, it’s easier to get winded, worn out, and beat up. On the other hand, if you love what you do, you never really work. You simply develop your passion. Then there is a reason to continue when your situation gets hard and when you achieve a certain level of success.

A benefit of having passion for your work is integration and immersion. Some people approach their career in a compartmentalized fashion. They do their best at work, and then leave it all behind once they walk out the company’s doors. They are “Person A” at work and “Person B” elsewhere. For many, this is because they’re not connected to what they do. As one begins to understand their passion, they can turn their compartmentalization into integration and immersion. By doing so, workers tend to bring more of themselves into their role, and more of their role into themselves. Essentially, you “become” the role you used to just “work.” Performance and development can accelerate tremendously from there.

The association between immersion and performance is undeniable, but it is also a physiological phenomenon. We all have a reticular activator, a part of our brain near the core of the brain stem, that helps us to pay attention to some things and ignore others. If you started shopping for a red Corvette, for example, it would seem like you’re suddenly seeing them everywhere. That’s the reticular activator at work, helping you pay attention and find your target of interest in a world overloaded with stimuli. So, if your red Corvette is accounting and finance, you will see it in many more places, in and out of work. That helps you solve problems, take on more work, conquer greater challenges, and develop faster and further in the field. With integration and immersion, the whole becomes greater than the sum of the individual parts (the compartmentalization model). It also leads to greater job satisfaction and overall happiness, as well as a contagious enthusiasm that increases your ability to inspire, lead, and manage.

A passion for your discipline has other benefits. It helps bring about other positive qualities, such as resiliency, perseverance, integrity, and humility, or at least makes those qualities easier to adopt. On the flip side, passion also reduces the tendency toward negative traits, such as cynicism, arrogance, and apathy, or at least make those easier to avoid. For example, when you care deeply about your valuation analysis for a potential merger, it is easier to stay focused and spend weeks on painstaking research. It is easier to fight your way back when problems arise; easier to endure when there’s no movement or there’s uncertainty; and easier to enjoy the success when the deal gets done. To continue with the example, a passion for developing in accounting and finance may help you see your hard work and struggles as valuable, necessary lessons along your long-term path to becoming a partner or CFO.

The Amateur Road to Never-Breaking Eggs
Based on the three truths to professional development, there are some steps we can take to find out where we are along our journey and to maximize our progress.

First, understand your preferences regarding your work life. Would you rather have a job or a career? Are you content punching a clock, or are you looking for fulfillment through your work? If you are happy with a job, then you may get frustrated or bored with your progress at times, but maybe you can distance yourself enough to prevent it from affecting you. Over time, maybe not. You will develop, but it will come more slowly and inconsistently, and you may need to change jobs every few years to break the monotony. As long as you are comfortable with change without significant growth, you will be okay. If you are pursuing a career, however, you have much more open road ahead of you. Your first question is whether or not you have passion for what you do. If you do not, learn what you are passionate about. Talk to your manager about moving into a position more closely aligned with your preferences or at least incorporating more of them into your current position. More importantly, know that you will not love every aspect of your job. Choose to be an amateur, and encourage yourself to find what you like in your career and discover a passion for it.

Second, embrace the time and effort required for proficiency in all of the major components of what you do. Each new position you take on requires elbow grease and years of hard work to scale the learning curve. Have a goal for what you need to learn and when, but keep your eyes on the road.

Finally, as you develop proficiency and reach a new milestone, keep extending your journey. In looking at your long-term career, set far-reaching goals, break them up into manageable and achievable pieces, get advice from your mentors, and move ahead one level at a time. Keep it going. Never break your egg.

If you don’t love what you do, if you show symptoms of fatigue and frustration, if you’re struggling to cross the finish line, then you may need to re-evaluate your career path. If you can tap into your passions and do what you love, you may be surprised at how it will affect your career development. It can still be a challenging road, but you will be in it for the long haul, and you will get through with appreciation and reward.

David Maturo is a partner with Attolon Partners LLC, an executive search firm in Philadelphia. He can be reached at dmaturo@attolon.com.