Timestamps

00:00:00: Introduction

00:01:16: Long-term vs short-term goals

00:02:06: Idea for action 1: have an accountability partner

00:03:00: Idea for action 2: red, amber, green the four Ps

00:06:24: Go-to guru

00:06:36: Relevant podcast episode

00:06:42: Final thoughts

Interview Transcription

Sarah Ellis: Hi, I'm Sarah.

Helen Tupper: And I'm Helen.

Sarah Ellis: And you're listening to the Squiggly Careers podcast.  This episode is part of our Skills Sprint series.  We've recorded 20 episodes, each less than seven minutes long, that we hope are going to help you to build some career development momentum.  In every episode, we talk about a Squiggly Skill, what it is and why it matters, share an idea for action each, and give you a go-to guru and a podcast episode so you can learn more.  And we want you to turn your skills sprint into a learning streak. 

And so for everyone who completes a 20-day learning streak, we'll be offering you a free Five Skills to Succeed in a Squiggly Career virtual workshop in September.  If you post about your progress on social and tag us @amazingif, and we'll be in touch to tell you more.

Helen Tupper: So in this sprint, we're going to be focusing on the skill of grit.  And this is really important because we're all dealing with lots of different things and that can become really, really distracting for us and our impact, because if we spend all of our days doing the small, urgent, seemingly very important things, we don't really stick with the long-term, meaningful, harder things that are probably going to make a bigger difference to our development. 

And the thing that really means that you get through that stuff is grit.  Angela Duckworth describes this as, "Having passion and perseverance for long-term, meaningful goals".  So, we're not saying don't do the stuff that you've got to get done today, but we're not saying let that get in the way of those bigger, more important things that you want to go after.  That's why grit is such an important skill in Squiggly Careers.

Sarah Ellis: And as we talk about this, it's perhaps useful for you to think about something that you want to achieve maybe in the next six months or so, maybe even a bit longer term than that, that is important and hard at the same time, because those are the goals where typically we need to grow our grit, and it's our grit that will make the difference between whether we achieve those goals or not, and it could be personal or it could be something at work.  I think the things we're going to talk about actually apply in all parts of your life, but perhaps have that in mind as we go through our ideas for action.

Helen Tupper: So, my idea for action is quite a short one, which is good because Sarah's got one that's going to be a bit deeper for you to think about.  Mine is about having an accountability partner.  And one of the things that's really, really helped me when I've had some bigger goals that I've wanted to go after has been somebody who has helped me stay accountable to that.  And that is more someone who sort of checks in rather than checks up.  So, I've communicated to that person what it is that I'm working towards, I've communicated why that thing matters to me, and there's probably an idea of when.  

And so, they're bought into what I'm doing and why I'm doing it and they know when I might need to take some action by, and having that relationship with somebody is really good. I think it is even better if you are playing that role for them as well.  So it's like a co-dependent accountability relationship, I think that's what's really helpful.  So, maybe think about who else is working towards something that feels hard and important that you could help by being an accountability partner.

Sarah Ellis: So, the second idea for action, we're going to go through four Ps and we'd like you to red, amber and green each of these Ps based on the hard and important goal that perhaps you've got in mind at the moment, just so that you can see where you are, what gaps you've got, and also what you need to keep doing well.  So, Helen, have you got a hard and important goal in mind, work or at home, that we can use as an example?

Helen Tupper: I would like us to write the best-selling career development book in the world, Sarah, let's use that.

Sarah Ellis: Okay, we've gone big!  Go big or go home, right?  So, here we go, we'll go through each of the Ps.  So the first P is purpose, do you know the why behind the work?  Is it just something that feels like a shiny object, something you feel you should do, or have you really got clarity about why this is important for you?  So, Helen, would you red, amber or green that goal for you at the moment?

Helen Tupper: I would green that goal because our mission is to make Squiggly Careers better for everybody and I think the more tools we can get into people's hands, the more people we can help.  So, I'm giving it a green.

Sarah Ellis: Okay, the next P is positivity.  So often we feel quite positive, I always think in the honeymoon period of a project, or something you want to do personally, you know, you're going to start running the first run, you're like, "I've done it!"  But sometimes, that optimism can turn to pessimism along the way, because you're not making the steps you want to make, you're not making the progress.  So if you were red, amber, greening your optimism about that, Helen, where would you be at the moment?

Helen Tupper: I'd probably be amber, because writing books is really hard, let's just put it out there!

Sarah Ellis: Tell me about it!

Helen Tupper: And we've done two and they're not easy.  But even just thinking, "Well, what would it take to get to a green?" if I think about what I'm really positive about, I love working on big things with you, so that would make me really happy; and also, I really like a party and I'm wondering if it's a global bestseller, does that mean I get to more parties in more countries?  I mean, that gets me to green, I've gone green.

Sarah Ellis: I hadn't imagined you were somehow going to manage to talk about parties, but you have.  The next P is people.  So this is, have you got the right people around you to achieve that goal, the radiators, not the drains, but also the right range of people with the right experiences and expertise that are going to support you to get there?

Helen Tupper: I'm giving it a r-amber!

Sarah Ellis: A r-amber, okay!

Helen Tupper: Because I've got you and so that's pretty good, I've got you as my co-author --

Sarah Ellis: Pretty good, you heard that, pretty good.

Helen Tupper: -- my co-author of this book, so yeah, you get an amber green.  But if it's global, I think there's more people that we might need, people that know how to make books successful in different markets, we haven't got that yet.  So that's why I'm giving it, you're basically the green, but I've brought us down to a r-amber.

Sarah Ellis: Oh, thanks.

Helen Tupper: That's all right.

Sarah Ellis: That makes sense.  And then the last P is progress.  So hard and important objectives take time, and if we wait until the big outcome, first of all, that destination might change along the way; but also, we need to measure the small milestones.  You've got to celebrate your small successes as you make progress.  So usually, you've got to have defined what does that look like and how are you going to know if you're making progress.  So, how are you feeling about that one?

Helen Tupper: Probably red because we've not got a plan for this yet, I don't think we've mapped all this out.  However, I do know that you are really good at plans and that you have this really good whiteboard where you colour-code what we're working towards in our status, so I do know that there is that there.  So, it's red for now but I can see the green light.

Sarah Ellis: It might come!

Helen Tupper: Yeah, it can come!  So, those four Ps are a really practical way to approach it and if you want some more practical insight our go-To guru is pretty good.  It's Angela Duckworth, a very, very good TED Talk on this topic and a really good book as well, so well worth a watch and a read.  And if you would like to listen as well, episode 36 of the Squiggly Careers podcast is all about How to Grow Your Grit.

Sarah Ellis: Thank you for listening to this Skills Sprint, we hope you found it useful.  We would love you to share and subscribe so you don't miss a sprint.  And that's everything for this episode, so bye for now.

Helen Tupper: Bye everyone.