I collect career advice like some people collect seashells or vinyl LPs. In fact, my collection of career advice was the reason for my first Managing Your Career article nearly 20 years ago. I believe there is power in other people’s career experiences. This “O.P.E.,” as I call it, coming at just the right time, can steer you clear of a major landmine that you might otherwise run directly into.
 

In many of my previous articles, I have discussed how valuable the advice is from people who are just a year or two ahead of you. They have just traveled the same road you’re on today. So, for an entry-level scientist to hear how an R&D group leader happened to find his or her dream job — that’s good stuff!
 

But there’s a whole ’nother level of career advice that I haven’t spoken about in my column: material gleaned from senior executives. These successful people, with titles like CEO, COO, CSO, occupy the corner office, or the “C-Suite” as we call it in the world of executive search.

This month I’m going to take several of these senior executive concepts, nuggets of great career advice for today’s world, and apply them to you — today — to ensure your continued career success.

Raising the Bar for Hiring Decisions

As my readers know, I’m a recruiter for a global search firm. In our job, we get a lot of opportunity to talk to the top brass about how they select talent.
 

My colleague, Greg Duerksen, is our company president. Both of us network with C-Suite executives, but Greg is often found in the corner offices of some of the largest science-based companies in the world. Like me, he asks his clients for advice that he can use to make our practice more successful.
 

In his recent white paper, The New Standard, Greg describes how the bar for hiring has risen by years of economic difficulty. His concise set of five pieces of advice came right from these high-level conversations. Frankly, it’s rare to hear snippets of career advice distilled from the experiences of very senior executives. For my column, I’ve spoken with him about this advice and what it might mean to your situation.

Think and Act Both Strategically and Tactically

“A decade ago a chief executive officer could focus on strategy and outward-facing actions and leave the tactics to the lieutenants, who in turn had the luxury to concentrate on actions and execution,” Greg told me. “Today all senior executives must do both.” But it’s not just senior executives who need this Swiss army knife approach to their job.
 

In the old days of recruiting (just a decade ago) we used to think of the chief scientific officer as the “big picture thinker” who would have layers of scientists beneath her to actually conduct the science and move management’s ideas forward. The CSO was a strategic asset, and not usually a person who would get down in the trenches and figure out a solution to a technical roadblock. Today, he or she puts that tactical expertise to the test on a regular basis.
 

Even entry-level scientists need to be strategic and tactical at the same time. Guess who’s promoted within the first year of the job — the scientist focused only on the assay he has in front of him, or, the scientist who sees that assay as one piece of a big, strategic vision of a future drug’s path to the marketplace? 

Understand and Embrace the Gray and Drive it to Black and White

No matter what level of job you would qualify for, you’ll agree with Greg when he says that the world is fraught with uncertainty and ambiguity. In short, there is a lot of uncharted territory out there.  
 

“Top performers get comfortable with the gray areas and think broadly and deeply about which questions must be resolved and when, yet have a sense of urgency to get the answers and drive decisions to the black and white of actions and results,” he described in his white paper.

Of course, you want this quality in your boss. You’re counting on him to solve that “gray area” of how to fund the company’s research so you can continue to be employed. But we also find this quality in a wide variety of employees at all levels – each of them highly valued by their employer.
 

One general manager I worked for recently insisted this was a major requirement for the hire of a new scientist in their bioanalytical services group. This CRO wasn’t in trouble, but it wasn’t growing either. The GM hired a scientist who looked broadly at the blank slate of possible new services it could offer to its drug company clients, and then put an action plan together to integrate new services. This scientist helped build their business. 
 

There will always be gray areas you’ll have to deal with on the job. Those who advance have found a way to thrive in and even relish that zone. 

Develop a Keen Self-Awareness and a 1:1 Ego-to-Capability Ratio

We see it all the time in the search business: really talented people who haven’t thrived because their egos are cranked up too high, and out of whack with their real capabilities. 

“Great capability will be squandered unless coupled with a healthy ego that is focused on customers and colleagues rather than yourself,” said Greg. “A balanced ego-to-capability ratio requires the self-awareness and security to ask for help and surround oneself with others who are smarter, more knowledgeable, or more capable than the leader — in fact, they complement the leader’s strengths and shortcomings.”
 

Ever work for a boss who just didn’t want anyone else to shine? That’s frustrating. Just imagine if that were the culture of a company! Even if you join a business as an entry-level business development associate, you’ll need to know how you can best contribute, and where you’ll need help.
 

Many people worry about interview questions concerning weaknesses. Perhaps you’d be surprised to know that it isn’t the confession of a weakness that will hurt you — it’s your inability to show them that keen sense of self-awareness.

Become Both Clever and Wise

Your studies in science have brought you a degree of book smarts that few people will have over their lifetime. In order to put that to use for your employers, however, you’ll need to combine that education with a few bumps and bruises. 
 

“Smart, educated, and wise do not overlap without years of experience, success, and mistakes in multiple roles, environments, and cultures,” Greg told me. 
 

In other words, get out there and take a few risks, don’t be afraid to goof up, and repot yourself now and again. These things will make you wise, and bring you downstream benefits that you probably can’t foresee today.
 

Greg makes this another point in his white paper about this topic: “Great leaders know that intellectual rigor and insight are required to synthesize the complex or ambiguous into a short list of clear, understandable, and memorable points, or to make decisions that look beyond the numbers and reflect the wisdom born of experience.” 
 

In other words, simple is good — but simple is hard.

Be a “Strategic Doer” and Simultaneously Lead Others

Companies are so lean today; we no longer have the luxury of support structures and large staffs. Everyone, whether at the bench or in the C-Suites, is stretched to the max.
 

As Greg put it, “Today’s superior executives must both complete tasks themselves as well as concurrently inspire, motivate, manage, and work through dozens, hundreds, or thousands who are not wired like them. This latter capacity remains the most challenging to nurture and develop.”
 

Being a “strategic doer” means that you can take that list of 20 priorities in front of you and prioritize them for action. You know which ones you can manage, and where you can count on help from others — that’s the strategic element. But where most new employees fail is in the delegation step. That’s job #1 when learning to manage, and by itself is worthy of a future Managing Your Career column.
 

While learning to delegate is tough, it requires you to have direct staff. Know what’s even tougher? Getting those priority items accomplished through people who do not directly report to you. It’s this “influence without authority” element that is so essential to learn, and it will prepare you to get things done via delegation when that time comes.

Do the Research — Continually Seek Out Career Advice

Throughout years of my own study, I’ve always found that those who succeed in their own career mission have been the same ones who continually seek out the experiences of others, whether it be fellow lab-mates, a peer-level networking contact, or the advice of a C-Suite resident. 
 

Gather this material, use what makes sense for you and be prepared to toss some of it out as well. But the more you gather, the more opportunities and learning experiences you will bring forward.  

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David G. Jensen is Managing Director of Kincannon & Reed Executive Search (www.krsearch.com), a leading retained search firm in the biosciences. You can reach Dave at (928) 274-2266 or via [email protected].