Finding your strengths and doubling down on them

August 14, 2023

This spring, I knew I needed to find a new job, complicated by me wanting to continue living in Spain, which requires visa sponsorship and limits which jobs I can take, then complicated further when I was in a car accident that kept me off screens almost entirely for a month and very limited for another month. During that time, I listened to loads of podcasts and audiobooks, trying to also find uplifting and positive ones while dealing with a concussion and herniated cervical discs.

 

Among the best was a Tim Ferriss episode with Adam Grant that included a discussion of the Reflected Best Self Exercise:

. The exercise involves you asking people who know you well to share a story of a time when you were at your best. This was incredibly helpful and also something that I could ask people to do while I couldn’t really be on screens, and then have responses once I was better. I was able to get rich and detailed responses from a number of friends, classmates, (former) colleagues and bosses. Many of us know all too well what we aren’t good at, but zeroing in on our strengths can be incredibly insightful in thinking about what type of role, company and organization might best suit you and where you would most naturally thrive.

I will have job news in a few days, but for now, wanted to share a few of the high-level common themes and characteristics that came through time and again. I can’t say anything was a complete surprise, but having 20 people from different areas of life provide their perspective cut through the noise and added clarity. The collective views from so many places and periods in my life give me things to double down on and to search for ways I can play to my strengths.

·      Building and leveraging relationships. An ability to connect with and stay connected with a wide array of people, not only in short-term but long-term

·      Being at best when facing difficulty – remaining (mostly) positive, determined and resolute, yet not losing oneself in the process. Examples of dealing with concussion leading to a stroke or decades-long dream of moving to Spain.

·      Commitment, confidence and enjoyment when doing things that matter to me, whether running, standing up for principles, or using voice  by writing or speaking out on challenging topics as with article for New York Times.

·      Resilience and using hard times as propellant.

·      Positivity.

·      Relentless pursuit of dreams.

·      Openness and inclusivity, backing up words with actions, not settling for status quo.

Again, nothing here came as an utter shock, but taken all together, a blueprint can be made for what types of roles and goals are best for me: working on something I care deeply about, working with people and in roles that require relationship-building, things aligned with my values, being a positive force to push growth of company and people in midst of challenges. Flip side, working in a non-people role, monotony, working on subjects I don’t care much about or that run counter to my values would not be good fits.

I’ll have job news in a few days!Grateful to so many people who shared deep time and thought on this exercise and also in the job search process.

A 12-year-old picture of me already trying to make my way to Spain, on a work trip with ESPN going to a Clásico of the Copa del Rey at Santiago Bernabéu.

With a couple weeks essentially of “garden leave” on top of vacation, I’ve been reading a bunch!

Books

  • Streets of Gold: America’s Untold Story of Immigrant Success – by Ran Abramitzky and Leah BoustanCombination of a decade of historical research on U.S. immigration with personal stories and analysis, used machine learning to link records and trace individuals across censuses. Establish that today’s immigrants to U.S. continue to succeed economically at least as much as those in previous ages, and children of immigrants economically outperform children of native-born.Immigrants mistakenly seen as slow to assimilate (e.g. Irish in 1800s, southern Europeans in early 1900s, and Central Americans today) in fact are among quickest to assimilate. And while 1st-generation immigrants may cost more to governments, by second generation, they are among strongest economic contributors in U.S. Also, cultural assimilationsTwo contributing factors to immigrants’ upward mobility is parents whose careers were inhibited due to language or lack of professional credentials (when working with immigrants in college, I remember examples of secretary to president of El Salvador or doctor in Cameroon who were working cleaning homes or as cab driver); immigrants tended to settle in areas experiencing strong job growthAlso dispels myths such as that share of immigrants in the U.S. is much higher now, but it was 14% in 2020 and the same around 1920 and decades after. In early U.S., there were few restrictions on immigration, while today, more immigrants arrive via visas with job and education restrictions. Also far more distributed across world now. Additionally, in the past, measures of language were far more crude, and adoption of English is believed at least as fast today. Refugees, an easy target for anti-immigration critics, actually developed stronger English proficiency than other immigrants in past waves, even when adjusted for immigrant’s profession.

  • American Whitelash: A Changing Nation and the Cost of Progress by Wesley Lowery is an unflinching look at backlash (or whitelash) over progress towards equality by blacks & other minority groups, examining US history & hate crimes that largely escaped national attention. One example is the murder of an Ecuadorian immigrant by the Patchogue Seven on Long Island on Nov. 8, 2008, days after Barack Obama was elected President. I barely remember the case, and I wrote for Newsday (covering the Yankees) at the time. The counties that shifted most from Obama to Trump by & large had greatest demographic shift. Retrenchment against progress has happened before, whether in post-Civil War Reconstruction Era or in early 1900 xenophobia or today anti-LGBTQ/women’s’ rights/diversity in general.

  • Weapons of Math Destruction by Cathy NeilFrom reviews of teachers that are fully statistically based and ignore factors in child’s life that impact more heavily those less privileged.Some statistical models are highly effective and are minimally or not at all problematic, like say, the shift in baseball and other aspects of “moneyball.” Others may meet some of the desired effects, like statistical predictions of who is higher at risk for committing crimes based on proximity to others who have committed crimes, yet end up punishing people for their geography or race. Or there are the unaffordable mortgages sold to people, leading to them losing their homes and the banks or private equity firms profiting.Juiced college rankings, purchased social media clout, predatory ads, segmented, highly targeted and untrue articles that seek to impact elections, software tools for hiring, computer-managed scheduling, credit scores, computer-generated terrorism no-fly lists. “Big Data processes codify the past.”

Articles

Podcast