Written by: Mona AlHebsi, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
The topic inspired by: Ali Noura
For many people, work constitutes a major portion of life and thus can be a direct source of satisfaction or misery. Many of us use our work as a means to express our creativity, live our values and create meaning for ourselves and others. In this article, we are going to shed light on the factors you need to consider when opting for your career path or professional orientation.
There are different routes you can take professionally to further develop yourself, contribute and achieve tremendous success. These routes include being:
An Employee (Working in a company and having set tasks, responsibilities, and salary).
A Senior Executive (Managing or leading other people and getting work done through them).
A Mover & Shaker (Handful individuals who are change drivers and game-changers in organizations)
An Entrepreneur (Running your own business).
Regardless of the endless campaigns and endorsements, we see these days everywhere around us that aim to convince everyone to start their own business, let me tell you that entrepreneurship is not everyone’s cup of tea. Not everyone can start a company from scratch and keep it up running in a profitable way. This option will only suit you if the characteristics of entrepreneurship are congruent with your prevailing personality, temperaments, and overall lifestyle.
Some people can be more creative and productive in a work environment that is already set and operational. They join such organizations to add more value and contribute in their own unique ways. Some people can add more value and achieve more success being managers, others being executives, and others working as an average employee in a corporation. Others who can build things from scratch are the ones who can choose to be entrepreneurs.
I will tackle the differences between employee VS entrepreneur a little later in this article. Let’s first highlight the “Movers & Shakers” category, which is quite interesting. These are people like me ;) when put in any company, it will thrive and reach its peak performance.
These powerful and smart few are those who apply a high level of intelligence and combine both soft and hard skills to fix pressing business problems and, as a result, turn the game to the business’s advantage during their tenure with any company. I call them organizational geniuses because they know how to influence people around them and get things done so courageously and gracefully. Put them in any business that is going through hard times, and they will turn things around and make it flourish. Once they have established the right systems, structures, and organizational culture and get things up and running smoothly, it’s advisable that they are moved to another challenging project to continue thriving and making a difference. They are not like the average employee who wants a stable job and routine tasks.
The Movers & Shakers in organizations strive on challenges, driving improvements and creating an impact. The company is not the same before and after their presence in it.
Now, let’s discuss the many elements that you need to think about before you decide which professional route or career orientation works best for you, these key elements include:
Flexibility & Adaptability
Many people perceive being an entrepreneur as quite attractive. They have the impression that people who run their own business are mostly free, traveling, spending time with family & partying! Not really the case! Yes, having your own business will give you some degree of flexibility in some aspects like the ability to choose things like your working hours and where to work, etc. However, it’s also a great responsibility, and you are 100% accountable for both positive & negative outcomes of the business. In other words, the stress you get as a result of such big responsibility should not be taken for granted either. Mind you, and many business owners don’t get time off or necessarily enjoy weekends or holidays like employees. Many times, they are required to work for long hours and till very late as well.
Alternatively, if you are working as an employee, then you lose this perceived flexibility in terms of deciding your working hours and the nature of the task you need to complete. You will be expected to report on duty at a set time and leave on a set time predetermined by your company and agreed by you and your employer beforehand in your employment contract. You will also be expected to complete a certain set of tasks, adhere to your company’s policies & procedures, and show good performance to maintain your job or be considered for future pay raises or promotions. However, as an employee, you will have better flexibility and less stress when it comes to having a guaranteed pay at month-end and more stability in terms of tasks or responsibilities you need to carry out. This is in addition to set working hours, allocated weekends & holidays so you can plan your life around that.
Dealing with Superiors
When it comes to dealing with superiors and receiving instructions, some people are more adaptable in this matter than others. This again had to do with the individualistic traits and temperaments of each person. If you have the willingness to work under a boss, receiving constant directions and guidance, and collaborating with other people and teams under a set structure, then being an employee will be more suited for you, and you can even be very successful in a corporate environment. On the contrary, I know many people who don’t like to receive instructions or be managed by other people. They are more creative and productive when they work individually rather than with others. These are the ones who can consider to be bosses themselves and manage others by starting their own business.
Income Potential
When it comes to income, we can agree that in most cases, entrepreneurs generate more income than an average employee. However, who said employees don’t make big money and don’t enjoy lucrative lifestyles? Look at senior and c-level suite executives in big corporations, they are also employees, and their position, status & expertise enables them to make more money than a lot of small & medium size entrepreneurs do. This, though, makes up a very small category in the total employee population.
So, if you are an employee and aiming at increasing your money-generating scale throughout your employment lifetime cycle, then you got to be very smart about learning and improvising to be able to climb the corporate pyramid.
Personality/Temperament
This must be one of the key aspects on which you determine your career orientation, i.e., Personality Fit, which includes your temperament, where you are more likely to contribute and make a difference, where you will be more fulfilled, achieve success, and create an impact.
For instance, people of a more agreeable temperament and conforming nature will make good employees because they will easily be able to work with different people and have smooth relationships with superiors and co-workers. Besides, if you are someone who appreciates security, routine, and stability, then being an employee will be the best option for you. Contrarily, people who are open to experiment, take risks, and constantly try new things, then having their own business would be ideal according to their personality profile.
On occasion you are considering starting your own business or enterprise, you will still need to think about what kind of entrepreneur you want to be as follows:
1. A Builder/ Initiator: Have creative or new ideas that no one has done before and enjoy starting things from scratch and building their business this way that then takes the market by storm. Examples: Late Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg.
2. A Mediator/ Agent: Those who are very skilled at connecting the person who has the business idea with the one who has liquidity and cash flow so that a partnership can be formed and the business materializes. These mediators then solicit a percentage for this kind of effort, and this is how they make their money. An example of this is what we see in many restaurants, clubs, and cafe concepts.
3. An Investor: Are those people with capital funds or cash flows who are willing to invest their money in other people’s businesses without any interference from their side on how those businesses are being operated as long as they are receiving their share of profits.
Just ask yourself: “will I be better off as an employee or as an entrepreneur”? Consider the above-mentioned elements like flexibility, freedom, responsibility, risk-taking, and temperament and what you are so passionate about.
To sum up, there are numerous career paths or orientations one can choose from depending on one’s persona and temperaments, so no one career option is superior nor inferior to other ones. It’s only a matter of suitability, best match, and where an individual sees him or herself. Let’s not forget that whatever you eventually choose, you’ve got to love what you are doing to be able to deliver your best work.
As Steve Jobs said: “The only way to do great work is to love what you do.”
If you find yourself struggling to overcome toxic work patterns and feel stuck in a mediocre job, know that you are not alone. Career & Success Coaches like myself can help you be aware of your blind spots while guiding you towards career options that will make you achieve personal effectiveness and fulfillment. You can email me at info@monaalhebsi.com
For more personal effectiveness and career success tips, visit my website. Connect with me on LinkedIn and follow me on Instagram, Twitter & Facebook!
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Mona AlHebsi, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Mona AlHebsi, is an Award-Winning Hotelier, HR Practitioner, Success Coach, Renowned Author, and Speaker. She has recently been named “Most Influential Woman in Hospitality Human Capital” and "Inspirational Female Leader" due to her eminent contributions to the hospitality industry and Human Resources profession. Through her book “Beat The Odds,” Mona aims to provide a roadmap to all hoteliers and working professionals on making their work a vehicle to delivering excellence and achieving astounding success. She instinctively knows how to ignite the courage in others to stay true to their values and capitalize on their strengths, which will ultimately steer them towards success and fulfillment. Mona's life mantra is, "The more odds you beat, the greater will be your feat!"
