Spoiler: both are great!
Over the weekend Andy did a trail marathon near where we live in the North East of England. I was his support crew and Maggie happily greeted him along the route and cheered him on.
The day made me think about the roles we often play in our careers. We tend to be either part of the support crew or the main character. This holds true whether we work on a task, a project or a big transformation program.
Today I want you to ponder the question of where you typically find yourself and how much you enjoy and excel at the given role.
Being the support crew
Back to Andy’s race: I LOVE being his support crew. It extends beyond race day and includes a number of different jobs: chef, driver, advisor, sometimes training partner, coordinator, and more.
And I’m good at it. I’ve learned over the years that I get immense satisfaction from helping others be successful. It doesn’t feel like I play a less important role. It’s different, sure, but no less important.
A marathon or triathlon and all the training leading up to it becomes much more fun when you’re not doing it all on your own. 10+ hours of training a week is physically and mentally demanding. Leaning on someone who makes sure you eat and you eat the right things is a big relief, as is having a support person during the actual race.
What I also learned is that I’m much better being the support crew than I am as an athlete myself, especially if we look purely at performance and outcomes. In my own races I typically come somewhere in the bottom third of the pack. I am not a natural athlete and while I love training and racing, I’m not great at it.
Give me the job of supporting someone else’s race, though, and provided that my own life isn’t upside down and stressful at the same time, I can do a really good job at being the chef, the driver, the “let me take care of that” person, while also listening and giving advice.
Recognising this has helped me a lot in my career too, because you can’t always be the star of the show, the project leader, or the boss. Most of the time – in fact – you won’t be. Finding satisfaction and actual fulfilment in the supporting roles and becoming indispensable is a great alternative :-).
Being the star of the show
Andy was the main character in his marathon and he will be the main character in his upcoming ironman in 8 weeks.
Being the person who gets the glory and the medal can be really fun. It’s something everyone should get to experience at some stage in their life and career.
I get those moments every time I step on stage and I relish those opportunities. I’m a much better public speaker than I am a runner or triathlete.
I’m curious to hear what areas of your work or life give you the opportunity to be the main character? Maybe you’re leading a project or you’re presenting your latest analysis and findings at an upcoming company meeting. Those moments count and they’re important for your professional development.
Do you enjoy them? Do you want to create more of them?
How to make the most of either role
Whether you’re the lead character or part of the ensemble, both are important roles. If you find yourself in a supporting role and you worry about how that impacts your career progression, here are some tips:
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Focus on quality to increase the impact of your work: you may think nobody notices you. How can you increase the quality of the work you do and make it more ‘punchy’ so people will notice? Because, believe me, people do notice high quality work that makes their lives easier.
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Build relationships internally to increase your visibility: working ‘behind the scenes’ doesn’t mean you are invisible. Focus some of your effort on building strong relationships with colleagues inside and outside of your team/department so people know you and understand the value you bring.
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Put your skills into words: it’s helpful to pause regularly and have an honest look at the work you do. It’s easy to dismiss tasks as something that’s easy, or didn’t take a lot of time. Yes, because you’re developing stronger skills, not because the task changed. Don’t undersell what you’re capable of; instead put it into words.
For example, I could say I just prepare some food for Andy, but what I’m really doing is aiming for a variety of meals that are nutritious, tasty, and give him the right fuel at the right time. That’s far more than making peanut butter toast (which counts as ‘preparing food’).
Look at the tasks you frequently do at work. You might ‘just’ build a dashboard, but for your stakeholders this is a tool that helps them run their business, keep track of spending, understand contracts, or allocation of staff. That’s not trivial!
Whether you’re part of the support crew or the star of the show, there is immense value in both and I invite you to think about the roles you play, what you enjoy about them, and how this can help your career progression. Feel free to respond and let me know, I love reading your stories!
And if you feel unsure about how you can make your role more impactful, get in touch as I can help you develop a plan for achieving exactly that!
Have a great week,
Eva