What do you want to be when you grow up?

I was asked recently what my career aspirations are, what do I want to be. I have been asked this many times before and never felt that I had a sufficient answer. This is because I was looking at it all wrong.

I’ve spent a considerable amount of time thinking about this. What do I want to be when I grow up? Why do I have to choose one thing? The reason I have difficulty answering this question is because I want to be many things. In the workplace we are labeled by our job titles: consultant, quality manager, project manager, business analyst, and so on. I don’t feel as though any one of those specific titles brings justice to what I want to be. I possess the skills to fulfill those roles, but the title itself says very little about what I want to be.

As someone that enjoys lists, I decided to tackle this question from a different viewpoint. Instead of labeling myself based on a job title I started the following list of what I want to be:

• A leader – I want to lead others, not as in I have a power trip, but in that I want to guide and empower others to reach their fullest potential. I want to lead with compassion, strength, and conviction.
  

• A student – I want to take it all in and learn as much as I can. I want to be a sponge for knowledge.
  

• A teacher – I want to engage others and train them up using my experiences and knowledge to support their growth.
  

• An influencer – I want to use my research ability and knowledge to influence others on decisions.

This list is not complete. However, I feel better prepared to answer this question next time. I no longer feel confined to limit my answer to a specific role, such as, I want to be a Quality Manager. Rather, I can say that I have the required experience, skills, and knowledge to be a Quality Manager, but I want to be so much more than that.

The lesson here is do not limit yourself. Change your perspective. Think outside the box to define what you want to be. Do not let a role or title define who you are or what you want to be.