Most of us will be in the workforce for 30, 40 or more years and over the course of time, there will be various people who shaped our career paths and successes. These are the influencers we look back upon and think if this or that didn’t happen, we would not be where we were today had it not been for particular people. These influencers may be leaders, managers, peers or other colleagues and whoever it may be, they had a profound impact on many of us. Are influential situations always positive in nature? Heck no! Many of the situations may have been negative or adverse but also had a profound impact that shaped our direction and decisions.

Positive Experiences

Obviously most of us respond favorably when we remember the positive influencers in our careers such as an excellent trainer, a manager who empowered and trusted us to make great decisions, a leader who believed in our abilities and challenged us with greater opportunities or a mentor who provided invaluable advice. These are the people who helped us learn, grow confidence, provided feedback and made us feel valued and empowered. These influencers provided important stepping stones to the next phase in our career growth. I’m sure we all remember a few people that fits this bill and if we haven’t already, a hearty thank you would make their day! People do not know the impact they have on others and to receive a heartfelt thank you will definitely bring appreciation and joy. I recently had an experience with a prior boss from 22 years ago and she had a profound influence on me which I didn’t fully appreciate until many years later. When I recently thanked her, she had no idea of the impact and downplayed it but I showed my appreciation for not just the impact on me but others. There are many other positive influencers along my path who trusted and helped me, provided challenging assignments, promoted me and saw more potential than I saw in myself!

Adverse Experiences

If we’ve been in the workplace long enough, we will also have those adverse experiences that shaped our career paths and successes as well. It might be from a leader, manager, peer or other colleague. These are the experiences that make us feel hurt, angry, frustrated, treated unfairly, etc and even though it may be tough experiences, these are the ones that help us grow. Perhaps we received constructive feedback which at the time hurt a bit but ultimately led to positive changes. Perhaps we had a leader who didn’t make us feel valued and fueled a decision to leave the organization leading to a better job with a better company. These experiences are essential for growth, reflection, alignment and ultimately making decisions or changes necessary for our career success. I know I’ve had a few influencers who caused me to make changes and make decisions all for the better. When I reflect back on these situations and employees, I am thankful because I would not be where I am today without them.

Career growth and success include many influencers along the way. These are the positive people and experiences who helped us grow in a safe and trusted manner. There are also what we may perceive as negative situations or people that helped us grow in a more stressful way. Both positive and negative influencers provided critical stepping stones to where all of us are today! If we haven’t already, thank these people for their profound impacts that shaped our career journey and successes.