I have spent two decades in automotive, financial services, healthcare & M&E sector industry having worked in strategy & corporate finance roles. While I served long hours managing & executive various finance & growth strategy projects, I also made time to help folks in my network to structure & streamline their career portfolio documents( resume, LinkedIn profile, cover letter, motivation statements). This gave me exposure to learn about career success stories & challenges of other professionals. By investing time outside the work I was passionate about, I laid my hands on skills which helped me prepare myself for an entrepreneurial role & set up my own career coaching firm. This is the strength of taking up side hustles.
Let us talk more about side hustles/external engagement.
Lot of professionals & leaders focus obsessively on their current jobs & companies. Many of them believe that they cannot be successful unless they have complete focus on their jobs. However, in order to grow & take chief executive positions, you need to have diverse experiences & should explore opportunities across various functions, industries & geographies. Most of us think that if you are working in a challenging role you should devote all your time & efforts in meeting objectives of that role rather than looking for some gig outside your work. This strategy is beneficial on a short term basis but does not give that stepping stone to improve your learning curve & prepare you for a C-suite role.
Why is it so? In today’s technological pace faced scenario, taking up strategic side gigs is a must haves for chief executives. Given the disruption across sectors, it is difficult for the curriculum of corporate learning departments, management programs & executive program’s to stay relevant. The leaders who want to rise & take their organisations to the next level, need to augment their knowledge, skills & competencies & build more connections while they carry on their daily work.
This does not necessarily mean attending workshops & seminars or taking part in conferences. Chief executives need to engage in some external gig that not only exposes them to different cultures, people & environments but also aligns with your personal interest & future primary work. This could include membership of public or private boards, teaching, advisory or mentorship assignments, fellowships or investing in start-ups, leadership roles in professional associations. Think of having a portfolio of outside activities that compliment your current role & enable you to share your learning from these strategic gigs with others/deploy in current role/organisation.
So how can you achieve your side hustle objectives?
- Allocating time for strategic gig: Considering your personal & professional demand & commitment, it becomes almost impossible to add more on your plate. However, you can find time if you can make strategic side hustles your priority( you may have to give some weekends). You can block a few hours per week for these activities. Invite group of like minded professionals & friends/family members who share similar interests. This will keep you committed & give you people/resources with whom you can share work. You can space out your commitments for these side hustles which can vary from 5% when you are too occupied with professional & personal commitments to say 25% when you are not.
- Identifying roles: So how do you find the right opportunities that help you build a portfolio of side hustles/external projects? Spread out the word in your organisation &/or network that you are open for side hustles that resonates with your skills /competencies. Connect with your friends who may have volunteer jobs & offer to help them. See the groups connected to your passion/area of interest & look out for open positions that may give you an opportunity to grow & develop. Get your interest & expertise out there on social media so that folks around can start sharing opportunities with you. Once this experimentation is over, you should be selecting in taking up side hustles. You should take up outside projects based on some sincere reasons not just to self promote yourselves or to show more names in your resume/LinkedIn profile. You should consider taking up opportunities that you are passionate about & give you energy otherwise it is a lose-lose situation for you & those who might have created value from your inputs/engagement.
- Stay committed: Whenever you take up a strategic gig, always make sure to take permission from your boss &/or family members. The key is to show potential benefits both on the personal front such as high energy & expanding new learning horizons & professional front such as expanding your professional network. Specifically portray to the organisation how such a side hustle will benefit the company & your development. Present a business case how it will create synergies.
Such external engagements help broaden your horizon, learn new skills, boost confidence & give you diverse perspectives to look at things/opportunities. It also helps you uncover areas of untapped opportunity both for yourself & your organisation. You can build connections which can make you have an innovative mindset & articulate new avenues of business growth & making money. All this adds up to an all rounded leadership mindset. Finding the right gig helps you open up doors for new opportunities & personal growth.
