Pick the right Play
“Pick the right play”. You can interpret that phrase a few ways, in my case it was one of a few gifts I received from Sandee Kastrul at i.c.Stars Chicago yesterday. Let’s rewind just a bit for some context.
Back in 2010 Kevin Gates - an amazing human and brilliant technologist that I was lucky to work with at Microsoft- introduced me to i.c. Stars in Chicago. I delivered my first of many presentations at their office, likely on TFS or Visual Studio given the timeframe. Over the years I continued to stay engaged, participating in high teas and delivering professional skills workshops to several cohorts. I was so inspired by the energy of the group, the engagement and determination of the cohort members, and the generosity and wholeheartedness of their mission, that I knew I’d be involved for as long as I was able. So when I found myself on an extended sabbatical last year, I called Sandee to see if I could lend my talent to furthering her mission, and to my delight she said YES!
Fast forward to the present, I’ve been able to brainstorm with Sandee on her long term goals and strategy, and how her mission is expanding and becoming even more ambitious and impactful. I am so grateful that I’ve been given the opportunity to volunteer with them, and share my gifts for vision, strategy, prioritization, and long-term planning. It may sound weird to be grateful for that, but I gotta tell you, after 7 months of sabbatical and getting dozens of rejections or just zero responses to job applications last month, I was feeling both some cobwebs in my brain, and some self-doubt about the value I had to offer a company. My ideal role is one where the work I do makes a positive impact on society in some way, and i.c. Stars is a perfect example of how technology can not only solve business problems, it can be leveraged to combat inequity and lack of diversity both in education, and the professional world. So yes, I am SO GRATEFUL for these opportunities she has given me to be part of something so important.
Now, in case you’re like, “what’s with the crochet pet rock and bracelet Angela?” Those are PHYSICAL gifts that Sandee gave to me during our session yesterday. For me, the pet rock is a) just plain adorable so will sit on my Mac Mini to make me smile and b) it will remind me my time with her and specifically how important it is to me to be able to use my gifts for awesome. The bracelet is a thing I can take with me when I am not at my home office to keep me focused on the importance of decisions I make TODAY, and the opportunities that every new day gives me to focus on my priorities.
When I thought I had all the gifts, I returned home to find that she had ALSO shared a wealth of information with me in a follow-up email including a list of companies for me to look into, and an entire technology sector I had not yet explored to find careers that aligned to my desired career future. Remember that time I waxed poetic on the importance of building your network? While I’ve been using that network to support a lot of friends and peers who are looking for jobs right now, that same network is also catching and supporting me right now. This was another example of that metaphor coming to life.
So if you’re still thinking, “but what’s with the title, PICK THE RIGHT PLAY?”. Well the specifics are not my story to tell, the advice boiled down to - the choices we make about how we spend our time, who we spend it with, and where we commit our future stay with us long beyond the timespan of individual “plays” (choosing a career, saying yes and no to requests, etc.). So look beyond the immediate pros and cons of plays/opportunities put before you, and make sure that you can look back and be proud of that choice, and that it will take you some place that you want to be. Very fitting advice as I am finally getting opportunities to interview in earnest with a number of companies, for roles that all have wildly different long-term impacts on my career trajectory, what I get to learn, what I get to contribute, and the impact that my time and energy has (or does NOT have) on the larger world.
Pick the right play.
