Are You a Hawk or an Eagle?
Since I can remember people have made remarks about my ambition. I've heard everything from, "how does she have so much energy," to, "if you don't be careful you are going to burn yourself out." What I have realized is that people who made comments about my "hyper-active" search for success may have failed to realize one thing, I am an eagle. Being an Eagle has helped me tremendously as a communications professional.
Anyone in the communications business can tell you all about the notorious fable that you need to work your way up the ranks one promotion at a time for 10-15 years before getting a position you really want. A lot of PR firms will promote you one level at a time every two or three years no matter how much you have excelled. Believing that is how it has to be is wrong. The truth is, you can be a Hawk about it or you can be an Eagle about it.
In short there are two types of people, Hawks and Eagles. Here are the differences between the two:
Hawks
A Hawk spends day in and day out working her way up the ladder one step at a time. While she is hard working and committed, her demure, "spoke-when-spoken-to" attitude keeps her in the background. She is the girl you will find being extra chummy with her direct supervisor. She usually follows another person's guide to success to the letter and rarely thinks outside of the box. This girl is going to be working toward her goal for a very long time.
Eagles
The Eagle spends her time with the big dogs. She is a true risk-taker. She doesn't ask her supervisor for permission before meeting with the CEO. She develops strong relationships with the people in C-suite and spends most of her "free" time mining them for knowledge and insight. Her path to success is not a straight shot up the corporate ladder. Instead, she skips over steps and the normal pecking order of things. She will most likely reach her goal in half the time as a Hawk.
Feeling stuck at your job? Is your work quality great but you keep getting passed up for promotions? Are you finding is hard to get a new job? Does planning a career move seem extremely difficult? Ask yourself... Am I a Hawk or an Eagle?
So what are you, a Hawk or an Eagle?