What is your first best destiny?

I have a confession to make: I’m a huge Star Trek nerd. I grew up watching the original Star Trek series as reruns airing on our local UHF television channel back in the day when we had TV antennas on our roofs and no remote controls for anything. I even recorded the audio of some of the shows on a cassette recorder so I could listen to the audio track in the background while I was doing homework. I consumed all of the subsequent television shows and movies. I am a Trekker to this day.

Image from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, 1982, Paramount Studios

In the movie, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, aging heroes, Kirk, Spock, and McCoy battle an old nemesis. Captain Kirk has been promoted to Admiral. He is uneasy in this new role. He feels constrained by bureaucracy and duty. As the events unfold and the U.S.S. Enterprise prepares to head out on its dangerous and critical mission, Kirk realizes he misses the days of leading the crew on galactic adventures. He is melancholy at the thought of someone else sitting in the captain’s chair.  During this midlife crisis in space, Mr. Spock offers insight and advice to his old friend and encourages to once again command his old starship.

Spock:  If I may be so bold, it was a mistake for you to accept promotion. Commanding a starship is your first, best destiny; anything else is a waste of material.

Why would a character like Captain Kirk accept a promotion to Admiral when his “best destiny” lies in commanding a starship and not pushing virtual paper at a Starfleet workstation?

Was it just the expected thing for a successful Captain to accept promotion to Admiral?

Was it the lure of increased power?

Or the ego-boosting moment of adoration from peers and colleagues?

Maybe he got a raise? (Although “money” is allegedly a thing of the past in Star Trek…)

Kirk’s situation is no different than the sense of regret or dissatisfaction faced by millions of workers around the world every day.

People accept promotions or seek a new job at a different company because they feel like “it’s time” to take the next step. They are told this by co-workers, family, friends, and society in general. Do a good job for long enough and you should seek to be promoted, or get a big raise, or gain a level of celebrity in your industry or in your organization by winning some sought-after award. These are all external motivations and the happiness they provide is often short-lived. People achieve the pay raise, the promotion, or the fame and shortly after, they feel they need another raise, another promotion, or another award to feel that burst happiness all over again. This is the hedonic treadmill and the cycle can only end if we define our success and satisfaction in a different manner.

Years ago, I moved from a role as a salesperson into a sales management role. I did it because I wanted to be in charge of the team for a change. I did it because that was the next expected step in my sales career. I did is as an ego boost. Look at me, I’m important!

I hated the role of sales manager almost from the beginning. Instead of using my strongest skills of interpersonal communications, educating prospects, and solving problems, I was forced into using my weakest and least enjoyable skills: project planning, directing employees’ daily activities, and giving negative feedback to under-performers.

It was an emotionally draining experience. And, to make matters worse, I ended up getting fired!

I hadn’t paid enough attention to my “first best destiny” and, as a result, I had sought a promotion for external motivations.

Think about any individual contributor who accepts a promotion into a role as a team leader or manager. Often, they find that the skills they enjoyed using before their managerial role no longer valued in their new role of management.

It seems society expects this career progression in almost every field of endeavor. Engineers are expected to eventually lead technical teams. Teachers are expected to become principals or administrators. Salespeople are expected to become sales managers as a result of their success. And, society at large places great emphasis on the outward prestige of promotions, pay raises, and awards.

Pause for a moment and consider these questions:

What is the “expected” career path in your industry?

Have you followed the path set forth for you by the expectations of others?

Are you satisfied with this path?

If you look at my 2×2 Career Satisfaction Matrix, it’s pretty easy to see why many people fall into a trap of apparent success and inner disappointment. True career satisfaction comes from three basic internal motivations: Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose.

When we accept promotions for external reasons, we probably don’t feed the three internal motivating factors. Of the three internal motivations, Mastery is the one most negatively affected in these situations.

Mastery is the desire to improve your skills and gain knowledge in areas that interest you the most. When we seek promotions, pay raises, or fame, we often move into roles where our most enjoyable skills are irrelevant. We are forced to use skills we don’t enjoy using which leads many employees to burn out on the job.

Think of an educator who loves teaching but becomes an administrator to increase their income. They can easily become demotivated with every day they are not in front of a classroom engaging their students. Their energy is sapped by endless meetings, administrative work, and report writing. Their on-the-job performance may decline resulting in bigger problems later in their career.

Employers need to understand this phenomenon as well. Allow people to take on these greater responsibilities with an understanding that they can transition back to individual contributor if they find management is not a good fit.  Stop viewing people who genuinely enjoy their work and who refuse to be promoted as unmotivated. Instead, try to understand each employee’s inner motivations and most enjoyed skills. Find roles where employees are motivated from within.

As an employee, you are the captain of your fate.  You have to be able to resist the allure of the corporate cultural script which tells you that success is measured in promotions, wealth and power. You must understand that success does not bring happiness. You can define success on your terms.

Instead of focusing on the money, power, or fame of a new role, ask yourself the following questions and see how you feel about taking on a new professional challenge:

1) Would accept this this promotion or this new job if it didn’t include a raise in pay, additional power, or additional attention?

2) What new knowledge will you gain in this position? Are you genuinely interested in this area of knowledge?

3) What skills do you enjoy using most? Will you get to use these skills more often in this new job? Will you be supported and encouraged to improve these skills in this new role?

If your answer to these questions is generally positive, this might be a great career move for you.

If the answers are generally negative, proceed with caution or decline the opportunity outright. Take some time to review the  2x2 Career Satisfaction Matrix and figure out your genuine, inner motivations. Let these inner motivations light the way to your “first best destiny.”

Live Long and Prosper!