Critical Experiences for Career Growth
Career growth isn’t random, it’s built on the right blend of experiences. Stretch roles, cross-functional exposure, people leadership, external perspective, and learning from failure shape future leaders. The key lies in progression, not accumulation, with 70/20/10 as a guiding balance.
The right blend of critical experiences for career progression typically includes these key categories:
Challenging Assignments form the foundation - taking on stretch roles that are 10-15% beyond your current capabilities, leading high-visibility projects, or managing through crisis situations. These build core competencies and demonstrate your ability to handle increased responsibility.
Diverse Functional Exposure is crucial for senior roles. Working across different departments, geographies, or business units creates the broad perspective needed for leadership. This might include rotational assignments, cross-functional project leadership, or international postings.
People Development Opportunities become increasingly important as you advance. Managing teams of growing size and complexity, mentoring others, or leading through organisational change develops the interpersonal skills that distinguish senior leaders.
External Perspective through industry involvement, board service, customer-facing roles, or community leadership provides context for how your organisation fits in the broader ecosystem and builds valuable networks.
Learning from Failure is often the most accelerating experience. Taking calculated risks, learning from setbacks, and demonstrating resilience shows the judgment and adaptability that organisations value in their top talent.
The optimal blend varies by individual goals and industry, but research suggests that roughly 70% should come from challenging job assignments, 20% from relationships and mentoring, and 10% from formal education or training.
The key is ensuring experiences build on each other progressively rather than just accumulating randomly.