Last week I attended the Israel Cancer Research Fund fundraiser Revolving Tables. One mentor was assigned to each table, and attendees switched tables at each course. I had the pleasure of sitting with Heather Conway (Executive Vice-President of the CBC), Susan Horvath (President and CEO of the ROM Governors), and Marie Henein (criminal lawyer).
Some insightful pieces of advice were:
- Focus on your strengths. Often times in school we are encouraged to focus on the subjects that we are weak in to achieve strong grades in everything. When we switch from school to work, we should focus on that which comes easy to us. We should invest our time in developing our natural talents, rather than fight to do what we are weak at.
- This leads me to my second point: “Talent + effort” will take you far. Putting energy into what we are good at has the potential to propel you far within your field of expertise.
- If an employee is not performing at their full capacity, look at your managerial style. Change it.
- De-clutter your life. Focus on what matters. Forget the baggage.