I’ve been mentoring a lot of younger people lately.
At first, they all talk about success. And that part is clear. What’s less clear, though, is how that practically happens. And what it has to look like week over week, year over year.
These conversations have forced me to reflect on my own four years at OneSource.
The Pyramid of Performance
I have a buddy who is a serious runner. His whole training philosophy is built around two zones: Zone 2 and Zone 5. Easy miles and hard efforts. His goal, above everything else, is to build the largest aerobic base he possibly can while also increasing his top line speed.
Because he knows the bigger the base, the higher the ceiling. At some point, that became a lightbulb moment for me, the pyramid of performance.
In a lot of ways, I think that’s exactly how career growth works.
The Goal
Sustainable career growth comes from building the largest pyramid you can.
So the question becomes, how do I do that?
It happens in two ways; a larger base and a higher peak.
Build your Career Growth Base
At first, the base grows when you start doing and trying everything.
Early in my career, I wasn’t thinking about building a pyramid. I was simply looking for ways to be useful, by taking on work outside my role and picking up tasks that didn’t belong to anyone. Eventually, those small decisions began to compound. Each one added a little more to the base, even when I couldn’t yet see it happening.
The formula here is pretty simple:
- Say yes to everything.
- Look for ownership, not just tasks.
- Become competent across a wide range of skills, even the ones that feel outside your lane.
Grow your Peak
At the same time, as the base grows, some things start to become effortless.
A thing that feels natural to you but that other people struggle to do. Work that energizes you. Something that others compliment you on still before you fully recognize it in yourself, more often than not.
That’s called your Unique Ability. (Full disclosure, Unique Ability is a Strategic Coach concept).
I haven’t perfectly defined mine yet, but I am growing increasingly clear on what it feels like when I’m operating inside of it. And I know what it feels like when I’m not.
The win is to gain clarity on it, protect it, and design more of your work around it.
3 steps to identify It
Find it: What feels easy, energizing, and is consistently noticed by the people around you?
Protect it: Are you spending more time there each week, or less?
Design for it: Are you choosing work that amplifies it, or work that slowly buries it?
What I’d tell you to do with this
Ask yourself:
- Where do you see opportunities to take on more ownership right now?
- What do you get complimented on consistently, without having to think about it?
- What would your week look like if you did more of that?
In the end, real career growth doesn’t happen in a day. But every yes, every new skill, and every hour spent in your unique ability adds another layer over time. This is building the pyramid of performance!
Brock Baker
