The key to continuous growth

Early in my childhood I heard the Spanish phrase: “El que no llora, no mama”. In English it’s often used as: “the squeaking wheel gets the grease”. This simple phrase has a very powerful meaning behind it. In life, we must ask for what we want, we must engage, and we must pursue our desires for us to get the results and rewards. Similar to how a baby cries when hungry, I strongly believe that those who seek and engage go farther than those who idly wait.

Over the past 5 years, I’ve grown a lot as an individual both personally and professionally while at Microsoft. Many people have asked how I grew, how I got promoted, whether I dealt with imposter syndrome, tips on growing faster, what to do and what not to.

The reality is that for me, it all boils down to a very simple, yet difficult task.

Don’t be afraid to ask and engage, just go for it.

This is something I’ve practiced consciously since I was little. “Don’t be ashamed, go and ask, go and explore” my dad used to say. Over the years I would participate in more experiences that would push me out of my comfort zone, especially when it involved interpersonal relations and reaching out to people whom I did not know or I did not have a relationship with. It takes practice and it is easier said than done. I still learn every day and improve how to best do it. The more you are comfortable with being uncomfortable, the better it will pay off in whatever scenario you are in.

In Microsoft, I always pushed myself to learn and deliver more. I grew technically whether by failing fast, reading books, or getting 140 comments in a code review (story for another day 😂). Each time I adapted and took mental notes. At the very beginning, I was like a sponge, trying to absorb as much knowledge from senior engineers, architects, and other people that could help me figure out new technical challenges. At the same time, I participated in networking events and lots of mentorship opportunities. More and more, I knew that if I wanted to grow - and quickly - I needed to put myself out there and “let my face be known”.

There are 200k+ employees in Microsoft. I asked myself: “what can I do to stand out?” I’m not asking for Satya to personally acknowledge me, but can I do anything to put myself out there and meet more people?

I started reaching out to people. Cold emailing them, asking if I could be their mentee. People then also started to reach out to me for mentorship. This was perfect because I could practice and learn from both sides of the table.

Sometimes, it’s hard. We tend to think the worst when it comes to making these uncomfortable decisions. “I’ll get fired if I reach out to my VP”, “Should I communicate the project is late”, “Asking for a promotion is a career limiting move”. These thoughts sometimes hinder our progress. Dan Ariely best describes it: “As you resist more and more temptation, you’re actually more and more likely to fail”. (By the way, if you are into behavioral economics, I highly recommend Dan Ariely’s talks).

All sort of things come through our mind and most of them can be ignored by just going for it. It’s not only about what’s the worst that can happen, but as Michelle Poler depicts it in her book “Hello, Fears” , “What’s the best that can happen”?

Another important point that I get asked is on promotions. These are naturally hard and uncomfortable topics. While I solely believe that your work can make a case for your promotion, it is very important to communicate and talk with your manager about it. Someone who is eagerly looking to get into the next level of responsibilities, is delivering results and communicating it— is someone who has an organic advantage when it comes to people rewards. This is a person who is not afraid to ask and engage on hard conversations.

What are some of the things I personally did?

• Sent email to VPs announcing a cross-team feature I co-created for a hackathon.
• Sent email to VPs to be part of an internal podcast.
• Joined lots of networking events, happy hours and random coffee chats with lots of different people from various roles. Most of them started with cold-emails out of the blue. “Hi, would you be open for a coffee chat”. I met John Langford this way 🙂.
• Practiced public speaking which allowed me to get nominated to deliver a tech talk in China.
• Engaged and brought up conversations regarding promotions to better set expectations and align myself with the process.
• Met a local Seattle Chef by emailing him and setting up a phone call to talk about the restaurant business!
• …

You might notice the common pattern. Networking, communicating, and fostering stronger connections.

xkcd: Networking

Language helped, I met people who spoke Spanish and connected on a deeper level.

Whatever it is that you have, use it to connect and promote those connections. Chances are, there are similarities (and differences!) between people that you meet, that will help construct a bridge to pave the road for the future.

Remember, it’s all about asking and engaging. Don’t be afraid about what will happen. Take the leap of faith, get yourself comfortable in uncomfortable situations and learn from mistakes. The power of connections is HUGE and the more you reach out, the more you ask, the more you just — thanks Nike — do it, the better you will be at it.

Kevin

PS: Here is a GREAT, related video from Diego Rejtman, someone I admire and draw motivation from.