2019-July-25

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6 Ways to Define Your Path and Blaze Your Trail

BY SURESH NAIR · SENIOR DIRECTOR ENGINEERING · India

My six years at Cisco as a software engineering leader have taught me one thing for sure: One must find every way to keep moving forward.

Leading a global team across Cisco that is revolutionizing the way Service Provider networks communicate has taught me that the world around you will move fast. You can avoid becoming a fossil by learning, adapting, and growing quickly.

Each technology cycle used to take 5 to 10 years to span through, but we’ve come to a point where technology changes almost every year. So, how do we survive or rather, thrive in this age?

Employees who constantly redefine their capabilities have the upper hand when dealing with the dynamics of this fast-paced technology landscape.

Here are my personal insights on why you must never give up on reinventing yourself:

1. Stay relevant: I can’t stress how important it is to stay relevant. Your past success no longer guarantees future accolades. One must build something new on top of what you have done. The transitions that I have made in Cisco allowed me to embrace new challenges and grow from them.
2. New take on old Code: When my job felt monotonous and I questioned my own contributions, I leaned into learning something new. It need not be related to your daily work yet needs to challenge you to think differently. Recently, I used Udemy on learn.cisco.com to complete a course on Golang to challenge the way I thought about programming with C++. I was not only able to learn to code in a new language, but also solve challenges on leetcode.com.
3. Adapt a growth mindset: If you seek new knowledge, you radiate and live in what is known as a growth mindset. You will feel comfortable taking risks, solving problems, and unveiling new possibilities. A growth mindset can be infectious in terms of energy and hope that could also influence your teams.
4. How do I make time to learn during a demanding workday? I listen to podcasts or download lectures for my commute to work. I took a day off and completed my Cisco Security Greenbelt without being interrupted. I often use Saturday nights or Sunday afternoons to read and learn. Also, I have more time to read and reflect by waking up thirty minutes earlier.
5. What to learn: This is an easy one. Do an environment scan. What are your interests? What technology transitions are your industry expected to face? For example, the networking industry is moving from hardware solutions to software-driven solutions. With that in mind, I shifted my interest in software problem solving to build new software solutions.
6. Where to apply: Don’t wait for other people to create opportunities for you. Create your own. A Cisco colleague offered an excellent answer to this one. He applied his newfound knowledge of software scripting to automate his manual work and used his saved time to learn things that interested him.

You may already have checked out Degreed, where you can learn from great providers like Pluralsight, Udemy, edX, or Khan Academy. Try your hand on a Sandbox at DevNet or get DevNet Certified.

So, what steps will you take to stay relevant, learn, and grow?

Related Links

• Degreed
• Leetcode

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