Why oh why is pivoting in what you “do for a living” is regarded as bad?
While this has always been the case to some degree (as our parents would of course tell us), as of late it feels like any step you take away from becoming an expert is also taking an even bigger step away from success.
As I scrolled LinkedIn today, it hit me.
In this era of social media (and specifically LinkedIn), the content that performs the best - and therefore shows up in our feeds - is expert, informational & niche-based content.
Now, to be clear, I’m not saying I dislike this content. I actually love it, because it tends to validate things I already intuitively knew (like for example how the current way of operating in motherhood is impossible, or that the childcare system is fundamentally broken).
But in only showing us specialized & specific content, LinkedIn has unconsciously (ok, and very explicitly!) been telling us that in order to “make it big”… you must double down on a niche.
Ew. “Niche.” Literally everyone I have ever met has been grossed out by being forced to choose one. Because yes, you do need to choose one to be successful in the eye of all of the algorithms.
But as I recently explained in my Pride & Personal Branding talk with Visualist, 98.8% of Americas cannot own a singular niche for a lifetime. This stat is specific, as 1.2% of Americans get a PhD. Those who get a PhD are the true “niche-r’s”. They invest 16+ years of study in a particular topic, forgoing pay in favor of knowledge.
Most of us balk at the idea of doing such a thing. How… one-dimensional. Because of course, we are multi-dimensional beings. No wonder that being one-dimensional is reserved for the 1.2%!
And yet, circling back to where I started… if I own my multi-dimensionality, I cannot succeed on LinkedIn (the one place that’s supposed to help me succeed in my career!).
If I choose to talk about my passion for companies innovating in the mental health space one day, then I talk about my annoyance with unconscious bias women deal with in the workplace the next day and then I talk about launching a childcare business out of my home the day after that … LinkedIn will stop showing my posts to a broad audience.
Because if I do this, LinkedIn’s algorithms can’t quite figure out who to show it to where the recipient is almost guaranteed to resonate with the post, engage with it & then stay on their platform. So they show it to no one.
This is a massive shame for 2 reasons:
It forces us to try to fit ourselves into small boxes. And when we fail at doing so (because, duh how could we not) we feel like we are failures. Cue imposter syndrome, therapy sessions & quarter life crises.
It quells creativity. The most amazing companies have always been born from the intersection of skill sets & experiences. Forcing us to choose has resulted in a super limited & narrow scope for “creators” to come up with ideas.
Let’s double click on this last one. Let’s pick a handful of the most influential brands over the last 100 years - Apple, Nike, Disney & Toyota - and think about their trajectories as companies.
Apple took computers - and infused them with good design.
Nike took running shoes - and infused them with innovative grip technology.
Disney took motion pictures - and infused them with magic.
Toyota took automobiles - and infused their production with efficiency.
If Steve Jobs was only passionate about computer technology, we wouldn’t have an iPhone that fits into our pocket. If Phil Knight was only obsessed with running, we wouldn’t have people believing they could “ball like Jordan”. If Walt Disney was only obsessed with motion pictures, we wouldn’t have theme parks that leave our children (& their adults) in awe. If Kiichiro Toyoda was only obsessed with automobiles, we wouldn’t be able to own them on an individual basis.
And yet I open up my newsfeed on LinkedIn today to this - a hyper niched, punch line driven post on burnout:
Now, I love Katy’s content. It reminds me that I no longer am burned out, is beautifully blunt & adds tangible value. She combines her experience as an executive and her experience with burnout and has created transformation, as many other coaches have.
If we think about those examples again… Apple didn’t launch with an iPhone. Nike didn’t launch with a flat soled basketball shoe. Disney didn’t launch with a theme park.
But in order to keep seeing success on LinkedIn, LinkedIn is forcing Katy to stay in her lane - aka her niche. If she wakes up one day and decides to stop talking about coaching related topics like values, boundaries & the power of choice… her content (aka her main marketing tool that brings her financial success) will dry up.
And yet Katy deserves to evolve, just like Apple, Nike & Disney did. She is still oh so young, and life is long. She needs to grow - and most likely outside of the boundaries of the coaching industry.
I am giving this permission to Katy, because I am giving myself this permission today.
I have become a coach, and found great success thanks to owning that niche. And yet coaching is one-dimensional. It’s just one aspect of who I am. I am reaching a moment where yet again I must own a metamorphosis.
Coach Kelly is no longer the front & center aspect of who I am, she is just one part of me.
I am part mentor, product management consultant, yogi, traveler, dancer & Spanish culture aficionado. These are smaller parts of current me. They are things that when I encounter them, my body lights up. But I don’t spend time obsessing over them.
I am also part creative entrepreneur, angel investor, childminder, writer, intuitive guide, loving partner, coach, public speaker & operational efficiency consultant. These are bigger parts of me … things that I actively seek out books & thought leaders to learn from on, or opportunities to jump off the deep end on!
And most importantly, I am a mother. Not part mother - but full mother. This aspect of my identity gets center stage right now. It’s the priority. And I love that for current Kelly!
I know I can be all of these things - small and large - and pivot between them. And yet I still feel I’m going to be judged for yet another pivot in my life, or labeled a failure for not becoming a master coach, or having my reputation become one of those “cooky creatives” who has her head in the clouds.
But here I am, doing it anyways. What’s guiding me through this is what I like to call my life brand statement. My life brand statement is: “I am innovating a new way of living” and it acts a decision making tool. One that allows me to easily say no to opportunities that aren’t perfectly designed for me. And one that allows me to more easily laugh in the face of imposter syndrome & follow my dreams of showing people they really can have their cake and eat it too.
Thinking about Katy again - a life brand statement could benefit her, too. It might be “I am modeling resilience & creativity”.
Steve Job’s might have been “I am leaving people in awe.” Phil Knight’s might have been “I am creating belief in people’s lives.” Or Kiichiro Toyoda’s might have been “I am infusing ease in the world.”
And just like Phil Knight didn’t talk about waffle iron soles for his entire life (the thing that initially made Nike shoes famous), I don’t feel I need to talk about limiting beliefs & core values for my entire life.
Just like Phil Knight took action after action that led him to working with Michael Jordan to bring “elite athlete energy” to the masses via sneakers, I too feel I am entitled to take action after action that will lead me to whatever it is I will be doing in 10 years time.
And while what’s next for me is still unfolding, I feel I have the permission (& potential for success) to pivot thanks to my life brand statement. I hope this share inspires you to craft one of your own, too.
And because we all love a shameless plug - if you are someone who wishes to partner with or hire an ambitious woman (ahem, me!) who has a blend of coaching, product management, childcare, operational efficiency & leadership experience… I’d love to hear from you.
Because the best next step almost always come from a personalized invitation - I‘m open to fractional consulting opportunities in the early childhood development space. So please shoot me a message at kelly@kelly-snodgrass.com if you’d like to connect 🥰