Best Advice: Make Every Opportunity a Learning Opportunity

In this series, professionals share the words of wisdom that made all the difference in their lives. Follow the stories here and write your own (please include the hashtag #BestAdvice in the body of your post).

I get a lot of requests for advice — from students, new associates, new PwC partners, practice leaders, PwC alumni, clients, community leaders, and the many other stakeholders I have the privilege to interact with. Very often, the best advice I can give is the best advice I ever got: "Make every opportunity a learning opportunity."

A client once told me this, and it has lived with me each and every day since. Not only because of what she said, but because she practiced what she preached.

Making the leap into learning. I've put this advice to work in my own career, especially at times when the path ahead was unclear. As I've written about before, when I was asked to move to our human capital team, or spend two years abroad in Japan, I had questions. I wasn't sure the opportunities were right for me, whether I was capable of taking on the opportunity, or how the experiences would move me forward.

But I jumped in and learned all I could. Those experiences prepared me for future opportunities, including my current role. And those early experiences are the foundation that allow me to learn even more today with all of the interactions and experiences that I am afforded.

The ability to adapt and learn in new situations has never been more relevant. The world around us is changing fast. As we see in the results of our 18th Annual Global CEO Survey, business leaders are seeing and feeling that change every day. Although we can't be sure where the next opportunity will take us, we can make sure we learn the most from it.

Heat-tested in Texas. Here’s a great story about the importance of being agile and learning all you can from the opportunities you’re presented with. Early in her career, one of my partners at PwC was assigned to our Houston office. She was asked to look at some R&D credit projects for one of our oil industry clients. She found herself working in a trailer with feeble air conditioning, wearing then-standard formal business attire, in the middle of the Texan summer. She felt — almost literally — like a fish out of water. But the experience turned out to be pivotal for her. She was out in the field — observing refineries, studying plans, learning from the engineers who knew their business best — and she was developing energy industry expertise from the ground up. That project led to another and another, and that former junior staffer now leads our energy practice in the United States.

Just ask. Another thing I've learned is that as new opportunities arise, you don't have to go it alone. We all need a variety of advisors, sponsors or mentors who we can trust to tell us the truth, even — especially — when it might not be what we want to hear. I have a number of people to whom I turn regularly for advice and counsel, depending on the situation, personal or professional. Their input helps me continue to learn, develop and be better positioned for the next opportunity or challenge.

Take my advice. Let me wrap up with just a little more advice on how to keep learning and growing no matter where you are in your career.

When opportunity knocks, open the door. Take advantage of new situations to learn as much as you can. An opportunity can take the form of meeting someone for the first time or a complex project you have been asked to tackle.

When asked to step outside your comfort zone, the right answer is usually yes. Those risky, scary assignments can be the most rewarding. Again, don't go it alone and learn from others.

If the right opportunities are not coming to you, work with your mentors and sponsors to create your own. Build a reputation as someone who likes a challenge, handles it successfully, and becomes better from it.

So, now let's hear your stories. How do you decide which opportunities are right for you? What opportunity taught you a lesson that has served you well ever since?