This post originally appeared on LinkedIn.
According to the U.S. Department of labor — the average tenure at a job for 2014 is 4.6 years. I’ll soon be celebrating five years at Edelman, so I thought it would be a good time to reflect on what can be learned in five years, not just on the job but in life as well. I’m a big believer that looking back can help you look forward, so here are are a few things I’ve learned over the past five years.
1. Mentorship Comes in Many Forms
The traditional image of a mentor is someone who takes you under their wing, puts time aside for you and imparts wisdom — often a more senior person who you view as established or experienced in areas you yourself seek experience in. But mentorship is really another way of thinking about relationships, and growing from them in the process. I can think of several relationships I’ve established in the past five years both with people senior to me and junior alike, where I learn and grow from. As a result, I’ve come to view mentorship, both giving and receiving it a bit differently. It’s a mindset about relationships more than a formal arrangement.
2. Travel Requires Discipline
I do my fair share of traveling. Not as much as some of my colleagues or peers outside of my company but also more than others. One thing I’ve learned over the years is that it requires discipline. Sleep, food, drinks, work and even socialization — they can all be overdone or just the opposite. Business travel requires a certain level of discipline and balance as it represents a state of living, that isn’t the same thing as your everyday life (unless you indeed travel every day) and stresses like flight delays can sometimes threaten to throw the balance off. I’ve found that all things in moderation help keep the road from getting the best of me.
3. The Enterprise Adapts (and That’s How It Should Be)
Five years ago, tablets weren’t even introduced in the market and when they first arrived — they weren’t seen as viable work devices. Today, it’s a different story and the same goes for mobile devices of all shapes and sizes. We’ve moved beyond work happening on desktops and laptops, and our IT and infrastructure has had to adapt whether they wanted to or not. A lot of technology change happens in five years.
4. We Are a Collection of Our Experiences
When we have new experiences, we grow. My biggest professional growth spurts in the past five years either happened from taking on a challenge that was a stretch from my core competencies, jumping on a project or engagement doing something I had not done before. Once we do it — whether we “succeed” or not, we learn from the experience. And learning is growing.
5. You Have to Make Time for Yourself
The higher you move up in an organization, the more people expect you to give of yourself. Giving is a noble thing and many of the great leaders I know are generous with their time, knowledge and attention. But nobody is going to help you make the time for yourself to replenish your well. I’ve learned to block out some time on the calendar so I can catch my breath — on weekends, I’ll huddle in my office or a coffee shop. In the past five years especially, I’ve learned that time is precious and should be treated as such.
Five years is half a decade — no doubt that I’ve still much to learn, but it’s definitely more fun learning by being surrounded by great people who strive to do great things.
David Armano is global strategy director.