The Work You Want Doesn’t Always Appear. Sometimes You Have to Ask for It.
Balancing ambition isn’t about choosing one desire at a time. It’s about showing up for both the professional and personal pieces of your life without apologizing for either. But if there’s one idea from this conversation with Leanne Paul that stayed with me, it’s this: don’t sit back and wait for someone to hand you an opportunity. Look for it. Ask for it. And don’t dismiss paths you never thought you’d walk.
The Way We Build Careers Is Changing
Part of what makes careers feel so unsettled right now is that the world of work is shifting fast. Roles evolve. Skills change. Job descriptions don’t always keep up with reality. The old idea that someone notices your hard work and neatly places the next step in front of you doesn’t hold the same weight it once did. The World Economic Forum has been clear about this. A large portion of the skills employers care about today won’t look the same by the end of this decade. Continuous learning and adaptability are becoming the baseline, not the bonus.
That reality changes how opportunity shows up. It also changes how we have to engage with it.
Waiting Quietly Leaves Too Much to Chance
Leanne talked about seeing opportunities and asking about them, even when she didn’t check every box or fit a traditional mold. She didn’t wait for permission or a perfect moment. She raised her hand, explained what she could bring, and started the conversation. That’s how she moved into roles that aligned with who she was becoming, not just who she had been.
Asking isn’t about confidence theater. It’s about agency. Research from MIT Sloan Management Review reinforces this in a way that feels both obvious and uncomfortable: many people don’t advance because they aren’t visible in the conversations where decisions are made. Not because they aren’t capable. Not because they didn’t earn it. But because they weren’t part of the dialogue. Advancement often follows proximity, participation, and clarity about what you want to work toward.
Being Seen Isn’t Accidental
This part hit me hard. There’s a difference between waiting to be seen and choosing to be involved. The first feels safer. The second requires intention. We wait for job postings. We wait for reviews. We wait for someone else to connect the dots. Meanwhile, the work keeps changing, and the conversations keep moving.
What if we asked sooner?
What if we stepped into rooms where we don’t yet have all the answers but do have curiosity, experience, and perspective?
Leanne was honest about the no’s. There were plenty of them. But there were also yeses. Enough to build a career that works for her. Enough to prove that opportunity doesn’t need to be handed to you to be real. Sometimes it starts with a question and the willingness to hear whatever comes back.
