Maybe the worst advice you can give...

Go someplace you feel "empowered"? No. Go where you can grow.

“I can give you ten reasons why my advice is terrible."

I have a deep respect for Dr. Rajiv Shah, the current President of the Rockefeller Foundation. 

Well, at least I used to.

Because as one of the leaders in our field, you would think he would have it all figured out.  But the other day he posted some “simple” advice on LinkedIn targeted to new graduates and early career professionals, and this advice pretty much made me question everything about his worldview. He said, simply:

“Go where you’re empowered.”

Ok, I’m not an expert in Human Resources or personal and professional development, but the last thing a young professional should be doing is heading out into the world feeling “empowered”. That’s not only terrible advice, I think it’s dangerous.

More helpful advice would be something like,

“Go where you must start at the bottom, but where you can learn and be mentored by experts who are not so consumed with their professional pursuits that they cannot spare time working one-on-one with you. Soak up their wisdom. Learn from their mistakes. Stay humble and open-minded, and let those who have toiled impart their knowledge and wisdom onto you as a professional so that you can grow into the field of your choosing.”

Saying “Go where you feel empowered” is quite the opposite of that spirit. In fact, if you go where you feel empowered, you may be tasked with something of critical importance to your organization - with no experience or credibility to draw on. You might cost your organization an important opportunity, lose a donor, fail on a grant proposal, screw up a program. You might cost your colleagues their jobs, or your organization’s reputation.

All so that you can feel “empowered”?!? Talk about terrifying!