The 6 C’s of Career: Professionals
There are 6 C’s that make a significant difference to careers of professionals, their growth and how as
individuals they integrate with and lead organizations or go on to explore entrepreneurship/purpose.
Competence
Competence
Ideal Career
Defined as
Challenge
having knowledge, skills
and capabilities to perform a task effectively.
When a professional is not dealing with a
challenge substantial to his/her competence,
he/she will either get bored (too easy) or want to
give up (too difficult).
Cognitive Bias (CB)
When a person interprets inputs (e.g., facts)
based on their own inaccurate beliefs, leading to
irrational or unreasonable outcomes.
Professional communities, associations and
knowledge publications/particularly books and
journals continually re-emphasize the perils of
inaccurate assumptions and irrational outcomes.
Defining best practices and sharing of experience
in communities facilitate avoidance of CB.
Critical Thinking
Confirmation Bias (CfB)
The propensity and skills to engage in activity
with reflective skepticism focused on deciding
what to believe or do. (Often there is widespread
disagreement on the definition, if you explore the
topic academically.)
At every stage of career, critical thinking from an
individual point of view provides opportunity to
challenge status quo, reflect and explore self.
Developing cognitive skills, independent opinions
and evaluative mindset are critical for career.
When a person interprets new evidence as
confirmation of their existing beliefs or theories.
Take example of Accounting Professionals they
deliberately overcome (CfB) by, avoiding jumping
to conclusions, brainstorming with peers, peer
reviews and deliberating on contradictory
evidence i.e., developing hypothesis and proving.
Culture (Organizational Culture - OC)
Cognitive Dissonance (CD)
When a person is presented with evidence that
conflicts with their existing beliefs, the new
evidence cannot be accepted.
As professionals grow, they meet and engage
with wider network of peers including diversity in
age, gender, educational backgrounds and
geographic locations and many more, all of which
provide platform/opportunities to learn,
understand and overcome CD.
29 Sep 2021 | Prasanna Amanan
A precise trend of thought and actions shared by
people belonging to the same establishment and
shown in their language, morals, outlooks, beliefs,
and traditions.
Professionals who are sensitive to understand
and navigate OC by aligning themselves to the
desired culture of organizations, communities
they are part of naturally end up being perceived
as compatible and trustworthy. Such individuals
are perceived to have higher alignment to the
organization. A differentiator by itself and reason
why few grow higher up in the ranks swiftly.