🚀 Peak vs. Path Roles: Accelerating Your Career Trajectory I've chatted with hundreds of successful tech executives over the years, and there's a common thread in their stories. Sure, luck plays a part in their success, so does hard work and smart role choices. But almost all of them point to a key moment where they landed a role that changed everything. I call these game-changers "peak roles." So, what's a peak role? Every company has a few projects that are in the spotlight. Everyone knows they're critical, all eyes are on them, and the pace and scrutiny are off the charts - like 10x more than any other project. For many, these were the make-or-break projects for their company. Getting on one of these projects, especially as a leader, can skyrocket your career. You get noticed, your work has a huge impact, and suddenly you have way more options for your next move. Of course, you've got to nail it, but every leader I talked to can rattle off multiple peak roles that totally changed their career path. Many of them actually hopped from one peak role to another for years, and boom - they were executives before they knew it. The other 90% of roles? I call them "path roles." They're important for keeping the company running, but they don't have that same career-altering magic as peak roles. If you're looking to shake things up in your career, go after these peak roles. If your current company doesn't have any, it might be time to look elsewhere. Just be ready - these roles are risky and demand a ton of dedication and skill. But hey, sometimes you've got to take a chance to get ahead, right? Here's the thing: if you want to make a name for yourself in your company, you need to be noticed. Peak roles make that happen. If you've never been on a peak role at your company (or in your whole career), chances are you're flying under the radar. That's why it's so important to mix it up - blend those path and peak roles to really maximize your potential. Want to dive deeper into this? Check out my latest Skip Podcast episode on building your personal brand: https://lnkd.in/gft_KMeV Edit: Take a moment and categorize all of your past projects into "path" and "peak". Now I'll bet the peak ones are not only the most memorable, but most career additive. Seek these out in future if you want to risk quickly! #CareerGrowth #LeadershipDevelopment #PeakRoles #CareerAdvice
Tara Sakhuja
1mo
So well articulated - and I’d say it’s the same for ICs too. Even though I never thought of it this way, but my years at Meta when I did the best, were also the same ones where I worked on company priorities- Election Integrity, SMBs, Business Messaging.
Sudhir Pattath
1mo
Very insightful Nikhyl Singhal . More often than not we get too caught up in the success of the product and fail to appreciate the contributions that make it happen. A product can fail for a multitude of factors, sometimes strategic reasons, however your individual contribution can still speak volumes.
Duc Bao
1mo
Nikhyl Singhal what if you always been chosen to do these “Peak Roles” but no results? If you didn’t do well, it would be obvious that it won’t come back to you.
Sam Magnant
1mo
Solid take. What's your opinion on peak role availability for more junior folks (say 5-8 yrs tenure)? IMO it's hard to land a core role in a peak project if you're more green, but supporting roles are plentiful and you should optimize for those as a second bet (Not leading the product, but helping with customer research. Not raising the round, but supplying analysis, etc...). Curious your take! Nikhyl Singhal
Sudha Elavarti
1mo
Nikhyl Singhal- You bring up such amazing nuggets with utmost clarity and simplicity. Everything you say lands so well, especially for me as I navigate my career. You have offered much more than a super expensive coach. Thank you!
Deepak Gupta
1mo
Thanks for sharing
Nikhyl Singhal Great one.I listened your pocast today and it was awesome!
Moni Asudaney
1mo
Good point!
kowshik ganesh
1mo
Thanks for giving a title to this role! My entire career is built on peak roles, a new keyword to use 😃
Founder, Executive & Team Coach | Partner at Evolution | Former VP Product
1moGreat concept Nikhyl Singhal. In my experience a lot of people underestimate their own ability to land that kind of 'peak' role, thinking that they have to get lucky and just be in the right place at the right time. Of course luck plays a role, but there's a lot that can be done to strategically analyse the path of the company and predict where those peak roles might arise. Unsurprisingly a lot of them will lean towards AI right now!