In this solo coaching session, Margaret Spence, founder of the Employee to CEO Project and the 10X Leadership Academy, presents Day 22 of the 30/30 Career Transformation Challenge. She introduces the bold question, “Who is holding space for your success?” and distinguishes two kinds of people who influence careers: (1) those who want you to be successful on their terms—mapping a career path for you, offering opportunities, and seeking credit for your achievements; and (2) those who hold space for your success—listening to your vision, asking about your goals and mission, and acting as a supportive sounding board without imposing their own agenda. Spence argues that many professionals surrender their own vision to managers, supervisors, or executives, treating them as gatekeepers of destiny. She urges listeners to identify which type of influence they are receiving, reclaim ownership of their career narrative, and allocate their energy to mentors who truly empower them. The session ends with a reflective prompt to assess who is genuinely holding space for the listener’s success and a reminder to share the video.
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Day 22 of the 30/30 Career Transformation Challenge. My name is Margaret Spence, and I'm the founder of the Employee to CEO Project and the 10X Leadership Academy. Thank you for joining me on the 30 Powerful Questions to Upend Your Career to have you think differently about where you want to go, what you want to do, and where you see yourself in your career journey. Today's bold question: Who is holding space for your success? You see, there are two types of people, two types. There's a person who wants you to be successful on their terms, and there's the person who will take your vision and build it into reality. There's a distinct difference between both types of people, and let me explain the distinction. A person who wants you to be successful is going to map the career for you on their terms. They're going to say to you, this is a position I think you should go after, this is where I think you should go, this is what I think you should do. This is the opportunity that I've opened for you. At no point in that conversation does the person say, what do you want? Nowhere in that conversation do they ask for your input on your career journey. They want you to be successful so that they can tell everybody that they helped you be successful. Let me say that again. They want you to be successful on their terms. They want to determine your future based on a success path that they have developed for you. The opposite is true of someone who's holding space for your success. Someone who's holding space for your success is going to sit down with you. They're gonna hear what you have to say. They're going to ask you about your vision. They're gonna ask you about your goals. They're going to ask you about your mission. They're gonna ask you what's greater than you. They're gonna make you bring out that uncomfortable goal that's inside of you. They are not vested in where you take your goal. They are not vested in where you take your vision. They are simply vested in being a sounding board and a guide to help you fulfill your dream. They are not there to tell you where you should go. The mistake that is often made with your career is that you depend on someone to tell you what you should do next. You are not bringing forth your own vision and mission and your own empowerment. You are waiting for your manager, your supervisor, your director, your vice president, the owner of the company to tell you where to go next. You've decided that your destiny, your success is tied to someone else's success. Success path. It's not tied to your path. When someone is mentoring you, championing you, grooming you, and they have taken the time to ask you for your vision, they've taken the time to ask you for what you want, and they've taken the time to hear what you have to say. Then they are holding space for your success because they recognize that the path to your success is not through them. The path to your success is empowering you to step into your success. It's not a gatekeeper process where I hold the keys to your destiny and then I get to decide where you should go. Here's the mistake that we often make with our career. We join an organization, we wait to be tapped on the head, and when we get tapped on the head, the person then tells us what to do next. We've turned over our entire vision, our entire purpose, our entire life to someone else. What I am asking you to do is to determine the type of people who are steering you in your career. Are the people who are steering you, who are directing you, who are mentoring you, wanting you to be successful, or are they holding space for you to build your vision and for you to be empowered to have the career you want? There are two types of people: the ones who want you to be successful and the ones who hold space for your success. It's important that you figure out the role that people are playing in your career and you allocate the strength that you give to them appropriately, that you don't turn over your power to someone else because you are living their vision versus living your vision. Today's bold question: Who is holding space for your success? Be mindful of what comes with your success. There's always a caveat. There's always an inch of something else, and it's up to you to figure out what kind of success someone wants for you. Thank you for joining me on the 30/30 Challenge. Day 22. Amazing journey so far. If you like this video, please share it so that the other people in your network can enjoy it too. Thank you.
