Amit Paley spent the first seven years of his career as a reporter for the Washington Post. While he put in long hours and did stints in war zones in the Middle East, he also made time to serve on the board of his alma mater’s newspaper, where he could help aspiring journalists and learn how nonprofits worked. After leaving the Post and attending business school, Paley joined McKinsey as a consultant—another demanding job. But again, he made it a priority to volunteer, this time staffing nighttime and weekend phone lines for the Trevor Project, an organization that works to prevent suicides among LGBTQ youth. Eventually he joined its board (full disclosure: one of us also serves on it), which gave him exposure to the operational and financial challenges of such groups and inspired him to get more involved in McKinsey’s nonprofit work. This virtuous cycle eventually culminated in his being named CEO of the Trevor Project in 2017. “By investing my time outside work in things I was passionate about, I learned things that made me better at my job,” Paley explains. “Those experiences also prepared me for future leadership roles that I didn’t know I would have.”
The Strategic Side Gig
If you have a big job, the thinking goes, you should focus on it obsessively so that you excel and position yourself for the next role. But, in fact, such single-mindedness can stymie your career. Leaders need to find ways to expand their range of knowledge, skills, and connections outside their daily work. This goes beyond attending conferences or even taking classes; it requires meaningful engagement in outside activities, such as work on boards, in teaching or public service, in mentoring start-ups, and in leadership roles for associations and clubs. This article explains how to find time in your hectic schedule, identify the side gigs that will be synergistic with your personal interests and current job, and get your employer’s buy-in. Taking on extracurricular activities isn’t always easy, but in the end it can open opportunities up for you and become your personal competitive advantage.