The military is full of opportunities, plenty of places you wish you could serve, jobs you wish you had, people you wish you could work with.
Given the military’s sequential, time and experience-based professional development model, most of that opportunity is out of reach or untimely.
One way to overcome this facet is to perform better, to rank higher, to stand out. Why? Because performance begets opportunity. As you progress, the number and quality of opportunities increase. Through performance you reveal potential.
This mentality, however, has a flaw. In doing things that result in the next professional development opportunity, it’s easy to overlook the everyday opportunity that doesn’t count for professional points. The investment in younger leaders, the unexpected but appreciated thank you, the moment of genuine care for a teammate in need. These opportunities don’t show up on the scoreboard. They can’t be communicated in evaluation reports. Bosses won’t discover them.
In pursuit of opportunity, don’t miss the opportunity that makes the most difference.
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