The best career advice from top leaders

I'm a sucker for graduation speeches, where some celeb or minor celeb has been tasked with distilling their life's lessons down to a tight 45 that will inspire a student at the start of their career. The speeches run a wide range: you get the sublime along with the deeply weird.

But, almost always, there's some nugget that you can take away with you — even if you're long out of school or never attended. LinkedIn News's own version of a graduation speech, less poetic but with way more actionable data about where the jobs are and what skills are in demand, can be found in our 2024 Guide to Kickstarting Your Career.

And in tandem, today I'm publishing a special episode of This is Working featuring my favorite career advice from recent guests, including Barack Obama, the Property Brothers, AI pioneer Fei-Fei Li and more. They may be leaders in their fields now but they all went through the challenge of finding their way there.

Some of the great advice you will hear in this episode: 

👉 Barack Obama, former US President

“Michelle and I always tell our daughters, ‘Look, some of work is just a grind. Some of the work is you doing something that is useful to your employer, the person who is paying you, and it may not be fun. And that's okay ‘cause that's what it means to be a grownup.’”

👉 Ginni Rometty, former IBM CEO

“The most important question I learned to ask, and ask myself, ‘Am I running to something or running from something?’ And as you look for a job, I think you have to ask yourself that.”

👉 Jon Haber, Giant Spoon co-founder 

“Your talent and what the world sees in you should sometimes help you evolve your dream to what is going to be fulfilling for you because you're good at it.”

👉 Bob Pittman, iHeart Media CEO 

“I think success and failure are exactly the same thing. They're just stepping stones.”

👉 Indra Nooyi, former PepsiCo CEO

“Put your hand up for the toughest assignments. That's when you'll get noticed.”

👉 Jonathan Scott, Property Brothers

“Do stuff that's going to put you in a direction that's the right direction, but you'll never, no matter how hard you try, you'll never figure out where you're going to be in 10 or 20 years.”

Watch the full video for more terrific insights and actionable advice from these and other This is Working guests. 

Here’s what stood out to me: Preconceived notions about what we want to achieve often clash with reality — and that’s ok. Every step, misstep, or pivot is an opportunity to learn and get better. Don’t worry so much about making the “right” decision or finding the perfect title. Instead focus on finding a role you’ll enjoy and can continuously learn from. At the end of the day, very few decisions in our working lives are permanent. 

Now I want to hear from you: What’s your advice to recent grads or those looking to pivot careers? Let me know in the comments.

To keep up with these conversations and be inspired by the world’s top leaders stories, subscribe to #ThisisWorking: linkedin.com/thisisworking

On LinkedIn’s video series This is Working, I sit down with top figures from the world of business and beyond to surface what they've learned about solving difficult problems. See more from CVS Health CEO Karen Lynch, PwC Global Chair Bob Moritz, Merck Group CEO Belén Garijo, J&J CEO Joaquin Duato, former US President Barack Obama, top executive coach Mark C. Thompson, Kellogg’s Francesca Cornelli, Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva, cosmetics legend Bobbi Brown, F1’s Toto Wolff, and many more.