How to successfully navigate work: 4 mindset changes suggested by those who have walked the path from the PhD to management career in tech.
From Graduates to Leaders: 4 Mental Shifts
Are you about to finish or have already completed your degree program? Are you a Ph.D. student interested in moving into the corporate world? Or have you already been working for years and feel stuck in your professional growth? In this article you will discover 4 essential mindset shifts you must adopt when leaving academia if you want to succeed in the professional world.
The academic and corporate environments are radically different. In academia, the focus is on the individual and research, while in business, success depends on team collaboration, effective communication, and the achievement of common goals.
Drawing on my experience from PhD to management career in tech, I will share with you 4 specific adaptations to embrace as soon as possible if you want to unlock your growth and achieve your professional goals. Ready to chart the path to your professional success? Let’s get started.
1. Start from the end (from Practice to Theory)
In college, the starting point is often a scientific curiosity. For example, during my PhD in statistics, the questions I asked were abstract or very general: How can I generalize this mathematical model by removing some of the conditions on which it is based? How can I connect artificial intelligence models to areas such as biology or genetics? The interest of my research was to improve the model, while the application was almost a corollary, an incidental example.
In business, the paradigm has flipped. In the business context, we start with a concrete need, such as solving customer pain points: how can I help the customer estimate their future sales more accurately by reducing model processing time? How can I make the experience of using the model more user-friendly? The key is to work backwards. Always start with the business need and ask yourself how the theory can be applied to solve these problems.
A practical example of this approach is the one suggested by Amazon, which suggests starting a new project from the end. That is, instead of starting with the practical implementation of the product, the project begins by writing a draft of a press release announcing the launch of the new product to be introduced with the new project. This document describes the strengths and value that the new product brings to customers. Sounds paradoxical, doesn’t it? Yet it works: starting from the end point, you establish a vision that will be the north star for every subsequent decision in product development, guiding all subsequent phases of the project.
Working backwards, one identifies the steps needed to achieve the goals set in the draft “press release,” or the hypothetical announcement of the finished project. From there, we go on to determine what actions are needed to develop and launch the product in the market, all the way to the theoretical aspects. This approach helps to create a clear vision from the very beginning.
The transition from university to the company required me to develop a practical application-oriented mindset, and the technique of starting from the end was key to successfully making this transition.
2. Be like water (Flexibility and Adaptation)
The academic environment often provides a rigid structure for studies and activities. However, in business, change can occur in unpredictable ways. Needs change and priorities are constantly under critical review.
For example, in tech, the new technology revolution is always just around the corner. Think of the recent spread of generative artificial intelligence with ChatGPT. It’s a real earthquake that has revolutionized priorities, required rapid adaptation of business technologies, and fast upgrading of skills. How to manage this constant change without being overwhelmed?
“Water overcomes everything because it adapts to everything,” said Lao Tsu. Be like water, flexible and ready to adapt. Embrace strategies and goals in line with changing market and customer demands. Acquire new skills, adopt innovative technologies and be ready to change your work practices to remain competitive.
And in the meantime, work iteratively. Set interim goals in each long-term project and be ready to revise the plan once, twice, three times if necessary. In a dynamic environment, the ability to quickly adapt plans to new priorities becomes a crucial competitive advantage.
3. Learn that 1 + 1 = 11 (Communication and Teamwork)
Although the university presents opportunities for group projects, the concept communication and teamwork in the academic context differs significantly from the corporate context for several reasons. Let’s explore them together.
First, in the company you collaborate with colleagues with vastly different backgrounds. In my experience as a manager in the tech industry, I interact daily not only with statisticians, engineers, and business experts, but also with stakeholders with widely different interests. Researchers are interested in long-term science projects, product managers in the immediate needs of responding to customers, engineers in the security and robustness of systems, and so on. Not only do you have to communicate with people who speak different languages, but you also have to learn how to compose different interests toward common goals.
Second, at work you have to learn to do expectation management. That is, you need to know how to appropriately manage the expectations of the different people involved in a project. Make sure you give regular, proactive and transparent status updates, pointing out risks instead of hiding them and proposing strategies to mitigate them.
Third, in business 1 + 1 must be 11. Yes, you read that right. What does that mean. In the private sector, it is essential to be a team player to have a multiplier effect. For example, unlock the work of your colleagues working on a joint project, give constructive feedback, demonstrate leadership that enhances individual productivity, and identify opportunities for collaboration outside your project or team. The result is that your contribution will not simply add to that of your colleagues, but will be exponentially amplified, leading to amazing results-just like 1 + 1 = 11.
Fourth, you need to learn the art of persuasion. It is normal to meet colleagues with different perspectives on what to do. You need to be able to persuade leadership and, if you are a manager, your team as well. This ability to influence others in a positive way can make all the difference in achieving your goals and getting the support you need to move your ideas and projects forward. If you are interested in learning more about persuasion and how and why you end up saying yes, I recommend the book “Influence” by Robert Cialdini and our article “How to Negotiate in Work and Life: 5 Proven Tips”.
4. Forget grades (Performance and Feedback)
In the academic environment, success is measured by assessments, exams and grades, often received unilaterally by professors and supervisors. However, in business, success takes decidedly broader, multidimensional and interactive forms. If you want to advance in your professional career, you need to change your mindset about both the idea of good performance and the idea of feedback as soon as possible.
To improve your performance, put aside the desire for “good grades.” Focus on overcoming real challenges and getting real results. Success in business is not related to perfection or complexity of solutions, but to efficiency and the ability to solve practical problems with simple solutions. The problem may be complex, but the solution should be simple. If there are two equally effective solutions, prefer the simpler one.
Speaking of feedback, we get to the heart of a crucial distinction: how your performance is evaluated. Whereas in college feedback comes from professors through formal evaluations, in business it must be proactively sought from multiple people: your direct manager, your manager’s manager, your colleagues, and even the people who report to you if you follow a team. If your manager is your only source of evaluation, I have bad news: your sphere of influence may be too small. Give the people around you an opportunity to get to know you, to appreciate your value, and to give feedback about you.
And in the business context, feedback is not a one-sided judgment or an opportunity to put a stamp of approval or disapproval on people. On the contrary: the purpose of feedback is to increase efficiency, to help those who receive it overcome their limitations, and to foster professional growth. Everyone in the company is encouraged to give feedback. A good manager, for example, will be open to receiving feedback: were they clear in their communication? Did they accurately define expectations? If something went wrong, what could they have done better?
“Feedback is a gift,” said Warren Buffet, one of the world’s most successful investors. It is essential to adopt a democratic feedback culture, where everyone can contribute to mutual improvement through respectful sharing of views.
In conclusion: the winning moves for success at work
In the transition from college to work, it is not enough to acquire new skills: you have to completely abandon the academic mindset. If you have followed along so far, you now know that you have to work backwards from the bottom line, adapt as smoothly as water, embrace the concept that 1 + 1 = 11, and radically change the way you view feedback and evaluations.
If you are interested in a practical guide on what to do after college, how to succeed at work and get promoted, read our article on the 3 most frequently asked questions for job success.
Whether you are taking the first steps in your career or aiming for advancement, working on these 4 mindset changes is the key to overcoming your old college mindset patterns and start charting your path to success. Be bold, be proactive, and you will see your efforts pay off with extraordinary results.
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