Before You Make Your Next Career Move Figure Out if You’re a Creator or Sustainer?

Numerous years into my career as a leader, I attended a women’s leadership summit. This annual event was for female lawyers—a career I had transitioned out of a few years earlier after closing my decade-long law practice. In the ensuing years, I had made a couple of career transitions. I became the first Director of Diversity and Equity for my state’s bar association (I’ll talk about “firsts” in another post) and later became a director of a unit within my municipality's civil rights office.

I wasn’t entirely sure what an event that I assumed would feature an all-attorney panel could teach me about leadership (how naive of me), especially since I had moved away from that formal career trajectory. To my surprise and delight, one of the panelists was not an attorney but rather a CEO of a large, well-known U.S. corporation—a rarity then and now. Her name has long escaped me, so let’s call her “Selma.” She asked our crowd of women a question I’ve never forgotten:

Are you a creator or a sustainer?

Selma went on to explain that the sooner you know which you’re more inclined toward, the easier your future career choices will be. Some jobs require you to maintain established protocols, systems, rules, regulations, and requirements already in place. This doesn’t mean those things may not need change in the future, but opportunities for change may be rarer. Other jobs, however, exist to create or enact change in those same areas.

Creation-based work might involve fixing something broken, filling in unintended gaps, or envisioning entirely new or better-running systems. Once those necessities are created, they must be maintained—but in creation-based work, maintenance often takes a backseat.

When Selma asked that question, I immediately knew I was a creator and had been for most of my life. Early in my career, when I was doing more sustaining work, I often felt distracted, bored, and struggled to do my best. In retrospect, I never fully understood why until that women’s summit. Looking back, I accomplished the most and did my best work when I was in positions requiring creation.

However, there’s a caveat Selma didn’t mention, one I’ve personally experienced: You must understand how the organization you’re applying to views the position. Few things are as challenging—or, depending on the title, as detrimental—as a creator or sustainer being in the wrong role.

So ask yourself: “Am I a creator or a sustainer?” If you’re unsure, do some inquiry. Reflect as far back as your childhood and examine your career up to your current position. Focus on when you felt most happily challenged and thriving.

Selma was right. The sooner you can identify your natural inclination, the easier your future career choices will be.