YOUR CAREER STORY MAY HAVE STARTED EARLIER THAN YOU THINK!

I recently came across an old photograph of myself that stopped me in my tracks.

I was in my early twenties and at university. In the photograph, I am wearing a crown and a sash with a dollar sign emblazoned on it. I had just won a university social competition called “Miss Dollar” — one of those light-hearted events centred around fashion, beauty and lifestyle.

I smiled when I saw it.

Not simply because of how young I looked, or because it transported me back to university days filled with dreams and aspirations, but because it made me realise something about myself.

The clues were there all along.

If you had asked that young woman whether she was shy, she probably would have said yes. Yet there she was, standing on a stage, entering a competition, allowing herself to be seen and ultimately wearing the crown.

When I look at my career today, I see the same pattern repeated in very different circumstances.

I have frequently found myself stepping forward when something new needed to be built. I have taken on leadership roles, started new initiatives, accepted unfamiliar assignments and walked into spaces where there was no guarantee of success.

Sometimes I volunteered. Sometimes I was asked. And sometimes, as I like to say, leadership simply found me.

But perhaps leadership kept finding me because, somewhere along the way, I kept saying yes.

Leadership Begins Before the Title

We sometimes think leadership begins when somebody gives us a title, an office or a team.

I disagree.

Leadership often begins much earlier.

It begins when you volunteer for the assignment everyone else is avoiding. When you put forward an idea that may or may not work. When you accept responsibility before you feel completely ready. When you are prepared to be visible enough for both your successes and your mistakes to be seen.

A title may eventually recognise leadership, but it does not create it.

This is particularly important for women navigating their careers. Too many talented women wait until they feel completely qualified, prepared or certain before stepping forward.

But careers rarely unfold with that level of certainty.

Sometimes you simply have to raise your hand.

Pay Attention to Your Patterns

That old photograph also reminded me of the importance of authenticity.

Career growth is not always about reinventing yourself. Sometimes it is about understanding yourself.

What are the patterns that have followed you throughout your life?

Are you the organiser? The person who brings people together? The one who speaks when everyone else is silent? The person people call when something needs to be started, fixed or driven to completion?

Pay attention. Those patterns may be telling you something about your natural strengths.

For me, one of those patterns has been a willingness to step forward. I may not always know exactly how things will work out, but I am willing to try, to build, to take responsibility and, importantly, to be seen doing it.

Your Younger Self May Have Been Telling You Something

As we grow older and accumulate titles, qualifications, achievements and responsibilities, it is easy to imagine that the person we have become is completely different from the young person we once were.

Perhaps she is not.

Perhaps underneath all the experience are qualities that were present long before the impressive CV — courage, curiosity, initiative, resilience, creativity and leadership.

The environments change. The stakes become higher. The stages become bigger. But some fundamental qualities remain.

So look at the younger version of yourself.

What did she enjoy? What did she volunteer for? What frightened her, yet she did it anyway? Where did she naturally take the lead?

You may discover that some of the qualities you are trying so hard to develop today have actually been travelling with you for years.

My crown and sash have long since disappeared into the archives.

But the young woman wearing them?

I recognise her.

She was willing to step forward. She was willing to take a chance. She was willing to be seen.

And many years later, I realise those same qualities have shaped how I have navigated my career.

Sometimes becoming who you are meant to be is not about becoming someone entirely new.

Sometimes it is about finally recognising the woman who was there all along.

Look back. The clues may already be there.

About Author

Chinyere Okorocha

With over three decades of experience as a trailblazer in the legal profession, Chinyere Okorocha has established herself as a leading voice in law, leadership, and career growth for women. As a partner in one of the most prestigious law firms in the country, she has not only navigated the complexities of a competitive industry but has consistently broken barriers to become a sought-after leader, mentor, and advocate for women in the workplace. A devoted wife and proud mother of three, her career development platform, Heels & Ladders, is dedicated to mentoring and guiding women who aspire to redefine success, achieve career mastery, and lead with purpose.