Career Success is Not Luck

Happy Thursday,

Do you believe in luck?

It feels like a divisive question. We have all worked with someone who seems to have it. Their career, life, and job all line up. They meet the right people, make the right calls, and land the roles others only talk about. Ask them what made them successful and they often say, “I got lucky” or “right place, right time”. But research and psychology suggest something else is going on. So let’s dive in.

🧠 LEARN something.

In his book The Luck Factor, psychologist Richard Wiseman studied hundreds of people who described themselves as either lucky or unlucky and found that luck (in the long run) was not random at all. In fact, it was a pattern of consistent behaviours and mindsets that people could influence and to sound cliché, make their own luck. Among his findings, one key observation was that “lucky” people notice opportunities others miss and act on those signals, even when it is just a hunch. Their career momentum is built on habits that make them more ready when opportunity appears. In one experiment, a fifty dollar note was placed on a busy street. The lucky participants spotted it quickly. The unlucky ones walked straight past. Same street, same opportunity, different results. The same thing happens with jobs and careers. Opportunities rarely arrive with a notification or a clear label. The leaders who look lucky tend to look wider, stay present, and remain open to weak signals that others miss.

That brings me to the second important point, the environment itself. None of this ignores the reality that sometimes the environment is genuinely stacked against you and the opportunity signals are not there, no matter how open or present you are. Where and when you are born, the economy at the time, the industry you enter, and the team or boss you work for all shape the environment you operate in. We do not start from level ground. It is unfair, but it is true. You can complain about it and play the victim, many leaders do, or you can get on with it. Being disadvantaged does not mean you are stuck in that environment. It may mean you have to work harder than others, but you can still engineer better odds by changing the environment you surround yourself with. Especially at senior levels, progress becomes less about raw competence and more about timing, reputation and pattern recognition. What we often label as “luck”, is often the habit of being in the right environment, seeing the right opportunities, and having the courage to take them.

🤔 REFLECT on an idea.

Preparation is just as much about sharpening attention and being in the right environment as it is about competence and the skills to take the opportunity. A prepared mind is more likely to notice weak signals and act when opportunity appears.

😊 SMILE a little.

Knock knock.
“Who’s there?”
“Opportunity”
“Sorry Opportunity, Daryl is in a Zoom meeting and can’t come to the door right now. Please leave a message and he will get back to you when he is ready” 😄

✅ DO IT to get results.

Are you noticing the fifty dollar note in front of you right now? Because when I work with clients who feel stuck in their careers, and they hear the perspective I have just shared, many want to make radical changes. Quit their job. Jump industries. Suddenly start networking more. Sure, those things all help. But not everyone can do that. So instead, think of this as a habit you need to start building. Your mental ‘opportunity-seeking muscle’ that needs regular exercise.

You can start exercising it right now by looking for weak signals in your current environment that you may have missed before. Talk to people in different departments. Ask to sit in on a leadership meeting with your boss. Eat lunch in the lunchroom (not your desk) and speak to someone you do not normally interact with. None of this is glamorous, but it widens your field of vision and helps you build those habits right now, for when you need them in the future. Who knows, you might find there is a fifty dollar note sitting in front of you right now that you have been walking past all along.

🌱 How we can support you and your team.

We provide strategic leadership solutions tailored to align with your business strategy, size, and budget. We can support your with:

• 1:1 Leadership and Performance Coaching

• Team Coaching, for high performing teams

• 1:1 Health & Lifestyle Coaching for busy stressed leaders.

• Workshops, offsites and team development.

• Or our flagship individual Leadership Coaching Programs.

Kia pai tō wiki

Kenny Bhosale

CEO & Founder, The Bridge Leaders