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MAGAZINE ARCHIVE
VOLUME 43 ISSUE 4 | AUGUST 2024
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How to Transform Yourself from Pack Mule to Unicorn

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By Janki De Palma, FSMPS, CPSM, Director of Business Development, W.E. O'Neil Construction
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Make a Mental Shift from Being Useful to Being Valuable
My name is Janki, and I'm a recovering pack mule. I introduced this concept in my article, "From Pack Mule to Unicorn," in the Sep/Oct 2023 issue of the Marketer. At that time, I never imagined standing in front of a room at Amplify 2024 and sharing my journey. The process of creating my presentation and the stories that attendees shared with me helped me see the pack mule phenomenon in a new light. The bottom line is that it's not just me; we can change this.

Does this sound familiar?

I started my career as a baby marketing coordinator, whose world was ripped apart with two back-to-back layoffs. My innocence was stripped, leaving the imprint that, ultimately, I was disposable. I spent the rest of my career (over 15 years) struggling to prove that I was indispensable and future-proof my job. I created a formula in my mind that I thought would ensure safety. In my best math speak, it sounded something like this:
safety=[(outcome>expectations)2+ agreeableness]cheerful.
I believed I would never need to worry about my job if I kept outpacing expectations, had a "can-do" mindset, and was likable. I became the "go-to" person, staying late, working weekends, and being sent to various states to win work… all with a smile on my face. Would my theory hold up to the test of time?
Nope. I found myself stuck in this disappointing cycle because I didn't know how to change the formula to create better outcomes:
  1. Start off strong, blowing away all expectations
  2. Being showered with praise
  3. Fueled by this praise, I would work harder, striving to overachieve (and ultimately get more praise)
  4. Somehow seen as average, and skipped over for promotions
I didn't understand why I was caught in this spiral. Should I work harder? Was I not leaning in? Should I document my efforts more effectively? I was confused. I was depressed. I was burnt out. Why wasn't anyone rewarding my hard work? Then I had my "I'm never going to be good enough for you, am I?" Elle Woods epiphany.
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There was a crucial mistake in my formula. It's the subtle yet significant difference between useful and valuable—the difference between a pack mule and a unicorn.

In hindsight, I know why it took me so long to see the difference. I was a high-achieving kid in school, and that model was easy to grasp: work hard and get rewarded. All that work is quantifiable, the A's and the extra credit. I failed to realize that in the business world, "success" is less about how much you carry than how you add to the bottom line of your firm's business.
Being useful, like the pack mule, made me a commodity. I was serving a function and getting a job done. The irony is that part of my job as an A/E/C marketer and business development professional was to differentiate the firms I worked for. My job was to communicate the value my firms offer their clients so as not to be perceived as commodities themselves. I had to find another equine role model. I chose the unicorn because it is valued for who it intrinsically is—sparkly, beautiful, and mythological. Unicorns are valuable. They have traits that are admired and have worth. Though nothing is irreplaceable, a unicorn is harder to replace than a pack mule. The difference is doing versus being. I needed to be a unicorn and stop carrying so much that I was breaking my back.

Identifying Your Unicorn Skills

Identifying your unicorn skills takes some self-awareness. To get started, ask people who know and like you what your strengths are. Odds are your unicorn skills are ones that you dismiss because they come easily to you.
Ask yourself, "How do my skills create an advantage that helps my firm overcome our challenges and meet our goals?". Different attributes can be effective in overcoming the same challenges. Adding value is not a one-size-fits-all mentality. Helping your firm isn't about being a beast of burden. It's about working smarter, not harder.
A better success formula is this: success = unicornity (n+1)time

It Takes Time to Become a Unicorn

Shaking off the pack mule mindset is a lifetime struggle. It can be a comfortable place for many of us who are working hard to "earn" our keep. Instead of earning your keep with brute force, I'd urge you to embrace three concepts:
  1. Be undeniable. Pack mules don't know their value, so they make up for it with effort.
  2. Embrace the growth mindset. Follow the work of Carol Dweck, who argues that skills develop over time, and you aren't competing with anyone. Your skills will grow!
  3. Control the controllable. You can't control the economy or whether or not you may be laid off. But you can control how you react and move on.

Practice Communicating Your Value

At the SMPS Amplify 2024 Fellows Forum, Stacey Ho suggested leveraging data to demonstrate value. Create a pie chart showing where you spend your time to highlight everything you are carrying. Knowing your skills and understanding of their value, start a discussion with your manager. Your approach might sound like this, "Hi [Manager's Name], I've been reviewing my current workload (see handy chart), and I want to ensure I'm focusing on tasks that have the most impact. Creating intricately custom quals packages for [enthusiastic PM] to hand out to every random prospect takes up 38% of my time. I believe my writing skills could be better used to revamp our project pages to use on our website, submissions, and case study posts written for our core markets. Could we create standard quals packages that [enthusiastic PM] can hand out for general use instead so that I can focus on more meaningful pursuits?" Managers, start asking questions and remember your journey. After attending my session, Paula Johnston reminded me that most managers want to help their team succeed. She said, "I want to empower our team to lighten the load, share their struggles, and help them find their magic—andor give them more time to practice their magic." She shared her beautiful mantra, which helps her shake off those perfectionist tendencies we pack mules often carry: "Fall seven times. Stand up eight. I am full of grit and grace." Breaking patterns takes self-awareness and understanding. The strategies that kept me safe as a young coordinator may not be the strategies I use as a director. Look at your motivations, explore those strengths, and talk with your manager. Hopefully, change can happen.

Sometimes, the pack-mule model is a systemic issue.

Eric Larson reflects on his journey, "We had a leader come in that openly viewed people in our role as pack mules that don't bring much value to the company and 'are a dime a dozen'. Once this happened, I had to get out of my comfort zone and find a position that didn't have that culture attached to it." Emily Godefroid reminded me, "Lastly, but most importantly, build a support network and know your worth—your well-being should always come first!" While we can't know for certain if a new firm is a "pro-unicorn” environment, you may want to investigate how a firm invests in professional development. Attending conferences, software training, and CPSM study help you level up. Does the manager say things like "Our marketing team does whatever it takes to get the job done," or do they say things like "Our marketing team is award-winning/creative/innovative"? What is the ratio of marketers to staff, and what growth paths are established? The SMPS Blueprints 3.0 is an excellent resource for value-added characteristics at each career stage and for building impactful teams of growth professionals.

Self-awareness is the first step towards change.

Now that you are aware of the pack-mule mentality don't forget to give yourself grace. An anonymous attendee told me, "My younger self made the best decisions she could at the time". I urge you to invest time in identifying which equine animal you are and want to be. Is this load yours to carry? Is your current workload sustainable? Are you working in a place of fear or confidence? Don't be afraid to identify, ask, and get help. I know there is a unicorn inside you. Horns up, let's ride!
Janki De Palma, FSMPS, CPSM, Janki is the Director of Business Development at W.E. O'Neil Construction. She is a empathetic business developer with 20+ years of experience in the AEC industry.
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