The Rules Changed While You Weren't Looking

Welcome back to your Peak of the Week, where we explore what it means to live aligned, lead authentically, and build a life that feels as good as it looks.

This Week →

• Why specialists are going invisible while generalists get hired

• How to spot when you’re hiding your adaptability

• Three ways to prove you’re someone who figures things out

Read Time < 4 minutes

Organizations are flattening. And if you can't show you're someone who figures things out, you're invisible.

What I'm Noticing

I talked to someone this week who's been in their field for fifteen years and is exceptional!!! But when I asked them what makes them valuable beyond their specific role, they went quiet.

"I'm a marketing director," they said.

"Okay, but what happens when your company needs something outside that box? When there's no one to hand it to?"

More silence. Then: "I guess I figure it out?"

"Have you?"

"Well, yeah. All the time, actually."

This brilliant talent has been solving problems outside their job description for over a decade, but couldn't articulate that they're someone who figures things out.

This is not an isolated case. I hear people describing themselves as specialists when the market is hunting for generalists...you know, those people who can shapeshift, adapt, and get things done without needing rigid structure.

Organizations are flattening. Middle management layers are disappearing. Companies need fewer people who can do more things. They're looking for people who share their mission, align with their values, and can figure out whatever needs figuring out. It's a different way to stand out now.

If you can't show that you're that person, you're invisible. Not because you're not capable. Not at all!!! But because you're speaking a language the market doesn't understand anymore.

What If?

What if the real problem isn’t that you can’t adapt, no that's not it. It’s that you’ve never had to prove it before? And well, that's NEW.

For decades, being really good at what you know. Your specialty. Your area of expertise went deep. That worked. But that world is disappearing.

The new question isn’t “What’s your expertise?” It’s “Can you figure things out? Can you diagnose the root of a problem and help me solve this? When something falls outside your job description, do you step up, rise to the occasion, and dive into the meaty problem? When the structure shifts, can you shift with it?”

If you're reading this email, you're a winner. You just are. You want to learn, grow, adapt, be the best version of you.

You are adaptable. You have figured things out. You’ve solved problems outside your job description a hundred times. You’ve stepped into gaps when there was no one else. You’ve made things work in the messy middle.

But you’ve never named that as your unique value prop. You’ve been doing it quietly, almost apologetically, like it’s not the real work. But in flattened organizations? That is the real work.

If you can’t articulate it, you’re leaving your most marketable quality invisible.

But when you learn to articulate this....when you can show clear examples of how you’ve figured things out, shifted when needed, and delivered outside the lines? YES! You become exactly what these flattened organizations are desperately seeking.

Organizations are getting leaner, flatter, and more mission-focused. They need people who care about the mission enough to do whatever it takes—even when it’s messy, even when it’s outside their comfort zone, even when there’s no clear roadmap.

Especially then.

Micro-Moves

Choose ONE this week:

If you’re job searching: Write down five times you figured something out that wasn’t in your job description. When did someone need help, and you stepped in? When did something fall through the cracks, and you caught it? When did the plan fall apart, and you improvised? This is where your adaptability lives—in the moments you didn’t wait for permission.

If you’re preparing for a transition: Study the mission and values of organizations that interest you. Talk to people who actually work there. Then write down examples of when you’ve aligned with a mission bigger than your role. When did you do something because it needed doing, not because it was your job? This is how you show you shapeshift for the mission, not just the paycheck.

If you’re feeling stuck: Ask yourself: What have I done in the last six months that nobody asked me to do, but needed to happen? Where did I step outside my lane because it mattered? Write it down. You did that. You might be surprised by how much value you’ve created in the spaces between the org chart.

With deep belief in your magnificence,

Laura

And if you're ready to stop waiting and start taking those bold steps with support in your corner, here are ways I can serve you.

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