A few Sundays ago, my pastor said something that stirred my soul, and I have continued to think about it since. He said:
“Your attitude can either make or mar you. The way you behave can make people speak about you in rooms that matter. Don’t be so ambitious that you become injurious. Handle things with wisdom. Don’t burn bridges.”
This struck me deeply, because for many of us in the diagnostic and laboratory sciences space, we are plotting our next move. We are dreaming bigger. We are slowly stepping out from behind the bench.
But let’s not forget this truth: how we leave is just as important as where we’re going.
Pivoting isn’t just a career decision. It’s a character decision. Your story doesn’t only begin at the point of reinvention; it echoes back to how you treated people when the lights were off, when no one was watching, when the roles weren’t glamorous. That’s what gets you spoken of in rooms you haven’t entered yet.
As you make bold moves and chart new paths:
Because opportunities have ears. And people, real people, carry our names into places algorithms can’t reach.
So as you make your plans, as you draft that pitch, apply for that job, or prepare your LinkedIn post… ask yourself:
1. Am I building or burning?
2. Am I gracious, even when I don’t feel seen?
The future belongs to those who know that soft power wins the hardest battles.
Keep going, but go with grace. Keep climbing, but don’t crush on your way up. Keep planning and plotting your pivot, but make sure your name still smells sweet in the corridors you’re leaving behind.
