Working for the System vs. Working the System
How Systems Thinking Unlocks Career Leverage
Read Time: 5 Minutes
How Systems Thinking Unlocks Career Leverage
This isn’t just a career choice—it’s a survival decision.
I’ve been on both sides.
🚨 I’ve sat in boardrooms where leaders cling to outdated career models like lifeboats on the Titanic.
🚀 I’ve also stood with professionals who cracked the code—who don’t just navigate the system but work it to their advantage.
The difference?
One group is fighting for stability. The other is designing their own leverage.
The Great Career Divide
Your career in 2025 is at a fork in the road.
🚧 Path 1: Working for the System
You follow the traditional playbook:
✔ Chase titles, promotions, and incremental raises.
✔ Trust that tenure will lead to career security.
✔ React to market shifts instead of anticipating them.
The result?
🔹 You feel “safe” (until the next reorg).
🔹 You wait for permission to move up.
🔹 Your career is a series of reactions, not a designed path.
🚀 Path 2: Working the System
You recognize that skills—not job titles—are the real currency.
You apply systems thinking to engineer a strategy that makes your expertise rare and valuable.
The result?
🔹 You create options instead of waiting for a raise.
🔹 You control how, when, and where you work.
🔹 You build a portfolio of opportunities that outpaces any single employer’s timeline.
How Systems Thinking Changes the Game
Right now, too many professionals are stuck in linear thinking—following career paths that no longer work.
They treat work like a ladder: Climb up, step by step, hoping it leads to a comfortable future.
But today’s world doesn’t reward ladder-climbing. It rewards system-builders.
What is Systems Thinking?
🚀 Systems thinking is the ability to see how different forces interact and how to design leverage within them.
It’s what separates people who react to change from those who create the conditions for success.
Here’s how applying systems thinking helps you work the system instead of being worked by it:
1️⃣ Stop Seeing Your Job as a Single Track—Start Seeing It as an Ecosystem
📌 Traditional thinking: “I have a job, and my career growth depends on my employer.”
🔁 Systems thinking: “I have skills, and my employer is one of many ways I can monetize them.”
2️⃣ Replace “Hard Work” With “Career Liquidity”
📌 Traditional thinking: “If I work hard enough, I’ll get promoted.”
🔁 Systems thinking: “If I create value in multiple spaces, I’ll always have leverage.”
3️⃣ Detach from Legacy Success Markers
📌 Traditional thinking: “My job title defines my worth.”
🔁 Systems thinking: “My ability to create results defines my worth.”
Which Side Are You On?
Last week, I sat across from two professionals at different career stages.
🔹 One was a high-level corporate exec who told me he "felt stuck."
Despite the title, the paycheck, the LinkedIn accolades—he had no career leverage. If his company restructured tomorrow, his entire career identity could vanish overnight.
🔹 The other? A mid-career professional designing her own playbook.
She wasn’t waiting for leadership to give her new opportunities—she was engineering her next pivot by aligning her skills with emerging market trends.
Same industry. Different trajectory.
The question is: which path are you on?
Your Career Audit: Are You Working for the System or Working the System?
Score yourself from 1 (Disagree) to 5 (Strongly Agree):
📌 Learning Agility: I consistently experiment with new tools and skills before they become mainstream.
📌 Career Liquidity: I have multiple income streams or active plans to create them.
📌 Skills Over Titles: I can clearly articulate my competitive value beyond my job title.
📌 Network Leverage: I cultivate high-value connections that can create future opportunities.
📌 Market Awareness: I track industry shifts and proactively align my career moves with them.
Scoring Key:
🎯 20-25 points: You are working the system. Keep stacking leverage.
🟡 15-19 points: You’re on the right track, but there’s room to build career liquidity.
⚠️ 10-14 points: You’re at risk of professional stagnation. Time to engineer your next move.
❌ Below 10: The system owns you. That’s not a strategy—it’s a liability.
Your Next Move: Engineer Your Career Leverage
🚀 Starting next week, I’ll be diving deeper into how to apply systems thinking to create career liquidity and build leverage.
We’ll break down:
✅ The Freedom Model—how to build an autonomous career strategy
✅ How to engineer multiple career options—beyond a single employer
✅ The playbook for turning skills into leverage
💡 The system isn’t broken—it was built this way. The question is: Are you ready to work it?
👉🏾 Hit reply: What’s one system you need to redesign in your career? Drop it in the comments.
📩 Enjoying The Life-Work Dispatch? Don’t miss next week’s deep dive into systems thinking and career liquidity.
🔗 Know someone navigating the future of work? Forward this to them—let’s build a movement together.
When You’re Ready, Here’s How I Can Help You:
🔥 1️⃣ The Future-Proof Career Blueprint
Your step-by-step guide to thriving in the future of work. Build durable skills, align with your purpose, and design a career that works for you. Coming March 2025.[Join the waitlist here.]
📖 2️⃣ The Life-Work Revolution Book
Ready to take control of your life and career? My book offers actionable strategies to unplug from the system, find your purpose, and thrive. [Get your copy on Amazon here.]
🚀 3️⃣ 1:1 Life-Work Coaching
Personalized guidance to help you navigate career transitions, develop leadership skills, and create a life-work design that fuels your growth. [Book your consultation here.]
🔗 Let’s build your future-proof career together! 🚀