Out, about, and to – three different types of leaps and where they might take you
Not all leaps are created equal. In this article, Meera Somji, co-founder of Clusivity, shares about different types of leaps and how they've been helpful to her.
Our conversation with Meera Somji, co-founder of Clusivity, touched upon different types of leaps Meera had made. Each type played a different role at various points in her personal and professional journey and was equally valuable. These leaps are:
- Leaping out of or away from something
- Leaping ‘about’
- Leaping directly into something
Leaping out – Leaving something that isn’t serving you
Early in her career, Meera was a consultant and while she learned a lot from the experience, after a few years she was ready to leave. She described leaving consulting and moving from London to Berlin as as “a leap out”. A leap out can be for many reasons, such as feeling unsatisfied with the current situation – job, geography, or other parts of life. For some it could be an itch to do something different even if it’s unclear what ‘different’ might be. Leaping out can be scary, especially without having something else lined up, but all they require is the confidence and certainty of knowing that the current situation needs to change, plus the flexibility and openness to what might be on the other side of that leap.
Leaping about – Exploring new ideas or topics
After Meera moved to Berlin, she did what she described as “leaping about” – taking on different roles, side projects, and pursuing a Master in Gender Studies. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to do so she tried new things and explored her interests and curiosities. Each of these leaps were shifts in the topics she was engaging in and how she was engaging with them. She joined a part-time master’s program and worked alongside studying, which helped reduce the risk of leaving her job and allowed her to think about how to combine her skill set at work with her passion for and expertise in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). These leaps of trying out different things – some for short term, some for longer term – helped Meera explore, develop expertise, and gain skills which all enabled her bigger leap to co-founding Clusivity.
Leaping to – Making a directed leap
The most recent shift Meera made is what many people stereotypically think of as a leap – she graduated with her master’s, left her job, and co-founded Clusivity in February. Clusivity was the perfect blend of her skills from consulting, tech, and expertise in DEI – the culmination of her leaps. The knowledge and skills she gained from the prior leaps prepared her with the clarity of knowing that this was the right time and step for her and the confidence to go forth with it (and a network of support from friends, colleagues, and her co-founder). Just as we discussed how Clusivity helps organizations identify the key issue areas for DEI in their firm and allow them to focus their attention and efforts, Meera’s previous experiences helped her hone in on the exact next step she wanted to take. By investing in herself and in creating those experiences – trusting herself and exploring her curiosity, she prepared herself for a much bigger leap.
Meera’s journey highlights these three types of leaps, and while the order of them made the most sense for her career path, this isn’t a hard and fast template. These decisions don’t necessarily have to follow this specific order, and nor are they linear – perhaps Meera will find herself leaping about in a few years, leaping out, or making another strategic leap. The main idea is to be intentional about these decisions, what role they play, their pros and cons, and that you don’t always have to know where you’re leaping to.
