Your Flow Zone Is...
The Operator 🚀
Your genius is execution.
You’re someone who thrives on turning complexity into clear, coordinated action. You love making sure a business or project runs smoothly. You roll up your sleeves and make things happen efficiently and effectively across teams, budgets, and strategic thinking.
Your brain is wired for traction. You naturally see the steps it will take to take a goal or idea and move it through execution to completion. You have a bird’s eye view of what’s needed and a hands-on ability to get it done. You’re energized by designing and overseeing the systems, logistics, and work flows to make progress possible. You’re the person people count on to move things forward by overseeing the whole project.
Your ability to ensure things run smoothly in a forward direction is what turns ideas into reality. And when you put this skill at the center of what you do, you thrive. You’re the glue and the fuel and the puppet master that makes things happen. Ensure this strength is at the heart of your work and you will be on the path to fulfillment and success.
You’re someone who thrives on turning complexity into clear, coordinated action. You love making sure a business or project runs smoothly. You roll up your sleeves and make things happen efficiently and effectively across teams, budgets, and strategic thinking.
Your brain is wired for traction. You naturally see the steps it will take to take a goal or idea and move it through execution to completion. You have a bird’s eye view of what’s needed and a hands-on ability to get it done. You’re energized by designing and overseeing the systems, logistics, and work flows to make progress possible. You’re the person people count on to move things forward by overseeing the whole project.
Your ability to ensure things run smoothly in a forward direction is what turns ideas into reality. And when you put this skill at the center of what you do, you thrive. You’re the glue and the fuel and the puppet master that makes things happen. Ensure this strength is at the heart of your work and you will be on the path to fulfillment and success.
You're likely energized when:Â
You’re given an overarching strategy and you have to figure out how to bring it to life
You get to dive into all parts of a business from strategic development, to budget management, to team operations
You’re the point person keeping things organized and on track
You’re designing a system, workflow, or process to make things run smoothly
You’re responsible for organizing projects across stakeholders to keep momentum going
Common challenges for Operators:
You may end up taking on too much, especially when others drop the ball
You may feel antsy to execute before the vision or strategy is crystalized
You may struggle in ambiguous environments without clear ownership or timelines
You may be slowed down if you butt heads interpersonally with a team lead
You may struggle if you have to downsize and let people go
Reflection prompts to deepen your self-awareness:
Do you prefer managing a process someone else designed, or building the structure yourself?
What kinds of projects or challenges make you want to roll up your sleeves and jump in?
Do you need to own the process start-to-finish, or are you better in a specific phase of execution? When are you most effective—at the beginning, middle, or end of a project?
Do you prefer building the plan from scratch, or jumping in to improve what’s already there?
Do you have a preference for strategic development, budget management, or team operations?
What percent of your time in your current role is spent doing your top two Flow Zones? You should aim for 70% or higher.
What tasks and responsibilities on your To Do list aren't energizing for you? How much of your current role do they make up? Use the below language to support any restructuring you might need.
When talking to people about how you uniquely add value, you might say:
I’m an operations person. I love bringing structure and momentum to big strategies or complex projects.
I love executing on strategy and making sure that big goals actually happen in the real world.
I love being involved in all aspects of the business - from strategic development to budget management to resourcing and team operations
I love sitting across the teams in the business to keep everyone aligned and moving forward towards our goals
I’m an operations person. I love bringing structure and momentum to big strategies or complex projects.
I love executing on strategy and making sure that big goals actually happen in the real world.
I love being involved in all aspects of the business - from strategic development to budget management to resourcing and team operations
I love sitting across the teams in the business to keep everyone aligned and moving forward towards our goals
If you want to restructure your role you can use language like:
I would love to be involved in the day to day operations of bring [project] to life
I would ideally be doing less [whatever you’re doing now you don’t like] and more project planning and implementation
It would be energizing for me to be involved in strategy development, budget planning, and resource management
I would ideally be doing less [whatever you’re doing now you don’t like] and more involved in working to bring projects to life across departments / across the business
I would love to be involved in the day to day operations of bring [project] to life
I would ideally be doing less [whatever you’re doing now you don’t like] and more project planning and implementation
It would be energizing for me to be involved in strategy development, budget planning, and resource management
I would ideally be doing less [whatever you’re doing now you don’t like] and more involved in working to bring projects to life across departments / across the business
Role ideas for Operators:
Chief Operator Officer
Chief of Staff
Head of Operations
Project Manager
Production Manager
Account Management
General Manager
Program Director
Chief Operator Officer
Chief of Staff
Head of Operations
Project Manager
Production Manager
Account Management
General Manager
Program Director
Your Flow Zone is just the first step…
It represents the strengths that should be at the heart of your role to support your alignment and flow.
But you will also need to clearly define your interests and environmental priorities to create a career North Star that points you towards an energizing career you love.
You have to actually be interested in the work and be working in an environment that supports your lifestyle priorities to thrive 😉
It's all outlined in The Career Fulfillment Playbook: the foundational concepts everyone needs in place to create a career that feels like an extension of who you are and how you want to live your life.
