What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?

[#1]

Atlassian for Startups at Team '25

Last week, I had the great privilege to attend Team '25, in Anaheim, CA. Simply put: it was AWESOME! 🤩

The excitement, enthusiasm and passion on display from Atlassian customers was nothing short of inspiring… and I say that as someone who has worked at Atlassian for nearly ten years and attended many Team events.

Related, I’d be remiss if I didn't extend a HUGE THANK YOU to Atlassian’s Events team! Yes, there are thousands of Atlassians who put in hard work and committed late nights to bring all-the-things Team ‘25 to life. But it's our world-class Events team who are the true conductors – often invisibly and always deftly, they turn ideas into reality, visions into booths and customer-first passions into memorable experiences. @Linda Shanley and team, KUDOS! 🏆 We are all indebted to you!

One thing that was particularly exciting for me this year was that it was the first Team where Atlassian for Startups had a booth. And, if I may say so, it wasn’t just a booth, it was a kick-ass booth! 💪

Beyond providing @Adam Gilleland and I the opportunity to talk to many incredible founders, the Atlassian for Startups booth had a fun activation where we asked all attendees to share the best career advice they’ve ever received – see pic below. Here are my five personal favorites (with a close tie for first place!):

1a. Run toward what scares you.

1b. Always be out of our comfort zone. ❤️

2. There is always another way to go when you get blocked.

3. They hired you for a reason… they aren’t doing you a favor.

4. Do the work and the title will follow.

5. Whatever you do, take care of your shoes!

And then I’d be lying if I said this one didn’t put a big smile on my face (although I’m not sure it’s exactly career advice):

• I ❤️ Atlassian for Startups.

For those of you who were also at the conference last week, I’d love to hear about your most-memorable takeaways – please share in the comments below.

And if you were unable to be there in person, fear not! There is SO MUCH amazing content available on-demand. Simply visit our on-demand library.

Interested in learning more about Atlassian for Startups? Please visit atlassian.com/startups.

Lastly, I'm curious to hear from you! What's the best career advice you've ever received? Let me know in the comments below. 👇

GO TEAM! 🚀

[PJ Zaiac]

Thank you for bringing the top pieces of career advice all the way from Anahiem, @Philip Braddock!! So relevant + resonant, especially running towards what scares you! My motto this year is 'do it scared' 💙

[Caroline Adams]

It was most excellent getting to speak to you at Team! 

[Peggy Graham]

Best career advice?  hmm...

For me, it was early in my career when I needed to do a presentation for a customer.  Public speaking in front of anyone terrified me then - we're not just talking butterflies, we're talking full-size emus and ostriches...

Seeing my fear, a colleague told me two things I never forgot:

• Remember that you know more than the audience on this particular topic, that's why YOU are the one presenting it!  You don't have to know it ALL, you just have to deliver something of value...
• Be yourself.  Trying to copy anyone else's presentation style will never work, just be you...

It helped!!  My demo still crashed, I made a joke (which WAS me being me!) and we moved on. It was OK to be human and make a mistake, even in a presentation!

[Andy Gladstone]

@Philip Braddock this prompt reminds me of a Friday Fun article from a few years back: Friday Fun: Serious or Funny. 

In that discussion I provided the same advice I am posting here:

Completion, not perfection, is the goal you need to achieve.

The CTO of my formder company had me fly across the country (from NYC to SBA) to meet in person and impart this advice to me. My pursuit of perfection was leaving a trail of unfinished and incomplete work, missing deadlines and affecting other team members and departments. As an OCD perfectionist, the advice was not easy to hear - but so necessary - and since I heard it I have become a better leader and team member. 

So I share it here for anyone that can gain from it.

[Carlos Garcia Navarro]

Thanks for this article, @Philip Braddock !

Some of the best advice I've ever received is actually quite similar to what you just shared. One piece that really stuck with me, and felt incredibly liberating, was: 'It's okay to change your mind.' It helped me feel unblocked in situations where I was hesitant, worried about how others might perceive my change in direction.

Another one that resonated deeply was: 'Run toward something, not away from something.' That perspective has helped me make decisions with intention and clarity, giving me a stronger sense of direction moving forward."

[Andy Gladstone]

In a former job I reported to the COO and after a department re-alignment the CTO. A few weeks in to my tenure reporting to the CTO he called me across the country to meet. The message of this important meeting?

Aim for completion, not perfection.

He had looked at my growing list of initiatives and projects for my department and came across a single theme - almost all of them were great ideas, but none of them were done. Rather than going live when the team hit 95% or 98% of completion, I was holding back publishing or activating while working on the final 2-5% for perfection - which he knew I would never achieve. 

It was a defining moment. And advice I continue to listen to 10 years after it was delivered.

[Brita Moorus]

One of the best pieces of career advice I ever received was:

"Treat curiosity like a skill, not just a trait." 🌱

It reminded me that staying curious - about tools, people, problems, and even your own limits - is a powerful way to grow. It keeps you open to change, adaptable in tough situations, and continuously learning. Especially in tech and product roles, curiosity has opened more doors for me than any title ever could!

Thanks for starting such a great thread - loving all the insights shared here! 💬✨