Career Stuck? Full Court Press! with Mark Metze

Step into a game-changing perspective on career development in the latest episode! Join me as I dive deep into the philosophy of creating your own opportunities through relentless effort and strategic thinking. Just like a basketball team that employs a full-court press to dominate the game, we can apply this relentless approach to our careers to break free from stagnation.

Using my own defining career moments, I share how a proactive mindset can reshuffle the landscape of your professional journey. From making the leap from desktop to web development in a rapidly changing industry to passionately stepping into managerial leadership, my experiences reveal valuable insights for anyone feeling trapped in their role.

Learn how to motivate yourself to take initiative and embrace change with confidence! Each story is designed to inspire you to dictate the pace of your career rather than letting others control it. Moreover, discover how weaving together personal values and professional strategies can create impactful leadership transformations.

Curious about how to apply these ideas in your own career? Tune in for practical advice and inspiring stories that encourage you to think and act differently! Don't wait for life to give you the perfect opportunity – instead, apply the pressure and make it happen. Subscribe now and let’s take control of our career journeys together!

Connect with Mark on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmetze/

Watch to create a mental image of your own full court press:
https://youtu.be/w6FTd7SQq_o?si=9NwP7ok_x93qEMWQ

Support the show

Follow us on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-within

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
Welcome to the Agile Within.
I am your host, mark Metz.
My mission for this podcast isto provide Agile insights into
human values and behaviorsthrough genuine connections.
My guests and I will sharereal-life stories from our Agile
journeys triumphs, blunders andeverything in between, as well

(00:29):
as the lessons that we havelearned.
So get pumped, get rocking.
The Agile Within starts now.
Before we dive into today'sepisode, I'd like to take a
moment to thank our sponsor,impact Agility.
Impact Agility specializes intraining and coaching through

(00:49):
scrumorg and proconbonorg,empowering teams with
cutting-edge tools andtechniques.
Their classes are designed todeliver actionable insights,
whether you're a scrum master,agile coach, delivery manager or
organizational leader.
Whether you're a scrum master,agile coach, delivery manager or
organizational leader, at thehelm is president and founder

(01:13):
Matt Domenici, who has guidedover 50 organizations toward
professional agility.
With his hands-on experience,matt helps teams and
organizations take ownership oftheir processes and outcomes,
unlocking their full potential.
To explore free learningresources, check out their
training schedule or book a freeconsultation, visit
impactagilityco Once again.

(01:35):
That's impactagilityco.
Welcome to another episode ofthe Agile Within.
I hope you're having anabsolutely fantastic day today.
Usually, I have a guest joiningme, but today I'm doing
something a little different.
In this episode I'll be sharingpersonal stories of truly

(01:58):
defining moments in my career,and I hope they inspire you to
do the same.
Okay, everybody, stay with meon this.
I promise it's all going toconnect.
Picture this in your mind youare sitting in the stands
watching a basketball gameagainst two teams, the Storm and

(02:18):
the Flyers.
A player for the Storm standson the baseline under the basket
gripping the ball, eyesscanning the court ready to pass
the ball into play.
But before passing the ball in,the Flyers coach leaps from his
chair, cups his hands aroundhis mouth like a megaphone and

(02:40):
yells commandingly Red, red, red.
The sound of sneakers squeakingon the floor is now at a
furious pace.
The storm player looks to passthe ball to one of his teammates
, but the Flyers are alreadybearing down hard.
One defender is mirroring theinbound pass, jumping with hands
waving frantically, jumpingwith hands waving frantically,

(03:03):
trying to block the throw.
The ball is finally passed to ateammate.
Immediately, two Flyers playersdescend on the ball, closing in
like a collapsing wall.
The ball handler finds himselftrapped, nowhere to go.
He jumps high to reach abovethe defenders to pass the ball

(03:25):
to an open teammate.
But before reaching theintended player.
A third Flyers player comesfrom seemingly nowhere to
intercept the ball.
The ball is then instantlypassed to the Flyers player who
is shadowing the inbounding ball.
He banks a short shot off thebackboard and through the hoop.
The ball then bouncesharmlessly to the floor and the

(03:47):
storm player nervously picks upthe ball.
He faces the fact that his teammust face that suffocating
Flyers defense.
Again In this story, the Flyersunleashed a strategy known as
the full-court press.
Myers unleashed a strategy knownas the full court press.
In most basketball games,defenses settle back, guarding

(04:09):
only half the court, but nothere.
A full court press is exactlythat Defense on every inch of
the court, suffocating andunrelenting.
It's pressure in motion.
A relentless surge surge likewaves crashing against the shore
, never giving the opponent amoment to breathe.

(04:32):
So now you're probably askingyourself, mark, why are you
describing a basketball game?
Well, it's this strategy, thefull court press, that has
allowed me to make some of thelargest leaps and most
meaningful changes in my career.

(04:53):
Just like the Flyers refuse tosit back and let the storm
dictate the pace, I've hadmoments in my career where I
couldn't afford to wait foropportunities to come to me.
I had to be aggressive, applypressure and create my own
openings before time ran out.

(05:14):
I had to take control of thegame.
There have been three key timesin my career where I've had to
go all in hyper-focused,relentless and determined to
break through to the next level,just like a full-court press in
basketball.
Each of these moments requiredme to push myself out of my

(05:37):
comfort zone, take risks andmake things happen, rather than
waiting for them to happen bychance.
Let me set the stage for myfirst big transition.
I was an experienced Windowsdesktop developer.
Back in the 90s, the Internetwasn't the powerhouse that it is

(05:58):
today.
Applications had to beinstalled on every single
workstation.
No cloud, no seamless updates,just manual installs and local
execution.
But as we moved into the 2000s,the web was evolving fast.
Static pages were turning intodynamic, interactive
applications that could managestate across sessions.

(06:20):
It was becoming obvious thefuture of software was going to
be on the web.
The problem I had a decade ofexperience in desktop
development and no one, not evenmy own company, was willing to
take a chance on me as a webdeveloper.
I was stuck watching theindustry shift while every door

(06:44):
I knocked on seemed to stayclosed.
Then one day, an email landedin my inbox.
The company's only ASP now it'scalled Classic ASP developer
had just quit, leaving theclient scrambling for support.
This was it, my opening.

(07:04):
Without hesitation, I picked upthe phone and called the
recruiting manager.
I didn't ask, I didn't hesitate.
I simply said I don't care ifyou pay me or not.
I will commit today to supportthis client after hours, with
zero impact on my currentproject.
How could they say no to that?

(07:26):
They did give me a shot and Iran with it.
It wasn't easy.
I really struggled at first,but I fixed every critical issue
the client had.
I delivered some meaningfulenhancements as well and proved
to myself and to everybody elsethat I could handle web
development.
That was my full court pressmoment.

(07:49):
I didn't wait for theopportunity to come to me.
I created it, and just likethat I went from a desktop
developer to a bona fide webdeveloper.
That first experience taught mea valuable lesson when an
opportunity doesn't exist,sometimes you have to create it

(08:10):
yourself.
But that wouldn't be the lasttime I had to push beyond my
comfort zone.
Years later, I found myself atanother critical juncture, one
that forced me to ask deeperquestions about my career path,
questions about my career path,and my father once gave me some

(08:31):
wise advice and he said at somepoint in my career I was going
to get the itch to move intomanagement.
He told me that I'd need towrestle with that decision for
myself.
Was leadership something that Itruly wanted?
Well, one day, out of the blue,a recruiter called me.
She had a remarkable clientlooking for both an experienced
web developer and also for adevelopment manager.

(08:53):
She asked if I was interestedin the developer role and also
if I knew anyone who might fitthe management position.
I paused for a moment, closedmy eyes and gathered my thoughts
.
Then I told her I couldabsolutely fit the developer
role, but I've got my eyes onthat management position.

(09:16):
Oh, do you have managementexperience, she asked.
I don't, I admitted, but I'vebeen a developer long enough to
observe plenty of engineeringmanagers, some great, some well,
let's just say, not so great.
I'm positive that I can succeedin this role.
Well, she agreed to present myresume, but she called back

(09:39):
later with some bad news.
Mark, they just don't thinkyou're a good fit for management
, but they would love tointerview you for the developer
role.
At first I was disappointedwith this news, but I refused to
let that be the final answer.
If you can just get me in thatroom with the client, I am

(09:59):
confident I can convince them.
Otherwise, after some back andforth, she reluctantly agreed.
Maybe she just gave in to mypersistence.
Anyway, I went into thatinterview with a management
mindset, not even thinking aboutthe developer role.
I spoke with the company'sfounders, laid out my vision and

(10:20):
made my case.
In the end, I got the offer.
I accepted and was successfulin that role for almost 10 years
.
Looking back, this was anotherfull court moment in my career.
I didn't wait for an open laneor an easy path.
I applied pressure, I stayedaggressive and I forced the

(10:42):
opportunity to happen.
Just like in basketball, whenthe defense steps up and
controls the pace, they createscoring opportunities.
This time I was the onedictating the game and it led to
a whole new chapter in mycareer.
Stepping into management was abold move, but after nearly a

(11:04):
decade in that role, I realizedthat growth doesn't just stop
because you've reached a newlevel.
The next challenge I facedwasn't about moving up.
It was about shifting my focusentirely.
Once again.
I had to step up and make ithappen and I became a scrum
master, a servant leaderdedicated to helping teams grow

(11:26):
and improve.
Servant leadership wasn't aforeign concept to me.
My mother was a registerednurse for nearly 30 years before
she retired, and she embodiedit in the purest form.
She wasn't just there torespond to the needs of her
patients, she was their advocate.
She showed immeasurable empathyand compassion.

(11:48):
But she also knew that realcare sometimes required tough
conversations.
If a patient had been in bedtoo long, she didn't just gently
encourage them to move, shemade it clear why they had to
move.
She understood that short-termdiscomfort often led to
long-term healing.

(12:09):
I carried that same philosophyinto my new role.
A scrum master isn't just acheerleader.
They're a coach, a guide, andsometimes the one that has to
push the team forward, even ifit's uncomfortable.
I wanted leadership to see thisvalue, so I spent an entire
weekend crafting a presentationon why this role was essential,

(12:33):
not just for continuousimprovement at the team level,
but for the organization as awhole.
I meticulously laid out ourcompany's largest pain points
and demonstrated how a dedicatedservant leader could help
address them, and demonstratedhow a dedicated servant leader
could help address them.
Well, when I finally gave mypitch, I had left everything on
the court.

(12:53):
I pushed hard, anticipatingresistance, but I believed in
what I was saying and, just likea relentless full-court press,
I didn't let up.
Senior leadership saw the valueand they agreed to create the
position for me.
And the rest, as they say, ishistory.

(13:19):
So there you have it Threemoments when I became the coach
of my own career and called fora full-court press.
Now it's your turn.
What challenges are you facingin your career where a passive
approach just isn't going to cutit, where jogging back on
defense isn't enough?
You need to step up, applypressure and create your own
opportunities.
If you have a few minutes,check out the video in the show

(13:42):
notes.
Watch how relentless effort andstrategy can turn the tide of a
game.
Then keep that image in yourmind.
The next time you find yourselfat a crossroads.
Don't wait for opportunities.
Press forward, dictate the paceand take control of your career
.
Thank you for listening andallow me to share my experiences

(14:06):
.
It really does mean more thanyou know.
And that brings an end toanother episode of the Agile
Within.
We'll see everybody next time.
Thanks for joining us foranother episode of the Agile
Within.
If you haven't already, pleasejoin our LinkedIn page to stay
in touch.
Just search for the AgileWithin.
If you haven't already, pleasejoin our LinkedIn page to stay

(14:27):
in touch.
Just search for the AgileWithin and please spread the
word with your friends andcolleagues Until next time.
This has been your host, markMetz.