The truth behind every piece of solid career advice is that it’s inherently subjective.
I’ve spoken to dozens of executives at varying companies, from tech giants like Amazon to early-stage startups, and the reality is that success often depends on a multitude of factors, including timing, industry, and personal networks, as well as talent and ambition.
While there isn’t a single path to success, it can be helpful to know what has worked for others who have reached the top.
Last month, I asked eight executives about the best career advice they had ever received. Read on to learn about what stuck with them the most:
AWS SVP of applied AI solutions Colleen Aubrey
Colleen Aubrey has been with Amazon for over 20 years, working alongside Jeff Bezos and other elite figures. She credits one of the best pieces of advice she’s heard to Eric Broussard, the person who hired her, who now serves as Amazon’s vice president for Worldwide Global Selling and International Seller Services.
In her first 18 months at Amazon, Aubrey said that Broussard told her to “build a reputation for being able to deliver incredible results no matter what.” If Aubrey did that, she said her manager said she would be the first name that comes to mind when new opportunities come up.
“I think he was right and I feel like I took that advice and I worked on it,” Aubrey said, adding that it opened “many opportunities” for her at the tech giant.
Dr. Darshan Shah, founder and CEO of Next Health
Dr. Darshan Shah began his career as a surgeon before pivoting to the longevity industry about a decade ago. As someone who changed paths, he told Business Insider that the best career advice he’s received is about postponing big purchases after achieving career success.
“Whenever you’re first starting your career and you make your first million or your first $100,000, whatever it is, don’t just go out there and spend it,” Shah said. “Wait until you’ve really got a machine going before you start spending money — and then wait even a little bit longer.”
He said he often sees others make “a little bit of money” and then go off and spend it on cars, houses, or extravagant trips.
“Then they’re in a bad situation when things don’t go the right way,” Shah said.
IBM SVP of transformation & operations Joanne Wright
IBM’s Joanne Wright told Business Insider that the best career advice she’s received boils down to one simple question: “Are you making a difference?”
“I think when you take a new role, quite often, it takes you some time just to understand the role, understand the team that you’re part of, understand the outcomes that you’re being asked to deliver,” Wright said.
Those opportunities come with potential, though, and they should be seized upon.
“If it looks like it’s a really big problem and it’s a really big opportunity, jump in,” Wright said.
LinkedIn chief AI officer Deepak Agarwal
The best career advice LinkedIn’s chief AI officer Deepak Agarwal has heard reflects the choices he made in his own career trajectory.
Agarwal started his career as a statistician, but after hearing a talk at the University of Connecticut that interested him, Agarwal came to work for that professor, Alan E. Gelfand. From then on, he continued to follow his interests and let them guide him to new opportunities.
“Always follow your passion,” Agarwal said. “It is better to be world-class in what you like than to be average in something else.”
CorePower Yoga CEO Niki Leondakis
Niki Leondakis has held more than one CEO position, and earlier in her career, Leondakis said she tried to “be like men in order to be considered equal.”
The best career advice she received came when she was told to let a worker go for a mistake that she didn’t believe warranted termination. Leondakis said she was initially afraid to fight for the employee because her team might think she “couldn’t make the tough calls.”
Then, one of her reports gave her advice that changed her perspective.
“He said to me, ‘Trust your instincts and be who you are. Use your compassion, and you’ll come up with the right decision,'” the CEO said.
Leondakis said she followed the advice and made a “gentler” decision that she thought was still fair. She said she recommended a week without pay instead of termination.
“I was much better at being who I am than trying to be like the guys,” Leondakis said, adding that she “started realizing that when I was in the room amongst the guys, that my difference was actually a strength.”
Toptal CEO Taso Du Val
Toptal CEO Taso Du Val said the best career advice he’s ever heard is to stick with a job for a “significant amount of time,” so that you have a chance to “see it through the ups and downs.”
“When you do that in business, you see opportunities come up that you never in a million years could have ever foreseen,” Du Val said.
Du Val said he never saw COVID or the AI revolution coming, but he stuck with Toptal. Today, he said the remote talent company has more opportunities now than it did previously. He said the same advice applies to all careers.
“It’s a lot easier to take success when it comes, rather than chasing success,” Du Val said.
Vanguard principal, divisional CIO of corporate systems, Jennifer Manry
Vanguard executive Jennifer Manry told Business Insider that the best career advice she ever received came from her mother.
“Her advice to me was: If you feel passionately about it, and you’re willing to devote the time to learn it, you should go after it. Never let anyone put a limiter on you. You only limit yourself,” Manry said.
Manry, who took a nonlinear path, applied that advice throughout her career. The executive transitioned from manufacturing to utilities to financial services, ensuring that each new opportunity incorporated elements of her previous roles that she loved.
“I always leaned hard into the thing that I didn’t know, because I love the excitement of learning something new,” Manry said.
EY Americas chief client officer Kristin Valente
Kristin Valente recently hit her 36-year mark at Big Four consulting firm EY. She told Business Insider that the best career advice she’s ever received is that “leadership isn’t about what you do” but “how you show up.”
“A good leader uses their influence to elicit the best from others by creating a space for different voices and perspectives,” Valente said.
She said this trait is the most important for leaders, and those who are intentional in this way can create positive momentum for their team and organization.
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