How I "Accidentally Became Important": The Art of Strategic Career Evolution

Hemory Phifer

People Developer | Developer Advocate | Sr. L&D Program Manager @ GitHub

"You don't accidentally get important. You insert yourself in spaces and places, do something so well, and become so loud about it that it becomes part of your brand."

I've noticed a trend here on LinkedIn recently about the idea of "accidentally becoming important." The core concept is that ordinary professionals, through authentic engagement and consistent effort, gain unexpected influence and recognition.

This idea resonated deeply when a colleague recently reached out, eager to pick my brain about how I've managed to shape my role here at GitHub. It was a valuable exercise, prompting me to reflect on and make sense of my career journey over the past three years.

Here's something I've realized about my career: I rarely actually do the job I was hired to do.

Across multiple companies and positions, I've consistently transformed my job descriptions, created new roles that didn't exist before, and become the go-to person for initiatives that drive real business impact. And honestly? Although some of it could be attributed to luck, or being in the right place at the right time, most of it has been having the courage to take bold risks.

Looking back, I can see there's been a systematic approach behind what felt like organic evolution. Today, I want to share the playbook I've accidentally refined over years of turning every role into exactly what I wanted it to be.

The Two-Part Reality of Every Role

Every job exists in two dimensions: what's written in your job description and what the company actually needs. The magic happens in the gap between these two realities.

Most people stick to their written responsibilities and wonder why their careers plateau. But I've developed what I call "a discerning eye" – the ability to spot areas where the company has untapped value and where my unique talents could help unlock that potential.

The key insight? Your role will eventually shape into what the company needs, whether you guide that process or not. The question is: will you be the architect of that evolution, or will you let it happen to you?

The Strategic Framework: From Gap to Growth

Step 1: Discover Your Career Superpowers

Here's the hard truth: you probably won't become “accidentally important” by being mediocre at everything your job description lists. Instead, you need to identify what you're genuinely passionate about – the things you'd invest your own time and money to get better at.

I started as a software engineer but quickly realized coding wasn't my superpower. I was mediocre at best, and if I'm being honest, I struggled through the bootcamp that got me there. Instead of fighting that reality, I leaned into what energized me: presenting, facilitating, and developing people. This self-awareness became the foundation for everything that followed.

Action step: Ask yourself: What do you do outside of work that you wish you could bring into your professional life? What activities make you lose track of time? These passions often point to your untapped career superpowers.

Step 2: Become a Professional Gap-Spotter

Once you know your strengths, start hunting for organizational gaps where those strengths could create value. Look for:

Initiatives that are declining or underperforming
Processes that feel broken or inefficient
Needs that everyone complains about but no one addresses
Opportunities to improve employee or customer experience

In my case, I noticed a regular synchronous event at the company was losing engagement. The numbers were declining, and while we had our true fans who'd show up every week, the broader engagement just wasn't there. Instead of accepting this decline, I saw an opportunity to apply my presentation and content creation skills in a new format – launching an internal podcast.

Action step: Spend a week documenting friction points you observe. Where do you hear people saying "I wish we had..." or "Why don't we..."? These complaints are treasure maps to career opportunities.

Step 3: Take Strategic Risks with Personal Investment

Here's where most people get stuck: they want approval before they start experimenting. But breakthrough career moves often require taking initiative first and seeking forgiveness later.

I didn't wait for budget approval to start the internal podcast. I invested my own money in equipment, software, and spent personal time learning production skills. And let me tell you – I knew nothing about podcast production. In my head, I thought you just hit record and talk into a mic. But it's so much more complex than that – the whole journey has been iterative and a massive learning experience.

This approach had two crucial advantages: it eliminated red tape that could kill the project before it even got started, and it demonstrated genuine commitment to leadership.

The investment mindset: Treat your career experiments like a startup founder treats product development. Invest your own resources to create a minimum viable product, then use results to justify further investment.

The Execution Playbook: From Experiment to Expansion

Start Small, Think Big

Don't try to revolutionize your entire role overnight. Begin with one focused experiment that addresses a specific gap. Your goal is to create something undeniably valuable that you can point to as proof of concept. The internal podcast started as a simple solution to a declining synchronous event. I didn't initially plan to be producing and cohosting a podcast that released an episode every week. I didn't plan to have the ability to interview some of the most influential leaders across GitHub and Microsoft—that evolved naturally as I proved value. After the first season, we ironed out the kinks and got a process down. Then season two brought in guest interviews, which meant learning a whole new skill set. Now in season three, our internal podcast has become an integral part of GitHub culture, demonstrating how internal podcasts can effectively scale messaging, influence culture, and serve as a powerful mechanism for learning and development.

Master the Craft, Own the Space

Once you've chosen your experiment, commit to becoming genuinely excellent at it. Don't just dabble – dive deep enough that people start associating that capability with you personally. As the saying goes, "Be so good they can't ignore you."

"Yes, someone else can host events or do interviews," I've learned, "but when you've gotten so good at the thing, they attach that way of doing it to you, and it becomes part of your brand."

I've had people tell me they tried to replicate my approach in a given setting, only to find it wasn't the same. Some have even referred to their own efforts in this area as 'being the Hemory' for their organization. Such a huge compliment! That’s when you know you've made it – when your approach becomes the standard others try to emulate.

Document Everything and Communicate Results

Track metrics that matter: engagement rates, participation numbers, feedback scores, time saved, revenue generated – whatever demonstrates the value you're creating. Then learn to tell that story compellingly.

Your narrative should follow this structure:

Here's the problem I identified
Here's the solution I developed (with my own investment)
Here are the measurable results
Here's how this could scale with official resources

The Mindset Shifts That Make the Difference

Embrace the "Extra Work" Phase

Initially, your gap-filling initiatives will exist outside your official job scope. You'll be doing extra work on your own time. This isn't sustainable forever, but it's a necessary investment phase.

The payoff comes when leadership recognizes the value you're creating and begins carving out official time and resources for your initiatives. Eventually, these "side projects" become your primary responsibilities – and often lead to role expansions or entirely new positions.

I've actually seen this pattern play out across every single role I've ever had. In some companies, I've gotten so good at doing something that they had to create a role for that thing just so they could give me more time to do it.

Think Like an Owner

Approach organizational gaps as if you own the business. What would make the biggest difference to company success? What's not working that you have the skills to fix?

This ownership mindset naturally leads to bigger thinking and more impactful solutions than simply trying to check boxes on your job description.

Leverage Your Unique Background

Your specific combination of experiences, perspectives, and skills is what makes your approach different from anyone else's. In another role, my ability to put myself in the shoes of the learners going through a coding bootcamp, unlocked an opportunity for me to “accidentally” become the lead facilitator and eventually jump started my official career in Learning & Development. I identified a chance to elevate a mediocre initiative by applying my unique blend of experiences, perspectives, and skills. This ultimately led to my becoming the company's first Learning and Development Program Manager. In this role, I developed an internal program to re-skill employees into software developers, saving the company thousands of dollars in recruitment and training expenses while simultaneously increasing retention rates and career satisfaction.

Don't try to copy someone else's path exactly. Instead, figure out how your unique background positions you to solve problems in ways others can't.

Your Strategic Career Evolution Starts Now

The most successful professionals don't wait for perfect opportunities – they create them. They don't ask permission to add value – they demonstrate it first, then request resources to scale it.

This has been my approach throughout my career, and looking back, I can see the pattern clearly. Find the gaps, bring value to the company with your talents, deliver the results, and the new scope and work will follow.

Here's your starting playbook:

Audit your current situation: What's working well in your organization? What's broken or missing?
Inventory your superpowers: What are you passionate about that you'd invest your own time and money to improve at?
Find the intersection: Where do organizational gaps overlap with your unique strengths?
Start one small experiment: Pick something you can begin this week without needing approval.
Track and communicate: Document your process, investments, and results from day one.

Remember: you don't accidentally become important. You strategically position yourself in spaces where your unique value can't be ignored, then you become so good at filling those spaces that the organization reshapes itself around your contributions.

The question isn't whether opportunities exist – they're everywhere. The question is whether you'll develop the discerning eye to spot them and the courage to act on them.

Your career evolution starts with the next gap you choose to fill.

What organizational gap have you been noticing that aligns with your unique strengths? Sometimes the best career move is the one you make before anyone asks you to.

Shout all to all my previous and current managers for giving me the space and opportunities to be courageous in shaping my career! Jason Lorenz Scott Tremaine Alex Nichols Megan Christudas Rick Porter Teresa Wynn, ACC Dr. KimArie Y.