What do you really want?

What do you really want?

Jo was incredibly ambitious.  He was currently a team leader looking after five people.  What he wanted was to become the leader for the whole division which was around 200 people strong.  Jo wasn’t quite sure how to take this goal, this thing that he wanted, and turn it into a stepping stone in his career plan.  What was needed was some clarity, some performance goals, some measures, and a good review cycle.

You earn the right to lead partly based on your ability to perform and get results.  By having a clear understanding of the results you want to achieve, you can remain grounded.  When a crisis hits or when competing priorities pull you in different directions, you can always focus by returning to your performance goals.  Performance goals are specific and measurable and have a deadline.

Photo by Estee Janssens on Unsplash

The way your organisation defines performance for your role and the way you do can differ.  The metrics you use to define success in your career may well be different from the traditional metrics of the organisation.  Performance can relate to ways that you will improve your unique edge so that you continue to be perceived as among the best in your field. 

To advance in your career you want to remain cognisant of what the organisation needs you to achieve.  You then want to try and plan your career goals around those initiatives and projects that will give your career a boost.  Sometimes this can be challenging because the initiatives that your company needs you to do could be things that you have done again and again.  They may be things that serve someone else’s career progression more than your own, or that do not really challenge you to grow.  To advance your career, you might need to choose some additional or more aggressive initiatives to show what you can do and that you go above and beyond.  But be careful and be politically savvy!  These initiatives should not put you at risk of being seen as the stereotypical loose cannon who goes around the chain of command – unless that is something that your company values.  If you want to take on a new initiative with company resources, be sure to get the appropriate approvals.

Photo by Bruce Mars on Unsplash

So what key projects or initiatives do you want to do to move your career?  Here are some tips to consider:

1. Brainstorm the top five initiatives or projects that will help you move toward your master career plan. These could be to boost technical skills or know-how or you might want more of a focus on influencing, communicating or building and maintaining relationships.

2. When will this initiative start and when will it finish? Get specific with dates so you can hold yourself to account.

3. What will be your measure of success? How will you know if you have achieved the required performance in the initiative or project?

4. State how this project or initiative supports your big picture for your career. How does it provide a stepping stone for your career map?

Depending on your position and team within the organisation, you should also consider:

1. Which projects and initiatives will you cancel, postpone or delegate in order to focus your attention on the projects you identified above?

Creating the career of your dreams needs to move from the thinking stage and the best way to do this is to create some clearly defined goals, measures for success, and the review cycle.  This is the best way to hold yourself to account and to make progress toward your larger career plan.  It’s like having your own yellow brick road to follow for success.

Working with leaders to gain clarity on where they are ultimately heading with their career plan is a component of my Leading with Impact 1:1 Coaching Programme.  If you are ready to make some meaningful progress and gain more clarity around what you want your future career to look like, we should chat.

Lead with Impact,