What’s Your Career Plan?
(Image from Pixabay)
What’s Your Career Plan?
‘Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.'
Steve Jobs
Mark was ambitious. He had risen steadily through the ranks and was in a general management position by his mid-thirties. As an accountant, Mark had always loved working with numbers. Part of what he enjoyed most was using numbers to help drive and achieve a strategy. This led him to take the role of head of strategy, which reported to the chief strategy officer. Mark had become a key adviser to the CEO and contributed enormously at this level in the organisation. He was well-respected and had quickly become a reliable resource to get things done.
In our coaching conversations, Mark wanted to look closely at his career and plan how to get to his ultimate job of chief financial officer. This was a dream he’d had since university, and it seemed a logical move. We talked about what appealed about being a CFO.
When exploring all of the components of the role, Mark realised that other options were also open to him. With his training and experience, he could move into a CFO role, but he could also consider a CSO and potentially also head towards being a COO. Unpacking what he ultimately wanted to do, opened up many more possibilities. Mark’s key insight was that thinking about his future career based on a job title limited his opportunities.
Why is a career plan important
A career plan gives a clear line of sight that enables us to make strategic moves and build careers rather than falling into jobs. We create the career we want rather than doing jobs that others think we should do. A career plan allows us to be intentional about what we say yes to and what we turn down. It helps us grow and contribute to others in a meaningful way.
Spending time developing a career plan also helps identify any gaps that may exist on the path. These gaps might be due to:
How we think (mindset). The way we think about our career path, our abilities, what is or is not possible, the attitudes and beliefs that motivate or hinder us
What we know. Specific skills or knowledge we need to move along our career path
What we do. The way we do things, our habits
External environment. The structure of the organisation, budgets, systems, culture
The first three elements are all within our control. We have the power to change how we think, what we choose to learn and our habits.
The fourth element – the external environment – can be perceived as outside our control or current sphere of influence. However, within any organisation, employees’ success can, in part, come down to how they navigate the external environment. It’s about the decisions and actions they choose if the external environment inhibits them from achieving their career plan.
In his book The Gift of Self-Confidence, Brian Tracy writes, ‘a clear vision, backed by definite plans, gives you a tremendous feeling of confidence and personal power’. This is what having a clear career plan will do.
A Career versus a job
Defining the difference between a planned career and a job can help leaders see how they can be more strategic about what the next phase could or should be.
A career plan provides the big picture of our professional lives. It keeps us motivated and focused on what we are trying to achieve through our work. It focuses on the long term and is a strategic map that fits our life plan and is always moving forward.
Jobs are stepping stones that move us toward a desired career. They typically have a shorter-term horizon and should nest into our overall career and life plans.
To achieve the ultimate career requires strategically planning the stepping stones. More than just jobs, they can also be projects and initiatives. Think of them as babushka dolls, the Russian dolls that nest within each other. The size of the stepping stone doesn’t matter, but it should fit within your overall career plan.
We spoke earlier about the four key areas in which to categorise our current gaps – how I think (mindset), what I know, how I do things, and the external environment. Involvement in projects and initiatives provides new opportunities that help close the gaps in skills, knowledge, and practices.
Performing well in these projects and initiatives also builds our reputation. For example, you might become known as someone who achieves results and gets things done, influences others to move in the right direction, or excels at problem-solving and making the complex simple.
Whatever you are trying to achieve in your career map, your stepping stones should all be pointing to your true north.
(Image from Pixabay)
Job content vs. a job title
‘As you climb the ladder of success, be sure it’s leaning against the right building.’ This quote from an unknown source has always resonated strongly with me. Remember Mark’s story at the beginning of this article? We need to focus on the content of our careers without fixating on the next job title.
Latching on to the job title can limit thinking about our career as it places constraints on what the job might involve. Without fully exploring the potential of our career plan, we will be limited by our perception of what we think any particular job title represents.
To build a meaningful career, focus on your life plan, then ask what work would enable you to live the life you want.
Creating a career plan around content that will provide stretch, growth, and fulfilment is the key. It means we get to do work we love. Work we believe we were put on the planet to do. Work that we know will serve others to become their best self. Work we know will create amazing, successful businesses.
Need some help
If you would like some help working through your career plan or are wanting to achieve more work/life balance, give me a call for a 20-minute, no-obligation discovery session. Our career is one of our greatest assets so we need to give it the attention it deserves.
Alternatively, you could grab a copy of my book Inside Out: Why Leadership Starts With You.
Something to think about….
Lead with impact,