In this current job environment the ability to manage ones career is fast becoming a skill that no professional can afford to be without. Sadly while communicating with other professionals I have quickly come to discover that while many people believe that they are self-managing their career, they have let go of the reins.
They have no goals and have made no plans (at least none documented on paper) and instead of being The CEO of their careers they function as subordinates waiting around for instructions and direction from someone else.
Listen people, I need you to get it in your head and get it fast– You alone are responsible for your happiness and career success- YOU! Not your boss, spouse, colleagues, friends or your parents. If you are not happy at work, if you feel trapped or stuck in a career that is devoid of meaning and fulfillment other people can’t “fix” this for you. You and You alone must make a decision to change something - You must become the CEO of You!
But what will it take? To become the CEO of You and effectively manage your career requires that you become familiar with:
Yourself! But who are You? Set aside time for introspection and answer the following questions. What are your likes, dislikes, vision, goals, passions, values? What are you good at? How strong is your brand? Are you following your inner desire to pursue a career that you really want? Who are your clients (internal and external) and what are their needs and how equipped are you to meet these needs?
The “Rule of Three”, which basically states that most people can do three things well but not four. When you factor your personal life into the career management equation, the impact of the Rule of Three is even greater. Can you move up the corporate ladder, improve your managerial skills, technical proficiency and achieve work life balance? I think not. You may choose to work harder, but in the long run will you be effective? I believe that no matter how long the run is you eventually run out of energy, out of time, and out of luck/ credibility with our friends and family simply because you can’t keep up. The lesson from The Rule of Three is that You will not be able to seize every opportunity, join every professional/civic association, lead every team or even work on every new project, go back to school, spend quality time with your family and strengthen your spiritual life. You will have to make a choice whether through action or inaction; but if you take an active role in the decision-making at least you increase the chances that the choices made will be a choices that You want. Chart your coarse!
Conduct a Personal Assessment of Your Self-Management skills: Consider this list of skills that I believe are important to self-management. (Feel free to expand this list). How developed are you in these areas? What are your strengths/weaknesses? Which skills would you like/need to build upon or develop in the future?
o Ability to make decisions
o Assertiveness
o Critical thinking
o Cooperativeness
o Diplomacy
o Ability to gather and access information
o Ability to embrace new ideas
o Poise, Professional Presence
o Resourcefulness
o Ability to handle stress
o Attention to detail / High standard of excellence
o Ability to lead and follow in teams
o Commitment to Personal development and life long learning
o Creativity
o Empathy
o Patience
o Reliability
o Self Control
o Integrity
o Ability to adopt to change
Becoming the CEO of You and effectively managing your career, requires that you develop the skills and abilities necessary to function not only in your present position but any future position that you aspire to. Consider The Peter Principal and the Question of The Master Fit - The Peter Principal concludes that people are basically promoted past their level of competence. An overview taken from Wikipedia.org explains it this way. “In an organizational structure, the Peter Principle's practical application allows assessment of the potential of an employee for a promotion based on performance in the current job; i.e., members of a hierarchical organization eventually are promoted to their highest level of competence, after which further promotion raises them to incompetence. That level is the employee's "level of incompetence", where the employee has no chance of further promotion, thus reaching his or her career's ceiling in an organization. The employee's incompetence is not necessarily exposed as a result of the higher-ranking position being more difficult — simply, that job is different from the job in which the employee previously excelled, and thus requires different work skills, which the employee usually does not possess. For example, a factory worker's excellence in his job can earn him promotion to manager, at which point the skills that earned him his promotion no longer apply to his job.”
So what does this have to do with career management? The answer is simple, Life long learning and the question of Fit are crucial to career management. Do not allow your ego, a title, economic pressures or pressure from management and others to cause you to accept a job that “takes you of coarse” and does not line up with your goals and vision for your career or does not line up with your skills and talents. I urge you to consider your current position and the specific roles/opportunities that you wish to pursue in the future. Take the time to identify the required skills necessary to perform in these roles (before you accept a promotion) realizing that any skills-gaps or lack of experience must be developed through cross training, professional seminars, leadership roles in professional and civic organizations etc.
Develop An Action Plan – Now that you have your vision, goals, future positions/opportunities and skills gaps identified, the final task is to develop your goals and identify an action plan. Remember to be effective your goals should be S.M.A.R.T.:
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Realistic
Time specific
Becoming The CEO of You and embarking on the journey to career self-management is serious business. Do not attempt if you require high maintenance, babysitting or do not wish to take personal responsibility for your career development. This will only cause “You Inc.” to file for Chapter 11 or go out of business – a painful process indeed!
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