I’ve worked with hundreds of participants on Career Accelerator programmes, and something comes up frequently; many say it is the first time they have ever given proper thought to what’s important to them in their career.
They have often prioritised others’ needs, focused on the day job, the to-do list, and surviving the demands of life day-to-day. They haven’t prioritised space and time for themselves. They haven’t reflected on what matters most to them in their work-life. For a range of reasons, they have focused on their job at the expense of their career.
Two days away from work dedicated to them and their development is a rare investment opportunity. Not everyone is fortunate enough to have the gift of two days, paid for by their organisation, but even if you can only carve out some short windows of time, here are some ways you can work out what is important to you in your career.
You can do this work at any stage – a seasoned leader who has never jumped off the corporate ladder to look around – or earlier in your career.
- Reflect on what sort of work activities you enjoy most. Think about your career experiences so far and what your highlights have had in common. Although less positive, reflecting on your worst times can also provide useful insights. Some people find it easier to start with a list of things they don’t want in their career before they get to the list of things that they do want.
- Get clear on your energising strengths. Just because you have learnt to do something doesn’t mean you get your energy from it and will be happy making it your focus. Equally, it’s important not to overuse your strengths.
- Reflect on what your top values are. This will help you discover what matters to you, the culture of your ideal work organisation and team and any preferences you have about the line manager you would ideally work with.
- Think about your purpose. Why do you do what you do? Why do you work for the organisation you work for? Have you ever really thought about it? Is there something you wish you were doing more or maybe a place you would rather be?
Use the outputs of these to create a vision for your future. Is there anything you would like to be different by this time next year? What about in five years? Think big and bold. Don’t allow yourself to have any limits or barriers. No ‘oh there isn’t such a role’ or ‘my boss isn’t going anywhere’. If you enjoy visual work, create a vision board with pictures, quotes, words, objectives. Whatever works for you.
When you’ve invested this time getting to know yourself and got clear on these areas, you can start to get practical about how you can make it happen.
Head to my resources page for links to the following coaching exercises that will help:
- Career Timeline
- Energising Strengths
- Values
You will also find some others on there that might inspire you. These are free to download when you sign up for Positivity Bites, my monthly message.
Read more about vision boards in this blog: A powerful way to visualise happiness in your work (and life)
If you would like me to work with a group of your organisation for a career programme, or on shorter sessions, or if you want to invest in one to one coaching, please get in touch.
Photo by Natasha Fernandez via Pexels