Does Career Planning Feel Like Gymnastics to You?
Here is How To Design a Solid Career Plan
“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?”– Luke 14:28
Most of us would have completed the ritual of making resolutions for the New Year. The problem with such resolutions is that they are wishful thinking in mind made under the euphoria of the ticking of the clock’s hand past midnight.
Such spur of the moment resolutions will not lead to any tangible achievements in life, business and certainly not in your career. A fleeting verbal statement will not resolve the confusion you have about growing your career. You must do better than a few resolutions if you are serious about growing your career.
One of the first people to coach me before I knew about career coaching gave me the most sincere advice that changed how I viewed my career in the last 15 years. Back then, part of me felt he said that to get me off his back. But, in quiet reflection, I realised it was the best thing he said to me in the four years we worked together.
“Dunstan, no one will take care of your career more than you.”
I took that advice to heart and went to work on my career. Two years of conscious, deliberate actions led me to my first ex-pat role in 2008. And seven countries and five telecommunications multinationals later, I realised my career goal of becoming a CFO. But, years of fiddling in the dark before I discovered the critical first step.
“Plan your work and work you plan” — Napoleon Hill
The foundation of my career development journey was the robust plan I developed I developed in 2016. A working plan on paper which I updated every year to take the place of verbal resolutions.
The framework proposed by renowned brain coach, Jim Kwik, is the ideal three-part “Limitless model” for putting together a solid and robust career plan.
1) Mindset — discover yourself to develop the belief that your career goal is not out of reach. Finding what makes me happy, proud, and fulfilled helped me believe it was possible to become a CFO. According to Jim Kwik, our “mindset is made up of beliefs, assumptions and attitudes.”
“It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so. — Mark Twain
2) Motivation — finding your WHY? Your purpose will give you the drive and energy to pursue your career target. What are your values and needs? Why do you want to pursue your career goal? To paraphrase Simon Sinek, you need to know why you do what you do if you are to experience career growth. Knowing your purpose will help you work with integrity.
Jim Kwik motivation formula:
Motivation = Purpose x Energy x S3 (S3 = small simple steps)
“Reasons reap results.” — Jim Kwik
3) Methods — the tools and techniques bring it all together. This step is your HOW? I selected the Life Workbook from Mind Tools, an online career learning hub. This tool covered all areas of life, including career planning. I find it practical, relevant and easy to use and update. It is focused on setting SMART goals — Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic and Time-based.
I am sure you can find many other tools out there. The important thing is to get a tool that will force you to write your goals down.
Then create a system of habits and not a list of outcomes. I always asked my coach what a CFO would do in every given circumstance because I wanted to develop the system CFO adopted. For example, I created a daily reading system to better present, speak and coach. Also, to be an author, I created a system of consistently writing these newsletters you are reading now. The goal is to be an author. The system is to write consistently.
“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.” — James Clear
You are more than likely to have forgotten your New Year resolutions by now if you made them on the 1st of January. And if you are confused about growing your career, start by accepting it is your responsibility.
1) Take inventory of where you are, determine where you want to go and the gap between the two.
2) Develop the right mindset, not doubting yourself.
3) Find your motivation, your WHY. Answer the question of why are you pursuing your chosen career goal? Why do you do what you do?
4) Deploy proven methods, tools and techniques to help you build the system to reach your goal.
I believe if you apply these steps, you will develop a solid and robust career plan that will help you achieve your career goals the way they helped me become a CFO and an author.
Book Recommendations
The two books below will help you find the tools, techniques and motivation to grow your career.
a) Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance — by Angela Duckworth
b) Your Career: How To Make It Happen — by Lauri Harwood, Lisa M.D. Owens and Crystal Kadakia
Citations
Here are three quotes to help change how you think about and approach career growth.
“If an egg is broken by an outside force, life ends. If broken by an inside force, life begins. Great things always begin from the inside.” — Jim Kwik
“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” — Albert Einstein
“The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can’t read them.” — Mark Twain
