LISA
QUAST
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Life
isn’t always easy for everyone. And some days,
it doesn’t feel very fair either. Many of
us grew up spending time in school never doubting that
our education and training might not be preparing us for
the real world of successful careers, let alone how to
navigate the continual changes in the workplace. Many women,
including myself, followed a popular notion that joining
a company, going with the flow and waiting for someone else to
recognize their skills and abilities was the correct path. Are
you waiting for that person to pluck you from the masses and help
you rise to your business stardom?
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You, like most, are not
realizing your full career potential and you’ve got two choices:
either remain a powerless passenger on a road to career obscurity
or identify and take specific actions to shape your career in a
way that you desire – to create a career that will let you
thrive daily.
One way to achieve success is to view your career as a business
and yourself as the competitive product. With a thorough
understanding of your assets, liabilities, and competition, you
can identify your differentiators – the key to really selling
yourself as an integral part of your work environment.
In order to establish these key attributes and skills that make
you different from your peers, I’ve outlined 10 essential
steps to create a personal plan for attaining career goals.
- Review your assets and liabilities. This
is a unique, yet highly effective way to take stock. Begin
by thinking about yourself as a very marketable product.
- Determine your differentiators. Identify
those things that you do better than other people. Your
distinctive strengths are what others perceive your value to
be.
- Obtain customer feedback. Seek to understand
the perception others have of you. That’s right; garner
feedback from colleagues, friends and family, anyone who you
are comfortable asking such a direct question. Then begin
to challenge yourself by facing any weaknesses, and commit yourself
to systematic improvement and upgrades.
- Identify and evaluate your competitors. Competition
is a fact of life. You need to compete for what you want. Competition
and what you can learn from it should be viewed positively and
embraced. Strive to be your best by understanding yourself
and your own unique attributes as well as those of your competitors.
- Determine your goals. Goals reflect what you
want to accomplish to improve yourself. They will lead
you to a greater sense of commitment and motivation as you pursue
your aspirations. Spend a few moments to make a list of
your goals. From there you’ll want to review your
answers to questions one and two and begin thinking about how
you might achieve these goals. For example, if you find
that you are lacking a skill to increase your competitive standing
consider taking a class, purchasing a book on the topic, or having
coffee with an expert on the skill.
- Create your strategic plan. Like using
a roadmap to arrive at a destination, having a clear strategic
plan in place helps ensure you achieve your aspirations quickly
and efficiently. A plan provides a clear sense of direction and
defines the components that will support the achievements of
your aspirations.
- Implement your strategic plan. Strategic plans,
like ideas, are effective only if you implement them. You
alone are accountable for the success or failure – you
are your own CEO. You must combine the determination to
succeed with a commitment.
- Check your progress. Having and implementing
a personal strategic plan requires that you review and demonstrate
progress. Make immediate corrections to unproductive or
unsuccessful plans as soon as they become apparent. Do
not procrastinate!
- Stay focused. Tenacity, courage and commitment
are essential to achieving your career aspirations. Staying
focused is up to you. Focus on the positive, and be prepared
to overcome obstacles.
- Celebrate and reward achievements. Give
yourself encouragement and rewards that will help provide motivation
and pleasure as you continue achieving your goals. Don’t
count on others to shine a spotlight on you.
Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “The future belongs to those
who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” So go on,
dream big! And when you do reach landmarks along your personal
roadmap and your big dreams start to become a reality, be sure
to take some time to celebrate your achievements.
Positive recognition can be key to keeping yourself motivated and
encouraged. It’s all right to let your manager know
about the strides you are making. I would even recommend
that you set time aside and sit down with your manager and review
your projects and accomplishments.
Another great way to keep track of your accomplishments is to buy
a journal and record your achievements, how you came about completing
the tasks, and what you did to reward yourself. You’ll
be able to look back at your own path and find what worked and
what did not.
Most importantly, keep in mind that whether you work in an office,
a restaurant, a retail shop, or out of your own home, your career
is in your hands. Put yourself in the driver’s seat,
steer yourself toward destinations of your choice. Take
control and be proactive. Never doubt that your dreams
are worthy of your best efforts. It’s hard work and
you’re worth the investment.
Lisa Quast—one of Puget Sound Business
Journal’s
Top 40 Under 40 business leaders and CEO of Career Woman, Inc.,—believes
that achieving career success requires more than luck, more than hard work. Her
book, Your Career, Your Way: Personal Strategies to Achieve Your Career
Aspirations is available in major bookstores and online at Amazon and
Barnes & Noble. She is a motivational speaker and executive coach.
www.careerwomaninc.com
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