When you think about growing your career, how do you define a WIN for yourself? What matters most to you?
Far too often, organizations and their employees have a narrow view of career development and believe it only equates to promotion. The truth is, there are so many ways to grow and develop beyond climbing the ladder. Strategic career development focuses on acquiring varied growth opportunities and experiences rather than relying solely on achieving a new title to feel like you’re growing and developing.
Career development involves creating a pathway to gather the necessary skills to fulfill your career aspirations and increase your value. It’s important to consider what you personally want to achieve most with your career to create a vision for yourself. A meaningful career vision opens your mind to what is possible and gives you something tangible to move toward. Not only that, but it’s also likely to increase your engagement and motivation in your day-to-day work.
What matters most differs for everyone, so let’s spend a minute reflecting. Review the items below and rate their importance to you on a scale from 1-5. If you’re ambitious and they all feel important, do your best to narrow your focus down to the top 3.
Assessment
Reflect on the statements below to determine the category with which you best identify.
Now that you’ve ranked each item, review the ones you rated a 4 or 5 and rank those in order of importance. Consider what your top “wins” are and reflect on what makes those most important to you.
How can you get started on making these career development wins a reality?