One of my favorite pieces of career advice to give people goes something like this:
Think of your career as a sailboat. You can let the boat drift with the winds and the tides as often as you like and as much as you like. But realize that by deciding not to steer the boat in any particular direction that you are still making a decision – please make sure it is the right decision for you.
When you are ready to steer the boat, there is an obvious question: In what direction should you steer? In fact, this is the key question for anyone trying to manage their career. I advise people to pick a destination rather than a direction, when possible. A destination brings focus to the exercise: you can see the progress you are making towards your destination and you can make choices (e.g. of assignments, training, mentors, etc…) to always bring you closer to the destination. The destination is your next career goal.
If you don’t already have one picked out, it may be wise to schedule an hour to sit and reflect on what your destination should be. Start with questions like: What do I want? What do I value? How do I want other people to think of me? Then ask yourself: What do I enjoy doing? What experiences have given me the greatest pride and satisfaction? What are my career highlights so far and what do they have in common? And finally: Do I see someone doing a job that I would really like to do? Can I write down exactly what job I want to do? Is this consistent with my earlier answers? Can I see myself doing that job? Are there any skills or experiences that will improve my ability to do the job I want? Do I have any opportunities to acquire these “missing” skills and experiences?
This reflection can be a challenge. It is not easy to find a time and space where you can really just focus on you. You are not just staring off into space thinking deep thoughts – you should be doing research: reading old emails, talking to people you’ve worked with, studying transcripts, listing accomplishments, and checking any and all feedback you’ve received. And you should take notes on what you learn. And you should ask someone you trust to read what you write down. And you should then discuss it with them – focusing on listening to their feedback with an open mind.
If you genuinely can’t find a destination, then a direction will have to do. Rather than a destination on the horizon, think of finding your own star to follow. Your star is not a destination but you can use it to guide you in the right direction until you find the destination that makes sense to you.
Write down your goal and then reflect on it. Then share it with one or two people you trust. See how it sounds to you when you explain it out loud. Does it resonate or does it sound like you are describing someone else’s goal? It is okay, in fact it is usually necessary to iterate a few times to really get your goal statement right.
You are not done when you are satisfied with your goal statement. Your next step is to assess your current role against your goal: Are you moving towards your goal? Can you change something now to increase your rate of progress? Once your boat is on course, you should revisit your goal statement periodically. Make sure you revise it when something changes for you. When work choices present themselves, use your goal to assess which choice puts you closest to heading towards your goal.
It will be great to achieve your goal. But won’t it be just as great to prove to yourself that you can take responsibility for your journey by actively choosing where to go and then taking the steps necessary to get there?
I wish you luck in your journey – fair winds and following seas!