Be More Visible
Make a list of actions that will help you achieve that goal. Your time and energy should become easy to prioritise – any-thing that will help achieve your goal should go on the top of the list. As a general rule, are you now being more visible at work? In these times, you simply cannot afford to be crouched behind a desk, buried in daily work and hope for the best! You need to daily go WELL BEYOND your current job description, supporting the top priorities of your boss and taking on high profile projects. You need to become indispensable and promote your-self through your results. You also need be networking much more, especially upwards and also outside the organisation too.
Trust yourself
When taking action, you need to trust your-self much more. Studies have shown that people who make it to leadership positions are not always the ones who are more skilled but those who are willing to put their necks on the line, make decisions and take more responsibility. Are you displaying these characteristics at work? Trust yourself to make the decisions, put your neck on the line – otherwise someone else will.
Maintain a sense of urgency
Be proactive and maintain a sense of urgency. When taking action, don’t wait long to do some-thing. Be on top of your work, as this will get noticed. If you feel some-thing is stopping you from moving fast, quickly escalate the issue and push for a resolution. If that is taking long, find a way around it – there is always a way around it! This shows a lot of initiative, positive attitude and willingness to get things done. Get your CV updated, connect to agents and get your CV out in the market place. It is always useful to know what your market value is and what options exist in the market. Look at roles you want advertised, see what they are looking for and make sure your CV reflects any relevant experience that you have. Do this quickly, keeping the momentum high.
Develop yourself
In order to achieve your goal, make a list of all the skills and competencies you will need to have. Match this up against what you have and fill in the gaps with development. Some of it may come through experience but a lot of it you can fast track by doing courses, coaching or just reading up on the subject. There are a lot of fairly inexpensive courses available on the internet for any subject. Make sure you are up to date with the latest technology, those who don’t keep up get left behind fairly quickly. Read up on the latest market trends for the industry you work for.
Ask
If you don’t ask, you don’t get! If you see an opening or a position you are interested in, explicitly state your interest. Do it in a positive way that shows you are willing and want to take on more responsibility. The worst that can happen is that they say no, however your boss now knows that you are ambitious and looking for a bigger challenge. You should be an obvious choice the next time a role comes up. If your boss isn’t supportive, get a mentor and see if the mentor can support you. The mentor should be someone more senior and better connected than you so that they can help you.
The most important thing about taking action is to have a very high level of momentum and not to stay static. Start exploring options with a sense of urgency – and this can include any development you need. Grow in your job by taking more responsibility and projects, start networking in your current organisation and start looking at opportunities in the market place. TRUST YOUR INTUITION and STRIKE WHILST THE IRON IS HOT. You have done all the thinking when setting your goal, now is the time to act! Be open to exploring any ideas that are presented to you, you never know where they may lead you. Explore them before saying no.
Whatever you do, make sure you are acting with very strong determination, confidence and are giving it all your energy. If you don’t want something badly, then you are unlikely to get it! How fast you achieve your goal will be down to how much focus you put in towards achieving it.
By Career Coach, Meera Shah. For more details go to www.meeracareercoaching.com