Strategic Success: Planning for the Career You Want

The dream manager is the one who gives you opportunities, even when you aren’t sure you are ready for them. Prior to becoming a coach, I attended a conference once with my manager when one of these golden “opportunities” arrived.

We sat in a session to hear someone speak on a new technology that we were implementing. We wanted to see how others used the software and learn lessons from them. As we sat there and listened to this speaker who was an “expert” by all accounts, we realized that we knew way more than we thought.

She said to me, “You are going to speak at this conference next year and share our successes with all of these attendees.”

Wait…what did she just say? I felt a wave of panic come over me. All the confidence I had felt a few minutes ago quickly turned into doubt. I knew a lot, but would people think I am some expert to listen to in a session?

Little did I know that we would leave that conference and within 6 months be a top success story for our implementation of this software. No other company had done it to the scale and speed that we had done. How did we do it when others couldn’t?

In short, we had to be strategic with everything that we did. We leveraged strategic partnerships, built seven different server environments, aligned with clients, other teams in the company, and our management. We kept our team motivated and pushed the envelope of a highly aggressive timeline. We were the right team at the right time to create this breakthrough, but none of it would have happened if we hadn’t built the strategy and the relationships first.

As I look back now, it was my manager’s vision and strategy that made the biggest difference. Neither of us knew all the answers, but we knew how to tap into our strategic partners and relationships to get things done. We didn’t let any obstacles deter us. I learned so much from that experience and it became my roadmap for how to be strategic with future programs that I led.

People may not always think about strategy, but it is the foundation that makes all the difference for success.

By the way, her vision for me did indeed come true. I ended up speaking at that conference and three others the next year. People from other companies wanted to know what we had done to make it happen and learn the strategy from us.

Creating a Strategic Plan To Achieve Your Career Goals

Prior to becoming a coach, I truly had what is known as an “accidental career.” Whenever it was time for a new role, a manager would suggest that I look at this new opportunity or I was placed into it.

Don’t get me wrong, I learned so much and was given opportunities that were amazing for me and the teams that I led. It all happened the way it was supposed to for me to get to where I am now.

However, if I would have had a well thought out strategic plan for my career, it would have shown focus, intention, and clarity for others to help me achieve it. One thing I’ve learned is that people want to help you, but you have to give them the roadmap that you want to be on.

Tony Robbins is quoted as saying, “Energy flows where attention goes.” Meaning where you focus your time and attention is where your energy goes.

If you haven’t created a plan for your career, take the time to do it. It is a good time at the end of the year and as you are preparing for this new year. Ask yourself some key questions:

1. Can you achieve what you want at your current company?
2. What else do you need to learn?
3. What roles do you need to move into next to achieve the big career goal that you have?

Now is the time to be strategic and choose where you want to go with your career!

Using Strategy When You Prepare for a Career Change

Most people think about strategy in a business context. It is important to identify and implement strategies at various levels in a company to move the company forward and accomplish its goals. However, there are also other places where strategy is equally important, but it is about you and not the company.

Let me share a client case study of how strategy is involved in a career change.

Mary who was a Director at her current company reached out to me to talk about a VP role that someone had suggested to her. She had some hesitation about it though. When we talked further about the role, she said very confidently that she could do the job, but she still wasn’t sure she should interview. I suspected that the title might be the issue. I asked her if she was ready to be a VP? She said I don’t know if I am ready for that or not.

There are inherent doubts that can show up in any career change, but especially when there is a big level jump under consideration.

It can bring fear and uncertainty even if they have all of the experience and know that they can do the job. If they decide to go forward, then my role is to help them work through those doubts and put a strategy together to help them prepare for the interview and the role if they get the offer.

Mary would need to prepare for this role and be strategic about it. How did she want to be perceived when she interviewed? What traits did she think were important for them to see about her? We focused on mock interviews to see her demonstrate answers that would be perceived as a VP level. The strategy comes down to not only what she says, but how she shows up in the conversation. VPs have to look at things from a higher level in the organization, so her answers needed to show her thought leadership and strategic thinking too.

She made it through the interviews and got an offer! Once she accepted, we put together a 90-day plan to set her up for success in her new role. This included how to set up her new organization, meet with key influencers, and demonstrate success quickly. From start to finish these plans were all strategic in nature to help her show up in the best way.

The creation of a plan gives you a path to follow and it helps you go into a new role or opportunity in your career with the confidence you need to eliminate previous doubts and keep moving forward toward your goals.

Susan M Barber, President of Susan M Barber Coaching & Consulting, LLC, works with individuals, teams, and organizations to build skills that leaders need to attain breakthrough results. Her passion for coaching and leadership development is driven by seeing the transformation of leaders as they reach far beyond their own ideas of success. She continues to drive custom programs for groups that want to make changes in their careers to become more powerful leaders.