Managing
Your Career
A successful career almost always
requires active career management. Even when the economy is
strong and opportunities are plentiful it is important to
take a proactive approach to career development. You should
never assume that someone else will manage your career for
you. The best person to manage your career is you. No one
else has as much at stake in the outcome of career decisions
and no one else will work as hard to ensure success.
Write Your Own Job Description
Advancing a career does not always
require moving to a new organization. In fact, some of the
best opportunities can often be found in your own backyard.
Consider the following competitive advantages that you enjoy
as a current employee of your organization:
  Inside track on job openings
  Working relationship with
key decision makers
  Indepth knowledge of various
departments in your organization
  Inside information on the
organizational culture and management personalities and expectations
  Opportunities to command
face time with key decision makers
  Understanding of the demands,
responsibilities, and objectives of the position
  Opportunities to present
a career proposal prior to an external job posting
One of the best ways to dramatically
accelerate a career is to identify a pressing problem within
your organization and then develop and present a comprehensive
solution to that problem. By suggesting an elegant solution
to a longstanding dilemma, you will not only increase your
stature in the eyes of your employer, you may also be given
the opportunity to manage the implementation of the solution.
Many employees are capable of recognizing
problems, but most are content to simply complain about these
problems instead of identifying creative solutions. Frequently,
people who bring forward active proposals to solve complex
problems are rewarded with an opportunity to step in and resolve
the problem. Take a hard look around you, and then write your
own dream job description - if you can sell it to your organization
you may be on your way to a quick promotion.
Even if your solution does not require
a full time commitment and result in a new job description,
the fact that you have actively surfaced an imaginative solution
to a pressing problem will make your supervisors stand up
and take notice.
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Strive For Continuous Improvement
In their never-ending quest for
quality, the Japanese coined the term "Kaizen", which means
continuous improvement. They reasoned that if a product or
process could be improved, then that improvement could be
measured and monitored. In response to this theory, a set
of statistical tools was developed to measure the progress
of their continuous improvement efforts. These quality initiatives
were then cascaded down to the lowest levels of the production
process and expanded to include suppliers of component parts
- who were also required to adhere to the same strict quality
standards. The Total Quality Management paradigm that emerged
from these early efforts has fundamentally transformed the
global manufacturing community.
Japanese firms understood that small
but sustained continuous improvement efforts can generate
long-term competitive advantages. The same discipline that
creates competitive advantage on the manufacturing floor can
be applied to other aspects of our lives - such as career
development. Continuous improvement can and should be a major
force in the career management process. It is through continuous
improvement that we are able to compete and thrive in a rapidly
changing world.
Requirements For Continuous Improvement
Commitment to excellence
If you are not fundamentally committed
to excellence, then you will find it very difficult to motivate
yourself to accomplish anything of grand consequence. To achieve
real success your commitment must be sufficient to inspire
you to action in the face of distractions and adversity. You've
heard it said that "excellence is it's own reward", but for
most people excellence in and of itself is not a sufficient
reward to justify the means necessary to obtain it. Fortunately,
the determined pursuit of excellence virtually guarantees
rewards that far exceed the mere achievement of excellence.
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Willingness to embrace change
Continuous improvement implies continuous
change. And even though by definition this change is always
for the better, change can be an uncomfortable thing. Being
committed to continuous improvement will require that you
become comfortable with the idea of change and personal progress.
Alignment of goals and efforts
Continuous improvement requires
an understanding of the cause-effect relationships which underlie
your various activities. By undertaking only those activities
that are calculated to move you toward your objectives, you
will avoid frustration and wasted effort. Learn to identify
and focus on the critical few - that is, the few activities
that are most critical to your success. Over the years I have
become a firm believer in the 80-20 rule which suggests that
80 percent of your results are related to 20 percent of your
activities. Or conversely, 20 percent of your activities are
responsible for the majority of your results. The key is to
understand which of your activities are most critical and
then do them well.
Measurable goals
One of the keys to Kaizen is the
ability to measure and monitor progress. If a goal is not
measurable, then it is not achievable. If it is measurable
but not measured, then you forfeit one of the most important
components of your personal motivation - a sense of progress.
It is important to set measurable goals and then periodically
measure your progress toward the achievement of those goals.
Consistent effort
By applying a measurable but manageable
amount of effort on a consistent basis, real progress can
be made without resulting in burn out. Keep in mind that regardless
of what else happens, if you continue to incrementally improve
your skills and increase your level of education and training,
you will become more marketable over time. And you will be
more prepared to step into positions of greater income and
authority - either at your current firm or at another firm.
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Patience
The achievement of small, incremental
improvements is not always glamorous - or psychologically
rewarding. However, it is the cumulative effect of these modest
improvements that creates impressive results and tangible
value over time.
Involve your employer in your career planning
process
Always remember that you are not
in complete control of your career. You are only in direct
control of one component of your career - yourself. There
are a myriad of other factors at work which, to one degree
or another, will influence your career. These include your
employer, the economy, the state of the healthcare industry,
technology, timing, and luck.
Most of the career activities you
engage in will be focused on increasing your own capabilities.
However to the extent that you can influence one or more of
the other factors that shape your career, you will improve
your odds of success. Unfortunately, most of these factors
are not within your control. The most significant opportunity
for you to exercise influence externally will be to involve
your employer in the career planning process.
Engaging a supervisor in a frank
career discussion can be an intimidating experience for many
people. It is certainly not something to attempt without any
thought or preparation. However, if properly managed, career
planning sessions can create significant new opportunities.
As an employee you have the right
to request periodic performance reviews with your supervisor.
Ideally, these reviews should be conducted at least twice
a year. These sessions provide a forum to review your achievements
of the past six months, set goals for the next six months
and establish performance incentive programs. Most supervisors
will be grateful to see this kind of proactive career management
- particularly if it improves your productivity and reliability.
The idea behind these planning sessions
is to establish performance benchmarks that are tied to some
clearly defined rewards. That is, you agree to put forth some
extra effort and become a more reliable, flexible, available
and productive resource to the organization in exchange for
some tangible benefit - such as a promotion, supervisory or
oversight responsibility, team leadership, training opportunities,
or increased income.
Involving a supervisor in driving
your career forward requires two things: trust and a mutually
advantageous arrangement.
Trust
If your relationship with your supervisor
is not currently built on trust, then you must begin by recognizing
that the responsibility for changing that relationship rests
with you. Regardless of the personality of your boss, you
have the power within yourself to improve your relationship
and become a person that your boss can rely on and trust.
Trust will strengthen your relationship and ultimately make
it easier for you to express your career ambitions and enlist
the help and support of your supervisor in achieving your
career goals.
Mutually advantageous arrangement
This is frequently referred to as
win-win psychology. It is unreasonable to expect that your
boss will subordinate her own objectives to your personal
career ambitions. You must find a way to demonstrate to your
boss that it is in her best interests to improve your capabilities
and advance your career. As you engage in career discussions
with your boss make sure that you present your goals in a
way that demonstrates sensitivity to her needs as well as
your own career objectives. Your message should be that any
increases in skill, education, training, income or authority
that you receive will ultimately translate into improved productivity
and add value to the organization.
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