Taking Control of Your Career

It is that time of the year when companies are evaluating their workforce and individuals are preparing for individual performance reviews with their employers. As personal consultants, we tell our clients that this is a great time to identify what you want in your career and go after it.

To many, “Career Development” is a fuzzy corporate Human Resources term that sounds good but doesn’t really mean very much in their situation. At Taiga Company, we offer Personal Sustainability Plans (PSPs) that help individuals realize that personal achievement is within their total control. The power to make change comes from the ability to clearly identify what it is that you want, create a plan to get it, and fulfill on it.

Personal achievement sustainability plans often start with a “personal” statement of purpose and direction. In our case, this is the direction you want to go in your career.

Start with where you are: speaking in positive terms about your contribution
Identify where it is that you want to go: the more specific the better
Identify the positive qualities you could bring to the role: “The unique difference I could make…”

With your direction clearly defined, the next step is to identify ways to close the gap from where you currently are - to where you want to be. This is the “development” part of your sustainability plan.

Begin with duties, responsibilities, and projects in your current position that you foresee continuing in your future role. For instance, “I will continue to…”.
Proactively identify areas of development you need to successfully qualify for the new role by defining specific training or experience needed.
Set a time line for completion for you development and keep it within the calendar year.
Help your supervisor help you. Communicate the role you want to move into next, when you want to make the move, and who needs to be involved in the approval.
Agree to have regular discussions about your progress.

Finally, bring enthusiasm into your employee review and get excited about taking control of your performance discussion with your supervisor. Here's wishing you good luck!