part0034

On my path to becoming CEO, I had seven roles in 12 years. Did I have a “career map?” No, but the challenge of learning and applying new skills was exciting and very rewarding. It’s important to conceptualize your career path. As you move forward in an organization, begin applying your skills and knowledge. Then, as with any trip, be open to your plans changing—sometimes for the better. So, don’t be afraid to change your route.

This also is an ideal time to seek support from your mentors. Get their advice on your ambition, the next steps, and the challenges that may lie ahead. Challenge yourself to seek roles and assignments that require new skills. If you’ve never had to face clients or customers, find a role that does so. If you’ve only been in operations, find a role in marketing and sales. These new roles will help you build the skills, knowledge, and perspectives needed to advance your career.

You thought you were done with homework. No. It’s time to apply those study skills to your career. Stay current with your career; learn about your organization. Take time to reflect and renew yourself. There are several questions you should ask. Is this an industry I can see myself in for the next 20 to 30 years? Are my career aspirations aligned with the potential offered by my current company? Should I change my “destination” and plan for a different career opportunity? Even though you may enjoy working in your organization, you should keep open-minded about other companies or institutions.

Hopefully your organization can fulfill your career aspirations. Use your knowledge of the organization to seek new assignments or roles consistent with the long-term goals of the company or organization. Take a new assignment in a new business unit, one that has the support of the organization to grow over the next years. Look at becoming part of a team looking into a new technology, service or solution aligned with your organization’s ambitions.

As you look at your career in this Apply stage, think of your roles in 12- to 18-month increments. I am a firm believer that it takes 4 to 6 months to learn your role, the expectations, and what you need to focus on to be successful. If or when you start managing people, it takes at least this long to understand individuals, their strengths, and weaknesses, and what motivates them. In the next 8 to 12 months, you have an opportunity to demonstrate your effectiveness in the role, and that you’re ready for a more challenging assignment to move your career forward.

Within each of your roles, find a way to “make your mark.” In every job there are critical results that will allow you to continue to develop your career. As I grew my career, I took on the account management of our largest client. The client trusted me, and I was very committed to them and their success. The account grew significantly and allowed us as a firm to invest in diversification of the business and advance new service lines. Your “mark” may not be with client management, it might be advancing an important business initiative, developing a new way to manage treatment care, or inventing a new technology. A warning: You can always leave a negative “mark.”

Don’t forget the obvious. In order to promote your career down the road, you need to execute in your job now. Regardless of your aspirations or your plan, performance needs to be embedded in your personal brand. Never underestimate a job well done. It is imperative to your success.

How do you perform at your highest level? First, be sure your assignment is clear to you and your manager. Agree on the desired results, the resources you have been given, and the authority you have to execute. If any of these items are misaligned, you may fail. Second, give yourself license to get the information you need to accomplish your assignment. Seek out those who may support you in determining the scope and facts behind your assignment. Last, be persistent. It is up to you to succeed, not others. If you accept an assignment, it is important that you follow through to completion. If you run into roadblocks, identify them early.

Whether you take the expressway or the scenic route, you will need plenty of gas—energy—to get you to your destination. Filling up can take many forms, and it is highly individualized. Some people like to find time for themselves, so they get away from the day-to-day routines and escape to reflect. Others may want to spend more time with family and friends, enjoying and growing nonwork relationships. If you are running out of gas, and no station is in sight, call on your mentor or your closest friend or family member. Those who know you best will likely give you the extra boost you need.

When I took my CEO role, the colleague whom I succeeded told me, “Don’t run out of gas.” For him, the job meant constant pressure and visibility. He was really an introvert but needed to be an extrovert for the role. He would often “charge his batteries” by isolating himself from the business to take time to think and reflect.

The key is to recognize what you get energy from, and what drains you. As you would expect, you can never avoid energy-draining experiences; just recognize and balance them with positive energy-gaining activities.

As you manage your career, you are also living your life. Understanding how to balance both life and career can be increasingly difficult in this phase. Unexpected events like a layoff or a health issue may give you time to reassess your path and make the necessary changes.

It may be hard, but try to view these unexpected events positively. Take the time to evaluate your career, your path, and make positive changes. Also, you may take some planned detours. Have children, take a trip with a close friend, or fulfill one of your bucket-list items. If you don’t take detours, you may find them to be a distraction in the future. “If I’d only ...” Take the detour, but be sure you know the way back to your path.

A colleague of mine is an avid outdoors enthusiast. He has managed to take extended sabbaticals to hike the Himalayas, raft the Grand Canyon, and back-country-ski the Canadian wilderness. Other colleagues have taken temporary roles with organizations that are aligned with their personnel commitments, including political campaigns, international health organizations, and environmental land trusts.

What happens if you get stuck? Generally getting stuck occurs when your organization doesn’t support you, you’ve chosen the wrong career, or you run out of gas. Remember, you should be refueling when needed, but you should also assess your career ambitions and be sure they are aligned with your organization’s opportunities. These evaluations can be difficult. You might really like the people you work with, but you don’t like the organization. You may really like your job, but you don’t see long-term career opportunities.

One solution: Engage your mentors, both internally and externally. Internal mentors can help you assess your organization’s specific opportunities. External mentors can provide fresh perspective on your situation and perhaps size up opportunities outside your organization.

You may be able to access career development opportunities within your company. If so, seek assistance. If not, work with your mentor to reset your plan or renew your career by reentering your Acquire or Develop stage of your career lifecycle. In some cases, it may be as simple as taking night classes to advance your degree or certifications necessary to compete.

Whatever industry you choose, this is a great time to evolve your personal brand to your professional brand. Seek out and participate in industry associations, professional societies, and interesting conferences or trade shows. Generally, there are too many choices, and you will need help focusing on a key few industry forums where you can participate and establish yourself.

Believe it or not, I still maintain collegial relationships with people I met 35 years ago at industry outings. Start small, join local chapters, learn about the community, and develop to national- or global-level engagement as appropriate. If you can, present papers, offer to speak, facilitate panels, or offer yourself to subcommittees or planning sessions. It is a lot of work, and much of it will be on your personal time and expense, but it’s worth it. You may eventually need helpful advice from an industry colleague; for example, if you are seeking new opportunities to advance your career. These contacts will prove especially useful.

Being recognized by your industry peers can be one of the highest achievements of your career. Your peers in these relationships know how hard it is to become the best in class. They will be critical, but also very supportive as you achieve your own personal goals.

Much like developing your industry network of relationships, always look for ways to develop your collegial relationships within your organization or institution. Like developing client relationships, use the “zipper approach” to create internal relationships. What’s the zipper approach? Simply put, you want to build relationships with organizational peers, superiors, and subordinates.

You will likely have the most in common with your peers who work at the same level as you do. Those relationships should come easily. Find those you respect who will support you rather than compete against you for career advancement. (Although even a friendly competitor can be helpful.) Feel free to discuss your frustrations, share organizational news, and keep each other informed.

Supervisors can provide a bigger picture of the organization and are always looking for the next “rising star.” Pick these relationships carefully, though. Introduce yourself, make it a point to have an informal conversation, and recognize their organizational accomplishments. If comfortable, ask for routine meetings or semi-annual discussions. If appropriate, ask them to be your mentor.

Last, but certainly not least, build relationship with those “below” you. They may or may not report to you, but they have a unique view of the organization and can help you see your organizational blind spots. Test your leadership behaviors, support them by highlighting the benefits of the organization and the benefits they offer the organization, and be sympathetic to their concerns. Don’t make their issues yours. Rather, help them problem-solve and develop their skills to be successful in the organization. Subordinates can positively or negatively influence decision-makers when it comes to career advancement.

Maybe one of the most important elements of the Apply phase is to begin or continue to develop your client relationships and networks. Clients come in all forms—internal clients, market clients and companies, patients, or members. Depending on your organization or institution, clients are those people for whom you provide a service or a product. Generally, they are the ones who pay the bills, and ultimately your salary.

Where do you start? First, understand clearly those clients that are important to your organization and considered long-term and industry-leading. You will find out soon that not all clients are the same; you will have tactical clients and strategic clients.

Second, become part of the client delivery team for those strategic clients. If you don’t have a client-facing role, find one. Volunteer, or seek out a lead client role for execution or business development. If you are building a practice—a group of clients that you intend to “own” over time—start now and make it a priority.

Finally, target individual client relationships that you feel will last throughout your career. You will find later that your older client relationships will be retiring and passing the baton to the next generation of employees. Develop a good mix of client relationships—ones with a broad range of responsibilities, age, and status in the client organization.

Plant some of your relationships, and harvest others. Spend the time to care for your garden; you will be able to harvest a lot if you nourish and cultivate.

Remain curious about your organization or institution. Always seek knowledge of the organization’s strategy, performance, and leadership. In today’s world, organizations change frequently and quickly. Stay current with the organization’s structure, key decision makers, future leaders, and new developments in service, technology, or products. A challenge is to stay relevant to the organization and remain a contributing member of the team. Insert yourself and take on assignments that may lead to future opportunities. Try to resist doing the same thing day-in and day-out.

Staying relevant is important. An organization’s vision, mission, and strategies should be more than a sign on the wall or a blog from your CEO. These “organizational tools” are an attempt to clarify the future direction of the company and its investment priorities. Staying relevant means you can continue to craft your career to bring the requisite value to clients and the organization. Projecting your value to the organization can help you determine your next steps on your career path.

You will soon learn, or maybe you have already, that you are turning from a player to a coach. Of course, you have your own personal accountabilities, but the organization needs you to do more. In order to build a long-lasting career, you will eventually need to lead, manage, and inspire teams. These teams will magnify your success if they are made of the right people, have clear goals, and are motivated to succeed.

This may be one of the most challenging steps in your career! For years you have been directed to do things: “Wash the dishes,” “clean your room,” “finish your assignment tomorrow by noon,” “produce your monthly report.”

A how-to on leading teams is a book in itself! (There are many out there.) In simple terms, be sure you have the right people, the right “mission,” and motivate the team to successful outcomes. Most people want to know why they should do something and what success means to them. The “why” is generally the easiest: You want to tie everyone’s assignment to the goals of the organization, make the assignments clear, and support the team members in achieving their goals.

“What’s in it for me?” can be more challenging. This requires you to understand what your team members value and how success in these assignments will lead to the achievement of their personal goals. Take the time to help your team members make that connection.

It’s important at this stage to learn how to keep yourself motivated and confident. Everyone is different, but finding ways to build and enhance your self-esteem is critical. You will encounter failures, problems, and people who may like you—or not. Find your trigger, your anchor that will get you on track from a bad day, bad presentation, or some concerning words. Every day, you should walk away from your job feeling confident and successful. You should be able to reflect on your daily accomplishments and be proud.

I hate to admit this, but every morning as I got ready for work, I would look in the mirror and say to myself, “Gee, you’re wonderful.” This was my way to start off the day with a positive feeling about myself. And every day when I returned home, I would ask myself, “Did I earn my salary today?”

Silly rituals? Sure. But effective? You bet.

Start your day with confidence and end it with pride. Find your “gee, you’re wonderful” trigger. It will come in handy. Really!

What to wear to work? The organization will likely dictate what is acceptable clothing and what is not. Integrate your dress into your personal and professional brand. Dress slightly better than your colleagues, but never better than your clients. It is not a fashion contest, but you will want to support your brand and your aspirations with the way you look. If you have identified your next step, the next role in the organization, look around.

Your choice of dress will certainly leave a first, and possibly, a lasting impression. An Italian colleague of mine wanted me to take him to buy a pair of cowboy boots while he was visiting me in Houston. Cowboy boots? He said, “I want to dress like my American oil and gas customers when I meet with them.” Maybe a little extreme, but your dress should support your brand and help you relate to your colleagues and clients.

You have made significant investments in your career and have begun to claw your way back into the black. Try to pay off your debt and put money away for retirement. You may already have done this, but if not, work hard to live within your means and free yourself from those financial handcuffs.

Know, too, that you may take on other financial obligations—a house, a family, or a new car. Plan now to fund these future investments. These will support your life moving forward.

One important step here: Get a financial planner or someone who can coach you on how to protect yourself, your family, and build your long-term investment portfolio. Start to build your team of advisors—financial, legal, insurance, and general business. Look for people you trust ... those who are slightly older and ahead of you in building security and wealth.