You commit to being your own best advocate when you claim ownership of your career. Your career is no one else’s responsibility, but there is a whole world of people who want to collaborate, encourage, and support people who have great ideas and even better plans.
Your ideas are the currency of your career. You have revealed, discovered, and documented great ideas as you’ve gone through the exercises and journeys within CareerTruth. As the CEO of your career, it is time to share your Purpose and Plan Journey work with others to get feedback.
If you have a spouse, partner, or close friend, share your purpose, vision of success, personal & professional prioritized goals, and the action plan you have to achieve them. Ask them for feedback about what else you should consider as you update your goals and actions in the future.
You might also schedule a meeting with a trusted leader or manager. Share with them your purpose statement, your prioritized personal goals related to work, and your prioritized professional goals to align with your company’s development plan for you. Ask them for feedback on areas they think you should work on to achieve your full potential. You should use this conversation to open new development opportunities and try to align your future to the potential available at this company.
Asking for and being open to feedback will allow you to have critical conversations about your expectations of success working at this company and seek their commitment. Having open and proactive discussions with those who lead you is a significant factor in happiness and success at work. Honest conversations can build trust, eradicate fear, uncover unsaid issues, and create new courage and support to be your best.
When you are at a seminar, networking event, or meeting someone for coffee, take the opportunity to share your purpose statement, what you are working on – your prioritized goals, and even the work you are doing in CareerTruth. Be bold. Test out some ideas you may want to try in a future action plan to meet a goal. Their reaction will either provide an opportunity or necessary feedback. It’s a way to pressure-test your ideas with little risk. Share how you are taking ownership of your career, purpose, and ongoing plan to fulfill your purpose. People will not only be impressed but curious.
When people ask how things are going, don’t just give the same pat answers they’ve come to expect. Answering that things are “fine” is a low-quality contribution to the conversation and not worth their time. When someone asks how things are going, impress them with your introspection and outer plans! Set a new standard for networking well.
Great, intentional conversations are the beginning of a new Open Networking strategy CareerTruth will help you build. You will construct the exciting Career Narrative and always have a Big Idea you are working with as your number one networking tool. Because you are free to be your best and want to leave a meaningful legacy, your confidence to discover new levels of growth will flourish in the open market, unrestrained by the fears or concerns driven by not claiming agency over your career.
As for continuous improvement, sharing your work in CareerTruth is part of your ongoing development, personal innovation, and growth. Within CareerTruth, you can access CareerTruth Coaches and your Board of Advisors as needed. Advocating for yourself means asking for support and feedback as necessary and using that feedback to fuel your growth. You’re never alone in your work when you network to build relationships and support and not just use your connections.