What’s in Your Future?

One of the cool aspects of my job, especially being in a leadership position, is that I have the opportunity and privilege to have conversations with many people about their careers. These interactions are always fascinating because of the differences among us all. We differ in our interests, career ambitions, goals and objectives. Across these many conversations, however, I’ve identified two areas of similarity among us. First, determining whether you are “driving or riding” your career. Second, exploring whether you have set your goals high enough. I’d like to delve into these more here.

Before we dive in, I want to highlight the new search feature for my blogs on our updated website. You can now use a keyword to search all the blogs from the search bar within the blog page. It’s a nice function that I use to check for content. It makes it super easy to find what I’ve written about a topic. You’ll have to try it!

All right, back to the blog… One of my favorite questions to ask people when I meet with them is: Are you driving your career? I really like this question because it helps me determine quickly if you’re driving or riding. Once upon a time, I believed that the company would manage my career for me. That is, unfortunately, not true. Although a company will provide opportunities for your career, it is up to you to take advantage of them. You must plan your career and look for opportunities. You need to have a goal you are driving towards.  Do you want to be a specialist? Do you want to add to your skills? Do you want to move into management? Do you want to stay with the company but work in a different part of the company, like move from the trades to planning? You need to be actively looking and talking to people who can help alert you to opportunities and provide advice. This is what driving your career to achieve your goals means.

So then what does riding your career journey look like? This is where you take a more passive approach. Rather than being in the driver’s seat, you are more like a passenger, with the company as the driver.  A rider likely will accept what the company might offer for career options. This can still be a successful career – and is certainly less risky than trying something new – but might not bring with it as much future earning potential or opportunity for personal growth.

The second question that I like to ask is: Are your career goals high enough? When I talk to people at all levels, they typically shoot for the next promotion as their career goal. While it is important to get the next promotion, you need to make sure your goals are set beyond that job. This short-sightedness might lead you to miss career development opportunities that could propel your career. It’s extremely rare that your career path will be a straight line. At different times, you might need to take a few lateral steps to gain important experience for future opportunities. The more you know and the more you can do means that you are more important to the company. Experience and knowledge are two key contributors to propelling your career!

I hope this helps you think about your career management a little differently. I also hope you reach out to your supervisor and start a dialog about your career ambitions. Lastly, if you don’t have a mentor, maybe it’s time for you to find one. Consider who in the company has a position or experience in an area you would like to get more experience in; that person might be a potential mentor. Don’t be afraid to ask them to have a conversation. Chances are they will be flattered that you have asked them to share their experience! Again, are you driving or riding?

I thought it would be good to include a few other questions that I like to ask and provide a little context for you to consider in thinking about your answers.

1. Is your career goal really attainable? – Not all high performers are in management positions. Whether you’re a mechanic or management person, you must have goals that are consistent with your actions. What I mean is that you will not become president of the company if you don’t have a college degree. If you don’t have a degree and are not pursuing higher-level education, then that goal isn’t really attainable. This is just one example of how your goals and actions might not align. (And don’t be scared of going back to school if you are in this situation. BIW provides resources like tuition reimbursement and the apprenticeship program that can help you!)
2. What are you doing to prepare yourself for the next step? – Similar to the last question, what steps are you taking to prepare yourself for the next step and the ones after it? Is it education, experiences or different types of learning? Do you have a mentor guiding you in your journey?
3. What help do you need, specifically? – Are you specific about what you need help with when you talk with your boss, mentor/coach or trusted person? Is your plan detailed enough to guide you?
4. Do you have a trusted person that you can talk with about your career journey? – Who do you share your journey with? How often do you seek their counsel? Do they have enough experience to provide valuable advice?
5. Have you inventoried your strengths and weaknesses? – It’s very important to understand your strengths and weaknesses so that you can build a good plan for your journey. There are inexpensive tools online or books you can use to help you identify your strengths and work on your weaknesses. You don’t need a professional career coach to start figuring out what you are good at and what you can improve. 

If this blog has got you thinking about driving your career more actively, you may want to review one of my other blogs on making career decisions: What Do You Want To Do When You Grow Up?, Who Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?, How Are You Going To Get to Where You Want in Your Career, and So, You Got the Next Job in Your Journey – Now What?

See you on the deckplates!

Safely Execute High Quality Work!