Self-Development
We conclude this chapter by examining how to manage your personal career. The reality of today’s workplace is that things are uncertain—workers must contend with layoffs, international competition, and rapid changes in technology. In the face of this dynamic reality, most people want to find meaning in their work and do something that somehow “fits” them and provides some satisfaction. In order to find satisfaction with what you do and to successfully navigate the ever-changing business environment, you need to be responsible for your own career. The tradition of remaining loyal to and retiring after working 30 years for the same employer is rapidly fading. The new reality is that workers will have to take responsibility for their own careers, or risk obsolescence and stagnation.
An initial step in career self-management is determining how you define personal success. You might be very serious about managing your career, but what are you striving toward? You want to avoid being disappointed at the end and regretting choices you made along the way. In order to be in the position of saying it was all worth it, you first need to have a firm grasp of what success means to you. The Manager’s Notebook, “The Three Domains: Where’s Your Balance Point?” offers an overall framework that can be helpful in determining your big picture approach to success.
At the beginning of this chapter, we considered a worker, Tom, who was faced with a possible job change. Tom’s concerns reflect two basic issues in careers: development and advancement. Development has to do with enhancing your skills and potential. Advancement has to do with positioning yourself to move ahead in the organization.
MANAGER’S NOTEBOOK The Three Domains: Where’s Your Balance Point?
Customer-Driven HR
What makes for a successful career and life? The balance between work and personal life has remained an important focus, even in the recent tough economic times. Many workers aren’t happy just to have a job. They want more balance. A recent survey found that 89 percent of Americans indicated that work/life balance is a problem, and 54 percent indicated that it is a serious problem. Although some employers are sensitive to concerns about work/life balance and can offer flexibility, most workers, as these survey results indicate, remain frustrated about this imbalance.
A basic starting point for you is to recognize your own preferences in regard to work/life balance and a successful career. Success means different things to different people with, for example, some people placing greater emphasis on money than others. When it comes to your career, you need to be attuned to what success means to you, not how it is defined by others. One way to begin to focus on your own definition of career success is to recognize that success is not one-dimensional. There are at least three domains in which people often think about and define their degree of success: money, work, and life. Overall career success can be thought of as the balance struck among these three domains. There are trade-offs of costs and benefits for emphasizing one domain over another, and people differ in their balance points.
Consider the following figure. Each circle represents one of the three domains to consider in defining career success. We’ll consider each of them in turn.
Money
Compensation is a key issue and measure of success for many people. How much do you want to make? How important is money to you? Is it the most important thing you think of when considering your own success, or are there other things that you place a higher priority on? If you want a much higher level of compensation than you are making now, consider what sacrifices and investments need to be made in order to achieve that income level. Are you willing to make these investments and sacrifices?
Work
Now turn to the work domain and consider the kind of work you would like to do. Make a list of the kinds of tasks that energize you and that you are good at. It might be helpful to first identify the things you don’t like to do. What level of responsibility do you want? What are your strengths and values? Given those, what kind of job best fits your skills and interests?
Life
What do you want from life outside of work? Consider the weight you place on this domain. How important is family to you? Do you want to have dinner with your family every day, or does that not matter to you?
Your personal definition of success lies in the balance among the domains of money, work, and life. You need to evaluate whether the aspirations you have for compensation are realistic given the kind of job you want. Both the job and money expectations need to be evaluated based on what you want from life outside of work. Recognizing the three domains is a starting point in developing a personal definition of success. There isn’t a simple formula for balancing the various costs and benefits when you are considering how much weight to put on each of the domains. How you make the trade-offs is up to you. The important thing is to explicitly consider the trade-offs up front so that you know where you are trying to go in your career.
Consideration of the three domains and where the balance point is for you is something that needs to be revisited periodically, perhaps every three to five years. Things change in the world of work and in our personal lives.
Figure 9.8 identifies suggestions for development and for advancement. Each of these dimensions can be important in your career. However, it is important to keep in mind that it is difficult to advance if you don’t have the necessary skills. In other words, development makes sure that you can bring the skills that are needed to the table. Advancement activities can help you get noticed so that you get invited to the table.
Development Advancement
Identify your mission.
Keep learning.
Develop competencies.
Find a mentor.
Market yourself.
Understand business trends.
Resolve problems.
Improve your communication skills.
FIGURE 9.8 Suggestions for Self-Development
Sources: Based on Brown, M. (2008). Take charge of your career. T&D, 62, 84–85; Lanigan, K. (2008). Moving on up: Making success the return on investment in your career. Accountancy Ireland, 40, 56–57; Agri Advance (2010). Tips to marketing your career. 48, 16.
Development Suggestions
The development suggestions in Figure 9.8 reflect the reality that the responsibility for career development is increasingly being shifted to individual workers. These development suggestions can help you and your workers make sure that you are ready for future workplace challenges.
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Identify your mission Like an organizational mission statement, a personal mission statement should indicate the business you would like to be in and the role you would like to play.39 You should see the statement as changeable over time, not a commandment to which you must blindly adhere regardless of situational or personal factors. Once completed, the mission statement should help you set your strategic direction, clarify your priorities, and avoid investing time and energy in pursuits that are not instrumental to achieving your mission. Overall, you should think of yourself as a business that has a core mission statement and a set of core values.
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Keep learning Look beyond your current skills and immediate tasks at work. What can you do to improve your potential? What skills would complement your current set of skills? Continual learning could occur through formal workshops and classes. You can also increase your skill set through informal means by taking on challenging projects or by volunteering to be involved in activities that stretch your current skills.
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Develop competencies Look beyond preparing yourself for a particular job. Jobs can change and can be limiting. To develop your potential, think about developing areas of competencies. Focus on developing competencies in areas that are likely to be required in your industry in the future. These packages of skills can help to positively position you in your industry.
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Find a mentor To maximize your development, you need to find someone who can provide you with honest feedback and support. A mentor can help you identify your strengths and weaknesses and give you a picture of your development needs. Your career progression can be enhanced with the support of and input from a mentor.
Advancement Suggestions
The advancement suggestions in Figure 9.8 focus on the steps you can take to improve your chances of being considered for advancement. The development suggestions are fundamental and provide the necessary base, but the advancement suggestions provide the necessary attitudes and organizational presence.
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Market yourself Make yourself known in your organization and industry. For example, increase your standing in the market by attending seminars and conferences. Attendance at these functions provides networking opportunities because you can meet colleagues and other employers. You also need to let people know that you are interested in advancement. Not everyone wants the increased responsibility that comes with progression, and you don’t want people to wrongly assume that you aren’t interested in getting ahead.
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Understand business trends Keep up with what is going on in your area of business. Be familiar with the issues and difficulties. You also want to know who your business competitors are. If you can bring this understanding to bear in conversations with higher-level managers, you can become recognized as someone who has a grasp of the bigger picture—someone who is informed beyond their immediate tasks in the organization. Demonstrating your understanding of the business environment can help to differentiate you from your competition for advancement.
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Resolve problems Don’t let conflict fester and become a problem. It can be difficult to confront conflict, but conflicts will occur and you do need to get along with others. Rather than personalize a disagreement and place blame, try to learn from the interaction and ask questions. If your intent is positive and you want to move forward, dealing with the conflict can have a positive impact on your advancement.
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Improve your communication skills Improved written and verbal communication skills are consistently on the wish list of management for their workforces. Communication may not be a critical component of your current job. However, improving your communication skills can get you noticed. Many successful businesspeople point to interpersonal communication skills as an important factor in their career advancement.40 You might improve your skills by taking a speech class or by attending workshops on communication. If you can deliver a standout presentation to management or demonstrate good business writing in your communication, it can be another facet that differentiates you from the competition and helps you to move ahead.