1) Daily Reflection - Reflection is a powerful and effective tool for
developing yourself. We often get lost in the day-to-day shuffle and forget
to take inventory of our own accomplishments and opportunities for
improvement. As the CEO of your career, you must put a plan in place that
will allow you to become laser-focued on you and your success. Making
reflection a part of your daily plan gets you fully cemented in the process
and increases your chances for success. Give yourself a five-minute daily
dose of development through reflection.

2) Create Your Own Big BANG! (Bold, Ambitious, Noble, Goal) You must
create a visionary goal that employs excellence and empowers great
performance on a grand scale. In order to successfully create and execute a
Big BANG, you must have a raw ambition that shows you are ready to catapult
your career to new heights. You must have an internal sense of urgency about
achieving results. First, you must stop settling for less and develop a
disciplined breakthrough mindset that allows you to move out of your comfort
zone and be prepared when opportunities present themselves. Start by asking
yourself this question: What ambitious goal, circle of influence or
objective must you achieve in order to create a Big BANG? From there, you
must take decisive action to make that ambition a SMART goal - (Specific,
Measurable, Actionable, Realistic and Time-bound).

3) Ask for and proactively seek feedback and feedforward - Feedback and
Feedforward are gifts - Use them to your advantage! While it may be tough to
ask for and accept initially, soliciting feedback from your peers and
colleagues can prove to be very rewarding. However, you must be careful to
ask for feedback from those you can trust and who have your best interest at
heart. As one speaker once told me, “seminar evaluations are worthless
because those in attendance do not have a vested interest in seeing your
succeed. So most seminar evaluations are filled with fluff and add no
incremental value to helping you continue to improve your offerings.” This
is so true and the same thing applies to you when asking for feedback.
Feedback typically focuses on past behaviors and allows you to reflect and
learn. However, when you pair that with feedforward, you have a true formula
for success. Feedforward is a term that was coined by Marshall Goldsmith and
he developed it on the premise that you can not change the past but you can
certainly influence the future. Feedback helps you learn and grow from your
mistakes while feedforward helps you focus on positive actions for future
development.

4) Get a Mentor/Professional Coach - Serious Goals Require Serious Action.
Put your career growth strategy in overdrive by getting a mentor and/or
professional coach. The difference between the two is that a mentor is
volunteering their time to assist you on an informal basis while a
professional coach is paid to assist you in developing a roadmap for career
success. Don’t let a financial investment in self prevent you from working
with a coach who will be committed and dedicated to seeing you reach your
full potential. Mentors are great resources as well and if you manage the
relationship and expectations properly, it could result in you making that
next career move — whether it be within or external to the organization.

5) Own, Execute, Recalibrate and Have Fun - You’ve Got the Ball - Now Run
With It! Now that you are motivated and determined to take full ownership
and accountability for your success, you must implement the plan, check for
any bumps along the way by inspecting what you expect, recalibrate where
necessary and keep it moving. But most importantly, you must fuel the
process with energy, excitement and fun. The only way to do so is to have a
relentless passion for whatever you are pursuing.

Self Assessment & Action Steps:

Think about your own career and the position that you currently hold. Now
really dig deep, be honest and ask yourself the following questions:

+ I place a premium on being proactively engaged in my career growth. I
use reflection on a daily basis to ensure that I am headed in the right
direction.

___ Yes ___ No

+ I have a visionary goal about where my career is going. I’ve written
this career map out and view it at least monthly to ensure that I am
progressing.

___ Yes ___ No

+ I proactively seek feedback vertically and horizontally throughout the
organization on a quarterly basis. When I receive that feedback, I take
what’s useful and relevant and put a plan into place to work it.

___ Yes ___ No

+ I have a mentor or professional coach to assist me and give me guidance
and feedback.

___ Yes ___ No

+ I am fully accountable for my level of success. I own it, take action
and celebrate when I win.

___ Yes ___ No

For every yes, please write specifically what you are currently doing that
makes it effective. Now look for opportunities to build upon these
engagements to help continue to grow and develop. What will you do next?

For every no, please write one thing that you will do to implement this
into your career development strategy. Be very specific and give yourself a
deadline to get it done. Once you have it done, celebrate your success AND
come back to this Tip Sheet and answer the questions to the Yes scenario
above.

********************************
Felicia Davis is a HR Practitioner and Career Coach with over 14 years
experience working with corporate clients, non-profits, high schools and
colleges. Her unique Brand Promise is to empower people to professional
excellence by helping to maximize their career assets. In addition to
coaching, she facilitates career development seminars and workshops. Email her on felicia@thecareerqueen.com