GET
AHEAD IN LIFE THE BEYONCE WAY
Determination
to succeed made the singer a star and goal setting could
also help others to achieve their dream By Barbara
McCarthy.
| BEYONCE
KNOWLES always wanted to be a star. From the time
she started singing in her local church choir, the
young Texan had fame in her sights. Knowles became
a member of Destiny’s Child, a popular female
R&B group, before embarking on a solo career.
The 23-year-old has since taken the world by storm
as an actress, songwriter, producer, model and award-winning
singer.
While
she seems like a natural, Knowles says it hasn’t
been easy. “I’ve worked harder than
anybody I’ve ever seen,” she said. Her
drive, focus and dogged determination to succeed
has seen her overcome obstacles to achieve her dreams.
Knowles had a definite goal in mind and worked towards
it. Where many people fall down is that they are
afraid to set out a career plan for fear they might
not achieve it and would feel like failures, says
Jackie Fitzpatrick, a life and career coach who
heads up Freedom Unlimited.
“What
people want is a guarantee but, as we know, there
are very few guarantees in life,” she said.
“So we just settle for drifting through life,
making ends meet and leaving little time for further
planning.” Those who do sit back and assess
their lives sometimes realise that they have chosen
the wrong career path. At that stage they may be
in their thirties with family and financial commitments.
“Deciding to plan the rest of their career
at that point can be daunting,” said Fitzpatrick.
There
is no need to be put off, however, says Rowan Manahan,
the managing director of Fortify Services, the career
management and outplacement firm, as planning ahead
is something we all do every day. “We would
never get into our cars and go on a journey without
a destination in mind, so why do we not have a destination
in mind when it comes to our careers?” said
Manahan. Your career is more than likely your sole
revenue stream in your life and it governs your
wealth and a large part of your happiness, so it
is important to create some kind of a working plan. |
Beyonce overcame the odds to
achieve her targets through strength of character
|
This
can be done by recognising the skills and knowledge that
you have acquired through your life and then aligning
them with your values, says Fitzpatrick. “Ask yourself
what is important to you in your life and what ways of
being do you value most. Then generate a list of projects
and careers that are possible manifestations of your ideal
work vision,” she said.
A
career plan should be broken up into short-, medium- and
long-term goals, says Cathy Roberts, a life coach. “Like
any goals, it should be a ‘smart’ plan. That
means it should be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic
and timely,” she said. Targets should be written
somewhere you can see them often to remind yourself what
you are aiming for. That is exactly what Roberts did when
she decided to change direction and make a plan for her
future. “Up to two years ago I was working in marketing
in the UK,” she said. “I was stressed out
and exhausted with no motivation to go into work every
day.” There was no sense of achievement no matter
how successful her projects were, she says. “I left
my job and took time to really think about what I wanted,”
said Roberts. “Knowing I was good at motivating
colleagues, friends and family and that I was a doer,
I decided to do a diploma in life coaching and became
an NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) practitioner.”
NLP looks at how people communicate and how their subjective
experience is affected by it. That knowledge is then used
to change a person’s behaviour. Making
the decision was the hard part but once Roberts had decided
to act, things just fell into place, like they do when
you know you have made the right decision, she says. “I
could not be happier with my career choice and I update
my plan regularly in order to stay focused,” she
said.
That’s
why it is important to have a pen and paper ready at all
times, says Carol Anne Casey, a human resource consultant
and managing director of CA Consulting. “When you
start writing things down it gets your mind working and
you get more ideas,” said Casey. “This way
you also evaluate your strengths and weaknesses and find
out which possibilities are open to you.” It also
helps you to recognise which steps you have to take next
such as returning to college. “Decide whether you
have to go on a course or get further education, or whether
you need to join a social body or association in order
to network,” she said.
Whether
you decide to go in a new direction or to focus on your
present career, don’t be too rigid with your plans,
says Maureen Gilbert, a life coach. Remember something
that is flexible can survive any amount of change. “Your
aspirations may change along the way,” said Gilbert.
“So be careful not to be too specific in your plan
in one area. Saying that you want to have your boss’s
job in five years’ time puts you in a very restrictive
position. In these precarious times, your company could
be outsourced next week.” If you are not so sure
what you want to do, but you want to devise a career plan
anyway, the key is to consider what you enjoy. “At
first you can be as honest as you wish with yourself,
even if the career in question may seem slightly out of
your reach,” said Gilbert. “Then think about
the aspects of that job that you like and the aspects
of that job that you wouldn’t like. The main thing
is to remember to recognise what you are actually looking
for.”
An
average career spans almost 40 years so it is important
to choose something that makes you happy, says Manahan.
Don’t be too worried if things don’t go your
way, however. “Draw up a contingency plan against
something going wrong,” he said. Don’t let
fear of failure stop you from trying. Remember the ultimate
reason for setting goals is to entice you to become the
person it takes to achieve them.
Those
who have drifted through their careers thus far should
be aware that this may be obvious on their curriculum
vitae, according to Claire Cronin, a director of
Cronin Associates, the executive search firm. “As
a head-hunter, the red flag comes up when the candidate’s
progression is not consistent,” she said. “It
shows up as, for instance, an unusual jump, unexplained
gap or short tenure in more than one job.” The best
way to compensate for this is to clearly and quickly demonstrate
the evolution of skill sets, good pace in terms of increase
in responsibility and quantifiable results. “If
your CV shows that you have taken the scenic route, it
is vital to highlight your skills and attributes and demonstrate
how they have made a positive contribution to previous
employers,” said Cronin. Determine what is needed
to succeed in the job on offer and then use past experience
to shine in that role.
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