MAKE THOSE JOB RESOLUTIONS COME TRUE WITH A PLAN

If you know what you want to achieve in your career this year, it's time to put it in writing, discovers Barbara McCarthy

GYMS, health food outlets and career coaching companies are busy places at this time of year as people strive to change their lives. A study by Korn/Ferry International, an American executive search firm, last month revealed that 70% of executives planned to make career-related new year’s resolutions. After just a few weeks however, the rush fizzles out and most people return to their old ways. More than 80% of executives won’t see their good intentions reach beyond the end of the first quarter, according to the leadership performance experts Robert Karlsberg and Jane Adler.

“Even the most well-intentioned executives find it difficult to maintain focus in the face of the multiple opportunities that present themselves each day,” said Adler. “In order to achieve a goal, you must maintain a single-minded focus,” She said. “This will not only reduce the amount of time you’ll need to achieve the goal, but will ensure a higher quality of performance as well.”

The first step is to write down what you want to do and establish specific goals, says Carol Ann Casey, the MD of CA Consulting. “Ensure you have a schedule with a deliverable time frame,” she said. “Make your career plan quantifiable, with clear action steps.” The next step is to enlist the support of other people, including peers, family and friends. “Ask them for their views and get inspired by someone who has achieved their goals.” Look back on last year before moving forward. Plans for the future are built on past achievements, Casey says. “Write down all of your successes, big or small, and see how far you have come.”

If there were some ‘to-dos’ that didn’t get done, analyse why you didn’t meet the goals and whether they are still relevant to your plan. Businesses develop targets in line with their defined values and philosophies, and so should you. Make sure that your aims fit your values. Consider what really motivates you; is it money, prestige or helping others? Finding out will make it easier to plan, but don’t procrastinate.

Rowan Manahan, the author or Where’s My Oasis? and MD of Fortify Services, a career management firm, say most people don’t really know where they want to be in five years’ time. “The small percentage who do have a significant advantage,” he said. “They are constantly planning and thinking about their career in advance.” If you are putting together an action plan, Manahan says it is wise to do it in three stages. “First, put together a 10-day plan whereby you figure out what you want to do and if it is feasible to do it.” The next step is to draw up a 100-day plan, which will help you lay the foundations for the future. “Within that time frame, you can talk to a career specialist, the top people in your arena. You can devour back issues of trade magazines, figure out what academic, or other, training you need and use your family and friends as sounding boards for your ideas.” Then, having clarified your intentions and completed the foundation research you can put a 1,000-day plan in place. By the time 1,000 days are up you should have achieved significant milestones along the way to your key objective(s). This way, there is a defined start and finish and clarity and quality checking of your thinking at every step along the way. Just don’t be too strict. “Although you are making a plan, be prepared for changes. Nothing is cast in granite, it is merely a guideline, a road-map,” he says.

Many managers make the mistake of believing that their organisation has a ‘career path’ mapped out for them, says Adler. They assume that if they work hard and produce results a predetermined ‘track’ will lead them to the top. “You are the only one responsible for engineering your own career development,” Adler said. It is crucial to stay on top of trends in your industry and the business environment as a whole, she says. “As you plan your career moves, aim to gain portable skills and experiences that can help you advance in any organisation.”

If there are gaps in your training or experience, you will need to fill them, says Paddy Collins, the director of Torc Consulting. “Career coaches can help you identify your thinking style,” he said. This indicates what kind of job content and environment will suit you. Coaches can also help create a career inventory and a skills analysis. “We design a personal plan for the individual putting together these components,” explained Collins. “Then we analyse if the goals in the plan are realistically achievable.” Goals have changed in the past 10 to 15 years, according to Collins. Because people have more choices, the bottom line objective is not annual cash earnings but quality of life. “Firms have become more aware of the changing trend and some are encouraging formal reviews as part of the package,” he said.

People have much bigger personal goals too, says Adler; that can be difficult to match with their career goals. “Everyone’s personal goals are different, and may change,” she said. “It’s important to be honest with yourself and to seek out the advice of a trusted confidant who can help you plan effectively.”

Louise Downes, a director of VIP Ideas, a marketing company, has put together a career plan as well as a business plan for this year. “I write down everything I want to do in the coming 12 months and beyond,” she said. “All the ideas I have are put on paper and then I work out if they are achievable or not. It’s vital for me to have a career plan.” Downes, who founded VIP Ideas in 2004, wants to expand her business and her network this year. “I am moving office into Dublin from Bray, so I will be able to network and be closer to clients,” she said. “I will be doing a course in business psychology so I will be able to study other people’s business behaviour.” Downes says she follows three-, six- and nine-month plans so that she does not veer off course. So far, her strategy seems to work.

For more information, visit www.torc.ie or www.fortifyservices.com

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