How To Be Successful in Your Career: 3 Essential Elements For Planning Your Success

When was the last time you sat down to plan your career path, outside of a required annual employee review? If you're like most people, you may not be able to remember.

Setting yourself up for success in your career starts with consistently investing time to nurture and develop it. Whether it's monthly, quarterly or annually, creating a system to reflect, review and plan your career path is key to maintaining fulfillment.

You get to define what success means for you. Not everyone is interested in climbing the ladder to the C-suite. Success may mean taking on additional responsibilities in areas that are meaningful to you, learning new skills to help you hone your craft or transitioning to a new role or industry.

Here are 3 essential elements to consider in your career planning to keep you on the path of success:

1. Intention - Set your intention for what you want to accomplish in your career. Why is that important to you? When you are clear on what you want and why you want it, you can then begin to align your daily intentions with the big picture. Write down your intention at the start of each work day. What do you want to create today? How do you want to show up today? How do you want to experience this day. How will this help you to move forward along your career path? Focusing on questions like this can help you to feel a greater sense of satisfaction as you reflect on your day. If you don't remember to set your intention when the day begins, ask yourself these questions whenever it crosses your mind. These intentions will serve as your guide for your work day.
   
   
2. Action - Setting a goal to transition to a new industry or to step into a leadership role can feel overwhelming. You may delay taking action or instead focus on passive action like watching educational videos/webinars, reading resources, etc. Activities like this will keep you busy, but it won't ultimately move you towards your goal at the pace you desire. Instead, focus on taking results-driven action steps to boldly move towards your goals each day. Focus on the 1 think that could move you forward in the process to minimize overwhelm. In working with physicians who want to transition to a nonclinical career, I often hear them say that they don't have the time to invest in the job hunting process which is so different and foreign compared to applying for clinical jobs. I encourage them to think about what they can do in 10 minutes each day to move the needle, rather than waiting until they can find an hour or two of free time (for most physicians it means you'll be waiting a very long time).
   
   
3. Reflection - Pause to evaluate your career journey thus far. This includes your past accomplishments both big and small, your contributions and sense of impact. In my reflection, I also think about the little things that matter - being present to listen to a team member who is experiencing a challenge or offering to help brainstorm a solution to problem - as well as mentoring (paying it forward to support the next generation) and advocating for causes that are important to me. Next, rate where you currently are in your career. Knowing where you've been and where you are now are helpful in determining where you want to go next. This information will help to inform your goals and clarify what you want for the next stage of your career.  

Incorporating these elements into your career planning can help you to proactively direct your career rather than winging it and hoping for the best. Pay attention to thoughts and habits that are counter to your desired goals or put you at risk of sabotaging your own success. Be willing to let go of outdated, limiting beliefs that no longer serve you.

If you decide you want support with your career planning, seek out a mentor, coach or community of like-minded people who can provide accountability, encouragement and guidance.

​How often do you focus on actively planning your career? Let me know by sharing in the comments below.