Accelerate Your Professional Progress this year

Are you excited by what's possible for your professional life this year? Do you have a plan to grow? It is very normal to lose sight of those goals, or ignore the power that a new 12-month cycle can bring us. I'm going to guess that as the New Year rolled over, you had one of three states:

(1) excitement about continued success and growth,

(2) resolution to figure out how to fix a bad or just so-so professional situation, or

(3) resignation/settling that you'll continue to coast or endure your professional situation.

My professional view working with thousands of clients over the years is that wherever you fall in these three states, there's progress and greater opportunity ahead for you. In the end, by taking intentional action, your life changes with one or more of these outcomes:

• decreased risk/increased security,

• increased opportunity,

• greater control over your path and destiny,

• increased market power,

• greater professional satisfaction,

• more interesting work,

• higher quality colleagues,

• potentially greater self-actualization,

• a bigger role / responsibility,

• greater income

• and overall increases in well-being.

There are so many ways to grow and make progress that doesn't include a promotion or career move. I challenge you to be intentional, confident and courageous in how you view your professional future.

Here are a few ideas on how you can make tangible (and potentially transformational) progress this year.

• Assess your current state and create a plan

• Proactively and strategically continue to build your capability in target areas

• Cultivate key relationships, build new ones and expand the community around you

• Build your reputation so that your manager isn't the only one who knows how great you are

• Get out of "neutral" and dare to think big about an exciting future!

• Get more clarity (and get excited) by your unique offering

• Tune-up (or repair) your brand

• Take stock of your performance in your current role

• Figure out whether where you are now is a great place for you, and if not develop a plan to get out of there and into something that fits you better

• Or create a proactive plan for the next chapter of your career, whether that involves a promotion, an interesting lateral move, a job search, career pivot or bigger career change, or perhaps a plan for semi-retirement.

Whether you're an executive, a manager or a mid-career professional, an entrepreneur or self-employed professional, because you are here on this site, reading this post I see an exciting future for you.

For today, I have two questions for you:

==> Which of the three states best describes how you feel about your professional life and year ahead?

==> What are your ideas and priorities for your professional growth this year?