Career Clarity Sprint

Your Next Professional Step - Define Your Starting Point & Influencers Why is this important? We want you to move forward in your career with intention. Whether you are currently stuck or thriving, happy in your role or ready to make a move, clear on your direction or exploring your value and what's out there, begin with a strong foundation.  What you'll learn:  The 4 energies that influence your next professional step The 4 quadrants of your current professional state The Big 3 + 2 + 2 priorities that influence your next professional step Big questions you might be asking now Understanding your powerful WHY The 7 strategies to move forward with confidence

Discover the different types of professional steps—repair, consolidate, lateral moves, upward moves, and pivots—and learn how to identify your current pathway to effectively plan your career progr...

Week 4 - Strengthen Your Base. Plan Your Next Step. Objective: Incorporate, leverage and honor key the parameters in designing and seeking intentional and strategic professional steps. Take steps to identify and solidify your understanding of your intended path.  Missions:  Watch the video Add a comment/discuss: How did/will you use the ideas in this lesson to get clarity and congruence on your next professional steps and plan? What resonated the most for you? Is there something you're struggling with for which the group can provide support? Optional: Your next steps are a function of the meaning we've attaching to the career growth concept. I have added supplementary notes on key career growth themes below to remind/support your planning.  Reflect on and answer the questions in the workbook.    Which of the Four Career Growth Themes Makes Sense for You? Career Growth = Finding & Creating Better Alignment Navigate towards better fit… Organizational environments Working with people that suit you Less of the tasks and focus areas that don’t serve you Aligned with values, if important Working more in your “unique ability” Doing work that is meaningful to you This is career growth. Less accidental. Put yourself in situations where you can thrive.   Career Growth = Playing a Bigger Game Up the Ladder:  Road to executive Closer to CEO, managing partner, owner, Board Bigger, or more Prestigious Company size Clients or teams Portfolio Size of business, department More $$ / Earning Power   Career Growth = Creating More Market Power for Yourself What if you are doing well and in the right domain? For all who want more control over their journey and who want to play a bigger game, the prerequisite is market power. This is a type of career growth, where you’ve created increased degrees of freedom for yourself, increased demand. You'll undertake intentional, consistent career management practices to:  Develop, deepen, broaden your craft in areas of demand & strength Make aligned decisions driven from your unique professional assets Develop personal identity, build your reputation, cultivate a strong network and more…. Result in:  Increase of quality opportunity flow Increased degrees of freedom = More choice Ability to get opportunities created around your unique professional assets   Career Growth = Doing your Own Thing / Creating Your Own Future Career Growth is also very much about manifesting a future that you design. You don’t have to fit into a box. You can create your own. You might have a vision. A goal. Something to build, create. A way of working. Identification of what you want in your future... Shaping extra-curricular / side-gigs as a means of learning, earning, exercising certain skills and getting experience or as future exit vector Moving towards a hybrid model Engaging in a larger career change towards something you really want to be a part of Types: Ownership (projects, business) New domain More freedom Ways of working  

Objective: A key purpose of the professional assets work is to better determine the habitats in which we can thrive. Another way of expressing this is a natural target market. Use this lesson to sharpen your understanding of where you thrive and want to go and what work is best represents your next professional step.  Mission:  Watch the video Answer the questions in the workbook related to this lesson.

Professionals and leaders who have built a robust career platform are focused on a validated target market. They have identified a niche, or at most, a few niches in which they can serve and make an impact. Your market readiness, and the key to becoming career independent is putting your focus in the right sandbox. Time and time again, though, I witness two problems in the planning and management of professional careers: The absence of target market clarity or focus You cannot hit your target if you don't know what it is. You cannot build upon your successes if you keep trading in your experiences for totally unrelated ones. You cannot cash-in on the development of your expertise if you keep starting over. And in career transition mode, you cannot be successful without establishing targets. The pursuit of a target market or niche without validation I am certain that you have a lot to offer. The hard truth is that not everyone is going to be attracted to your professional offering. In fact, you are entirely unattractive and not suited to most professional opportunities! Unfortunately, too many people identify targets without any foundation of evidence that the target is doable. As mentioned in the last lesson, MBAs, for example, often fall in love with the idea of shiny job objects like strategy consulting or brand management without understanding what it takes or whether they are even suited. In the talent marketplace, your array of professional assets, from your experience, to skills, knowledge, personality and professional interests, are: Not all suited nor attractive to the majority of markets Partially suited and attractive to some markets And ideally suited and very attractive to one or a few markets A powerful question: Who would get you? Can you think of someone in your personal life who really gets you? The same principle applies in the marketplace for your talent. There are situations, whether they be jobs, contracts, or markets you can serve, where you are highly attractive, where the buyer would get you and your offering. Their interest in you typically includes a unique combination of: Experience: Something about your experience and experiences is attractive to the buyer. Experience can be a pre-qualifier (you need experience in our industry) or complementary (we need your new perspective) Proficiency: You have demonstrated that you have a high degree of competency in your job areas Expertise & Knowledge: You bring expertise and knowledge that they need, either because they don’t have it, or because they need more Strengths Fit: Your unique strengths are recognized, valued and relevant for the role Shared Interests: What turns you on and keeps you moving forward is compelling to them. They value your reason why. Fit: They like you and see an interpersonal fit. The want to work with you Thrive If you had this kind of clarity about your natural target market, imagine what it could mean for you. With attention on pre-qualified, natural target markets your conversion rate goes way up when you are seeking work opportunities You are working with colleagues, clients or customers who appreciate your full array of professional assets. They are grateful that you are working on theirproblems and opportunities You experience a greater degree of professional leverage because you are focused on your strengths, which begets more success You experience the opportunity and benefits of being your best professional self and not wasting energy trying to morph yourself into someone you are not I hope this lesson either reaffirmed for you that you are already working in the right sandbox or awakened a recognition that you have work to do to define either your sandbox and/or make progress towards getting there.

Instructions The Professional Value Workbook is a Google Doc. We will copy it into your folder. Read the instructions and proceed through the first steps, with the guidance of your coach.

Objective: Begin to fine-tune your direction using different distinctions/decisions, your drivers, goal planning and/or the niching concept. Be aware that there isn't necessarily a perfect answer or just one path available to you. The compass reminds us that while we absolutely need to orient ourselves towards a chosen direction, course adjustments are normal, necessary and often can produce wonderful and previously unplanned alternatives.  Missions:  Watch the video Take action in the workbook on the questions that apply to your situation. Post/Discuss: How did the concepts in this lesson help to clarify, shift or expand your thinking about your path forward? What's holding you back from greater clarity?   

Resource - Values List If you’d benefit from identifying your values (for the Step 3 exercise in this module), the attached Values List provides a handy reference for highlighting a long list and narrowing it down.

KEY TAKEAWAYS | Downshifting can help move your career forward if the job fits into a larger long-term plan or re-orients your work-life balance. Be prepared to shift how you sell yourself for a lower-level role. Does it ever make sense to take a step down the career ladder? If you can get past that nagging, inborn sense that "going lower" can only be a sign of downward career mobility, the answer is yes. Taking a lesser position—downshifting, as it's sometimes known—can help move your career forward if the job fits into a larger long-term plan or re-orient your work-life balance. Find out when a lower position might make sense and how you can make such a transition successfully. Know why What could drive you to consider a lower position? Here are some common circumstances: Necessity: Economic conditions, your financial situation, and lack of other alternatives may necessitate taking the best available option — even if it's a step-down. There's no shame in this, but be honest about how you got into this situation in the first place. Some people make this career decision out of avoidable necessity — they are forced to take a lower-level job because they didn't take charge of their careers. Do what you have to do, but learn from it. In other cases, your local job market doesn’t contain comparable roles, and to avoid relocating, downshifting is necessary. To change careers: This is a completely valid reason to take a lower position, but remember: Changing professions doesn't automatically mean you start at the bottom. Look for transferable skills or specialized knowledge that could allow you to slide into something above an entry-level role. Also, changing industries is not the same as changing professions. When you change industries but not functions target a lateral position, not a lower one. For example, a finance director in a software company can occupy the same role in a biotech company. To broaden your horizons: A lower position in a different department can provide new experiences and enrich your career. But as with any career decision, think about the fit, your ability to be successful and how such a move figures into your larger career plan. To find another way to advance: Imagine climbing a mountain and reaching a point where the route is blocked or requires climbing skill beyond your ability to pass it. You can give up or make a tactical decision to go back down a bit to look for another route up. Taking the right lower position can be a smart tactical move if you believe you can be successful in the lower role and know there's a defined path on which you can continue your ascent. Opting to gear down: During the reunion, one friend told me he had chosen to step down a level to get out of the demands of VP-life in an international company. The result? “I feel no stress from work.” For others, it was a general sense of not needing to build their resume and compete in the race. What are the signals that it might be time to shift down? Financial - When you’ve saved and planned and feel secure in your future. Physical Health - When health issues have arisen, or you want to prevent the damaging effects of stress and overwork. Mental Health - When you realize that a) you don’t need the psychological payoffs of career advancement anymore and/or b) your current level is costing you more than it is beneficial. Time & Lifestyle - When the benefit of more non-work time and margin outweighs continuing to work longer hours. Fun - When you realize you’re not having as much fun at work or are drawn to other endeavours. Sell yourself Once you've determined why taking a step down makes sense, prepare to sell yourself differently and potentially hard. Your approach to marketing yourself for higher-level roles will need to shift. You may be up against more junior candidates, so you'll need to overcome the hiring manager's perceptions that you are overqualified and will get bored and leave. To convince them otherwise, express positive, compelling reasons you want the job. Convey why you want this new role, not why you’re moving away from the previous level/role. Avoid sending negative messages. In all of your communications, demonstrate you: Possess the energy and enthusiasm to do the job and the flexibility, ability and willingness to learn quickly. Will bring more value to the role based on your work experience than an untested junior candidate. Will be content to do the job you are hired for and won't be making waves three months after you start about moving up. In situations like this, it's human nature to feel superior to your junior coworkers. But acting superior will only torpedo your plans. Be mindful of your development in the role, and manage your performance. If you remember that the lower position is just one step in a long-term career strategy, you will perform well and with purpose.

Greetings. I wanted to give you a heads-up on this module. This module is a keystone topic, one that informs much of the rest of the program. I recommend that you watch all of the videos and use the workbook. Objective: As the hero of your professional journey, we need to understand your attributes - who you are professionally. This is keystone work that informs your confidence, direction, branding, competition for new roles and your overall professional identity. Use this lesson and the following two lessons in this module to begin to identify your professional assets.  Mission:  Watch the video Navigate to the Homework lesson that follows.   Add a comment and discuss below. 

Objective: Engaging in a process to discover your gifts, find the value in your experience, hone in on your interests, and take ownership of your work style and motivators is important, even heroic work.  Why? Because the world needs you to be at your best. Because your overall well-being requires a level of fulfillment from your career which comes from being in the right place for you. And because gaining clarity on your unique value opens up possibilities.  Anything truly important isn’t easy and this lesson and module is not meant to be the one-shot, definitive end of your personal discovery. It is a process and part of the journey. And, it’s the most important step if you’re interested in owning your professional direction. Understanding what you offer => get definition on your natural target markets (jobs, organization types, and situations) => defining your true targets => and then, understanding your buyers and connecting the dots between what you offer and their needs (which leads into a resume, LinkedIn profile and interviewing fine-tuning).  Let’s get started. In this lesson, we build on the experience analysis work of the previous lesson by beginning to identify and label our key assets. Mission:  Watch the video Answer the questions in the workbook related to this lesson.  Add a comment and discuss below.    Professional Assets Model  

Objective: Understand how developing your market promise and "connecting the dots" between your target and your offering creates a much stronger strategy, improves your presentation and personal brand and gives you guideposts to develop your capabilities.  Missions:  Watch the video Address the market promise questions based on your situation and level of clarity about your next step. This will be very important if you're looking to "compete" for opportunities soon. If not, make basic notes. Regardless of your situation, do attempt to isolate the competencies expected/required of your current or next step role and your proof points.

Objective: We continue your professional assets discovery by gaining clarity on your motivators, professional interests, and work personality and strengths. These form your "why" and "how".  Mission:  Watch the video Answer the questions in the workbook related to this lesson. I have included a values list reference doc if helpful for you.  

Instructions:  Read the sections below on Additional Coaching on Job Analysis and Additional Power Concept  Download the workbook from this lesson Answer the questions in the workbook related to this lesson. The key experience and expertise element slides are inserted below for your reference. The goal for this week is to begin to inventory your experience.  How deeply you dive into the workbook and analysis really depends on your appetite for it and what your goals are. The more that you see a shift, a pivot, a change coming up in your career, the more vital this work is. I suggest that this is something that you could come back to through the program and after. Your coach can guide you. As with the other workbook steps in this module, take guidance from your coach as to what is most important for you to complete. Additional Coaching for Jobs Analysis Work Few people have a suitably clear and full grasp of where they have been professionally. Within your background are clues, stories and data that help drive and support career changes. The Jobs Analysis exercise is a cornerstone activity, and if you dig deep enough, it will provide you with the framework to think about the jobs you have held and give you some avenues to dredge up situations/experiences/stories. The following are areas where you may need to capture your background more thoroughly: Data around specific accomplishments and performance How you made a difference / added value Intangible outcomes (and making them a bit more tangible) The context of roles and the delta between what you inherited when you took on the role and what you, or your leadership, helped or caused to be produced by the time you were done. Where to Look For each job in your career, and any other significant activities, use the following prompters to get you started: Responsibilities: At the most basic level, how fully did you fulfill the responsibilities of the role? Objectives: What objectives were you given? Did you meet those objectives? Exceed? Projects: What projects were you involved in, what was your role within those projects, what did the project achieve, and what was your contribution to that outcome? Initiative: Did you show initiative in proposing or implementing a new or better way of doing things, or seizing an opportunity Problems: Did you solve any important business or people problems? Crises: Were you involved in managing a crisis and if so, how did you contribute? People: Have you had any people wins? Developed an employee? Successfully mentored someone? Turned an unproductive working relationship into an effective one? Overall, what difference have you made in each of the jobs you have held? What have you been rewarded or recognized for? Where have you excelled? This process will add confidence and power to your career management and development efforts. This tool allows you to analyze your current or past jobs at a depth that you likely haven’t done before. Note 1: Take as much space as you need to fully develop your ideas. Note 2: Be as specific as you can, which may mean digging. Make the outcomes as tangible as possible. Note 3: If you have held a role in a charitable organization, or in your own business, please include. Additional Power Concept - Deltas Created In the workbook, there is a job analysis exercise. I ask you to make note of the context of what was going on in that job. When we begin a new role, contract, or client situation, we inherit a state, a context. That's Time 0. Over time, the impact you create might be measured as a delta - that is, the positive change over time in one or more areas:  Size of the portfolio (territory, staff, budget, etc.) Key performance indicators around revenue, profitability, efficiencies, customer satisfaction, quality, etc.  Creation or improvement of new processes, systems, tools, projects, programs, products, etc.  Intangibles like culture, market reputation, etc. When you think of it this way, you can better uncover your accomplishments and learn more about where you've added value. This is a powerful lens   Slides - Elements of Experience & Expertise

Purpose Now that you’ve completed the work from previous steps in uncovering the various aspects of your experience, your skills and knowledge, your interests and values and your work personality, it is time to start putting it together. Your coach will help you assemble the key pieces including: Your key abilities Your professional track record and key assets from your experience Your areas of knowledge and expertise to leverage And your key, go to market skills, competencies Determine your most important professional interests Define which parts of your work values and your work personality are assets Decide your your “lead” go-to-market professional assets  

Defining Your Professional Assets On your professional journey, you have competition for great work situations, bigger roles and client projects. What is your competitive advantage? Manage your Destiny In the realm of managing your career, I can make some safe assumptions. You don’t want to be interchangeable with the person next to you. You would like a surplus vs. scarcity of professional opportunities. You want to be able to negotiate for work and compensation at least as an equal partner in the conversation, if not from a point of strength. So, finding and building competitive advantage deserves your attention. What is Competitive Advantage Michael Porter defined two sources of competitive advantage for companies: lower cost and differentiation. Now, you may want to play the lower cost game, but I doubt it, so let’s focus on differentiation. This is not about wearing a power blue tuxedo to a formal business event (seen it), or formatting your resume in a wild font to get attention. Another definition of competitive advantage refers to it resulting from finding a match between the company’s core competencies and the right market opportunities. Bingo! True professional competitive advantage results from identifying and developing your areas of strength (defined in its broadest sense) and connecting with your natural target markets. When it comes to competing for key roles, the result is a natural, obvious fit between seller (you) and your target buyers. 15 Sources of Competitive Advantage Keep these three points in mind as you go through the list: Rarely is your professional competitive advantage one-dimensional For most work, there is a base layer of competency required. Even if you have an area of exceptional strength, you need to have the bases covered Some sources are a result of years of attention and performance. Others can be developed or enhanced in the short to medium term. Superior Domain Expertise: When you are the go-to resource for X, you have created a competitive advantage. Your name is known outside of the walls of your department. Perhaps you have spoken at a conference. Whatever it is, possessing superior knowledge over most of the pack gives you an advantage when it comes to opportunities requiring that same expertise. Rare Domain Expertise: In a category in and of itself, there are areas of professional expertise that aren’t necessarily new, but they are rare. Demand / supply curves being what they are, you can leverage this relatively scarce expertise. Ahead of the Curve: While not always a permanent source, you having advance expertise and experience in something that is both new and important – a key technology or application, regulatory changes, the latest management fad, or in-depth knowledge and contacts in the latest emerging market, can be a real boon. It can put you in the spotlight in your current work situation and open up doors to new ones. Executive recruiters are often retained to find this ahead of the curve expertise, as well as rare expertise. Superior Skill in an Area of Demand: Skills are similar to domain expertise. While rarely is just one skill involved, except for the most specialized professionals, your demonstrated excellent in an in-demand skill, or related package of skills is a source of differentiation and advantage. Particularly when backed up by respected industry credentials. Network, Reach, Audience: The more relevant, engaged, extensive and supportive your professional network, or audience, the greater advantage you have. Why? Access to information, referrals and recommendations. The halo effect of being acquainted with key influencers. The opportunity to spread your message to a group of people relevant to your domain. This is a big one. Reputation & Track Record: Longevity isn’t enough. What is your track record? Between similar candidates, the person who can demonstrate a track record of performance and making a difference will have the leg-up. And in career change situations, a track record of successfully tackling a diverse set of challenges can be an important asset. Experience: Recruiters and experienced hiring managers have seen enough candidates to form an impression of a person’s total experience. The data that forms that impression includes your trajectory and progression, years of relevant experience, continuity of your professional story and whether or not there are questionable gaps. Experiences: Deserving of separate mention, and connected to your expertise are the special experiences that you’ve worked through. Product launches, turnarounds, acquisitions, regulatory approvals, campaigns, crisis managed. Two people could have similar job titles but have entirely different experiences. These situations, particularly when experienced more than once, can be a strong source of competitive advantage when a buyer is facing similar situations. Pedigree / Brand Halo: All things being equal, employer and customer brands that are from my space, or that I at least recognize, if not admire, give you a head-start over someone who has worked for / with companies that mean nothing to me. Unfortunately, there is often a size bias. I am more likely to have heard of a company that has scaled or is in the news or on lists. Polish & Finesse: While not the most important, polish and finesse count, particularly in those key career moments – the pivotal coffee conversation, the interview, the negotiation, the pitch. Skill, expertise and experience being equal, polish can take you over the finish line and in some cases trump one of the more tangible requirements. A Sponsor: Beyond an engaged network, having a senior champion who is willing to open a key door for you and lend their support for your candidacy can get you access to opportunities not widely available. Demonstrated Commitment: When it comes to getting in with a lack or direct experience, or competing for work among a host of other contenders, your tangible, demonstrated commitment to the business / topic at question can be immensely advantageous. Not the, I am very, very, very interested in this job approach. Even those two extra very’s won’t cut it. What you have done, attended, published, created, studied, developed, built, read, etc and how articulate you are about the area of business are what count. Your commitment should leave footprints in the sand. Survivor of Cycles / Hard-knocks: Hey, I’d pay for someone who learned what needed to be learnt on someone else’s dime rather than mine. Gone through three startups and understand the ramp-up and funding cycles? Hugely valuable if I am a start-up CEO. Fought through tough market cycles and found a way to survive? Fantastic. Atypical for your Field: Here’s a good one. There is a type for a lot of professions and fields. A common set of personality traits, core skill sets, shared values. What if you have the base layer AND something else that makes you atypical? Case in point: In the large accounting firms, it usually isn’t the best / most technically savvy accountants that rise rapidly through the ranks. Rather, it is those who have that base layer of competency combined with team leadership qualities, client relationship skills and the drive to build the business. Targeting: The market is big and you are not equally valuable everywhere. Your ability to identify and cultivate areas of opportunity – in your organization, profession, market and industry is a must-have component to your professional advantage. Your Unique Combinations Remember where we started on differentiation. At the end of the day, your professional competitive advantage is likely a combination of things. What you have focused on and how you articulate who you are professionally can make all of the difference. There’s no excuse to be a cog. What are your sources of competitive advantage?