Commit to Your Career – 2020

20 Feb, 2020

Are you one of the estimated 164 million American adults who made a New Year’s resolution? If you did, chances are it fell into one of the following three categories: health, money or self-improvement. This year, I challenge you to commit to another resolution—your career.

By focusing on six simple steps, you’ll be on your way to achieving long-term career success:

1. Keep your eye on the ball
   What is your end goal? Write down your career aspirations in one, three and five years’ time along with SMART goals to keep you on track. Set specific dates to check in with yourself, keeping in mind that your goals will continually be evolving as time progresses.
2. Improve your EQ
   As I spoke about in my last blog, emotional intelligence (EQ) is the ability to understand, use and manage your emotions in positive ways to relieve stress, communicate effectively, empathize with others, overcome challenges and defuse conflict. It’s critical to have a high level of self-awareness and understand how your behavior affects others. To help build your EQ, take a pause to stop and think before you act or speak—you’ll be creating a habit of thinking first.
3. Take initiative
   Lead by example. Step up to the plate and show others that you are 100% invested in the organization. By taking the initiative to go the extra mile on a consistent basis, you’ll differentiate yourself amongst other leaders—and hopefully inspire others to do the same.
4. Commit to continual learning
   You wouldn’t have gotten where you are today without a high level of experience and expertise. But, we all have areas in our lives that could be improved upon. Maybe you are lacking in a technical area that could easily be resolved by taking an online course. Or, perhaps you have a soft skill that could use some polishing. Take a hard look at yourself and think about ways in which you can improve, make a plan and stick to it. The best leaders are constantly learning.
5. Build your network
   I know I’ve touted the importance of building your social network several times before, but I can’t stress enough how critical this is. Make it a priority in 2020. Keep in mind that it’s not just adding connections in LinkedIn—it’s also nurturing those relationships. Like, comment on and share their posts. Go to conferences and seminars and engage with others. Walk down the halls of your organization and take the time to chat with employees on a personal level. Make yourself visible and approachable. When you put people at ease, you enable them to think and do their best in your presence.
6. Maintain a healthy work-life balance
   Yes, you want to be that “perfect” leader and show motivation, dedication and commitment to your organization and career. However, don’t let your personal life fall by the wayside. Demonstrate to your team that they should value time with their families by setting the example: Don’t work every weekend. Leave your laptop at home when you go on vacation. Go home at a reasonable hour as often as you can. Employees want to work for a company that cares about them and encourages a good work-life balance.

If you’re ready to commit to your career advancement in 2020, Buckman Enochs Coss and Associates is here to help. Give us a call today at 614-825-6215.