Give Yourself the Gift of Reflection

take a break and take controlWe are always waiting for someone else to turn the speed down, tell us we've reached our goal and reward us accordingly with a promotion, pay rise or even just a "thank you for your hard work".

It's time to stop the treadmill, take a break and take control of your own career. Forge your own path that leads to where you want to go.

"I'm Too Busy"

If I had a pound for every delegate that said this, I'd have retired years ago! But - gosh - it's true, isn't it? We are all so busy. There is very little time allocated to constructive conversation around career progression. Objectives are typically a bit woolly. Appraisals are often less a meeting of minds, and more of a joust between two people with very different perspectives:

"I need people to step up and take responsibility."

"But I want to step up and no one is giving me the opportunity to do so."

make more time for reflecting on what has gone wellIf you want to make those opportunities for yourself, a good place to start is with this list of ten career management questions. My advice would be to think about those at the beginning of every calendar year, and in advance of any formal appraisal or review meeting.

But what else can help you to feel like the master of your own destiny?

PR, comms and marketing people need to make more time for reflecting on what has gone well. But we rarely do. Being - by nature - good problem-solvers, we graft, achieve a good result, and immediately move on to the next job or project without pausing to reflect on what we've done well.

And yet we tend to be very good at post-mortems. Hours are spent analysing why we didn't win a pitch, or why our sales team doesn't feel supported in the right way.

I'd argue that, unless we take a moment to properly reflect on the positives, to consciously notice what we've done well, work out why it went well and knowingly repeat that behaviour, we do ourselves a serious disservice.

Give Yourself the Gift of Reflection

start to build evidence of your own progressionHalf an hour a month is time we can all find, no matter how hectic our schedules. It's just a question of prioritising our own personal development over the other demands on our time.

So diarise it now. When the time comes, make yourself a coffee, find a quiet spot and ask yourself the following questions.

1. What have I done well?
2. What do I need to do more of?
3. What do I need to do less of?
4. What conversations am I having? (Think about who they are with, whether they are the right people and what those people are interested in.)

Note down the answers and look back at them next month, and you will start to build evidence of your own progression and a business case for advancement. After all, if you don't reflect or recognise your own progress, is it really fair to ask someone else to do it for you?

One final point: this is not a selfish act, even though it may feel like it at first. In fact, this process of regular self-reflection will also benefit the organisation you work for, whatever your job title or level of experience.