There comes a point in your career where you need to decide what next. Typically, you may end up asking this question around your mid-career phase. This is simply because this is when you are asking lot more deeper questions about what you want to do in life and this impacts other life areas. It is when you feel stuck and not seeing opportunities for growth. As you grow you are seeking for more of an internal satisfaction, a sense of accomplishment of having contributed to something significant than leading a routine life. What you do daily seems boring, there seems to be no energy to do these routine tasks, personally and professionally things appear to be moving slow.

If you are able to resonate with this situation chances are you need to gain some clarity on the road ahead especially your career, let alone your life.  It is time to make some choice.

If you believe you are happy with the career choice you have made then you will need a career development plan. It is a personalized strategy to grow in your career. This means you set a career goal and devise a plan to achieve it.  As a first step then can you think of your goal for the next 3 – 5 years? What growth are you looking for in your career? See if you can write that down.  Sometimes you may feel stuck and not clear of what you want to do. If so, just look for the next role until you are ready with your long term goals.

Please note it is your career that we are talking about and so don’t wait for your organization or manager to come to you and talk about it. You need to take responsibility for the same and invest in your growth.

 Here are few things you can do to focus on your career development

Go through the responsibilities for your current role and identify the necessary competencies. For each competency identified define the proficiency level expected. For example, communication may be a needed competency across the organization levels but the level of proficiency can progress from low to high as we climb up the ladder. At times it is assumed that you have the competency even though it is not explicitly stated in the description. If you are not clear ask your Human Resource personnel or your manager.

You can do a similar exercise for your next role. This way you will have the current role and clarity on next role expectations.

For each competency identified assess your current level of proficiency. Ask your team members to provide an assessment. Ask your manager to share his/her assessment. Be honest with yourself when assessing your proficiency levels.

By now you have the current state and you also have the expected state for the next role.  This comparison will help you identify the gap that exists.

Define an action plan to fill the gap. This could include going through certain behavioral workshops, ramping up on technical and/or functional skills, executing some special projects. Once again, it is your growth and so don’t wait for your organization to arrange trainings. Be willing to invest in your growth. No matter how many workshops your organization conducts if you are not ready then nothing will change.

Discuss the plan with your manager. See what can you do by yourself and what help you need from the organization. Remember it is your career and you need to invest in it.

Choose an accountability partner. This can be anyone who will not hesitate to review the progress with you and call out if you are not making progress. Someone who can provide you with honest feedback.

To learn more about how to go about this contact me at connect@coachgopal.com