Give yourself a promotion.
Guidance from a parent, a relative, a coach, a teacher, or perhaps a spiritual leader typically gives us direction early in life. Often we grow to expect this input from others and we utilize it to define our futures. With luck, we have positive role models and helpful input, but, of course, sometimes the input is more about how not to be in the world—laden with negative examples and behaviors to avoid.
This extrinsic form of guidance or education relies on input from the outside to define your course. However, the very word “education” actually derives from the Latin “to lead out from,” perhaps out from ignorance to knowledge or, more importantly, from uncritical acceptance to critical thinking. In other words, the best teachers actually do not give you answers, but answer your questions by making you think. Socrates was apparently famous for this approach—the so-called Socratic method—intended to promote critical reflection and independent thought.
Today we may be too lazy in some respects, too used to receiving our information from trusted sources and accepting it as fact when it is only opinion or perhaps a selective perspective on the facts beneficial to the sender.
We could all benefit from more critical thinking.
Now apply this to your work.
You probably have a boss, a leader, or a supervisor—someone who tells you what to do, or, if you are lucky, coaches you to solve challenges on your own. Inevitably, this person will have his or her own interests, too, so that the facet you receive from that person will not be solely in your own interest, but at best a blend of the enterprise’s and your own self-interest, or, at worst, solely to the enterprise’s benefit.
So who looks out for you?
If everyone else in your life is pursuing their own interests, what about you? We don’t mean that you need to be egregiously selfish, but shouldn’t someone fundamentally be looking out for you and perhaps for your family’s interests?
And shouldn’t that person be you?
So perhaps it is time that you give yourself a promotion. It might be helpful to see yourself and your life as an enterprise in its own right, and then appoint yourself CEO.
Next, you may need to reflect on your strategy.
Typically this begins with asking questions such as a) who am I and what is important to me, b) where am I now, c) where would I like to be in the future, and d) how will I get there?
This is exactly the structure of our Clarity Program©, the first or “targeting” step in our five-step career change process. Specialist Clarity Coaches guide our clients through this process not by giving them answers but by asking them questions that they must answer for themselves. Here’s how one recently landed client described his Clarity experience:
“I enjoyed the Clarity Program, and I liked Marsha’s [his Clarity Coach’s] approach. It clarified a lot of things for me – what I wanted to do, what I didn’t want to do, as well as my long-term objectives. It gave me the structure I needed to get a complete picture of what I wanted from life personally and professionally.” [Arturo Núñez, Read more]
Now you may instinctively react with thoughts such as, “I’m not ready.” Or “The market isn’t ideal.” Or “I just have to finish that project first…” Only you, as the CEO of your life can decide whether these are legitimate reasons to delay a career change, but in our experience over the last three decades of helping executives in landing new roles… these thoughts are most likely just excuses. Read Tomorrow’s Timeless Allure for more insights.
As CEO of your life, shouldn’t you be looking at how to increase revenue?
Remember that executives who judiciously change careers simply earn more money than those who don’t. [Read more.]
There are numerous reasons that Forbes cites the Barrett Group as one of the best in the business. First and foremost it is our results: who else publishes all of their clients’ landings and offers every week as we do in our Frontline Report?
As the CEO of your life, you will also appreciate the fact that the Barrett Group supports each client with a team of six professionals who so far this year have already helped hundreds of clients significantly increase the value of the offers they have received through our tried and true career change process.
Then there is the wealth of information that the Barrett Group places at our clients’ disposal. For a sample, see our recent Industry Update: The Market for Executives—more than 470,000 executive positions have been filled in the past 12 months!
Excuses aside, what is really holding you back? Isn’t it time you gave yourself a promotion as the CEO of your life, took charge, and rebooted your career?
Let us know when you take that first step and we’ll help you achieve your dreams.
Peter Irish, CEO
The Barrett Group
