May Busch* has advice for those workers who have been rushing about doing everyone’s bidding without ever seeming to achieve their own career goals.
This year, it’s about being strategic. For my business, that means establishing clear goals, setting priorities, leveraging assets, and making good choices about what my team and I do and how we do it.
I will also monitor our progress so we can make adjustments along the way.
I didn’t fully appreciate this until late in my corporate career when chatting with our Head of Talent Development (let’s call her Margo) at our firm’s off-site for senior women.
During a coffee break, she observed that I’d had an “amiable career”.
One where I did whatever the firm asked me to do whether that was changing departments, moving overseas or taking on a difficult client base.
It was not a compliment.
She made it sound like I had taken the path of least resistance. That if I’d been more strategic and played my cards better, I would have been more successful.
Her words have stuck with me because the core of what she said was true.
It was up to me to take charge and adopt a strategic approach to my career. The same is true for you.
Here are three ways to be more strategic in your career and life.
Do what matters most
It’s easy to get caught up in the urgent at the expense of what’s truly important. So I’ve started asking this question:
What’s the one thing that would have the biggest impact if I did it this year?”
You can also ask this question every quarter, every month and even every day to make sure you’re doing what matters most.
The thing that will have the biggest impact for me this year is making friends with my inner worrier.
I’d like this year to be the one where I finally break free from the worry habit that’s been a drag on me for years.
Professionally, it’s being strategic about which projects my team and I take on so that everything we do is aligned and builds on each other.
Equally important is saying “no” or “not now” to everything else.
Whether it’s your personal or professional life, there are many well-meaning people who have an opinion on what you should or must do to be successful.
They’re speaking from their own lens on the world, not yours. Listening to them will pull you in directions you may not want to go, which leads to regret.
Stop listening to them for a moment and get in touch with what you think truly matters.
Play to your strengths
I like to think broadly about strengths to include all the things that make you strong.
In a work context, it starts with your skills, traits and qualities.
It also includes your accomplishments, resources, interests and network of relationships.
What’s in your inventory of strengths? How good a fit is there with the career you’ve chosen and how could you apply your strengths in a bigger way?
When you build your career on the foundation of your strengths, you’ll have a far better chance of success and standing out in a positive way.
When you play to your strengths, you’ll have a greater chance of success while also having a more enjoyable time.
Show that you can connect the dots
At work, a sure way to demonstrate your strategic thinking abilities is to join up various dots.
This could be pieces of information, ideas or even people — adding value in a bigger way.
It could be as simple as asking yourself: “Who else needs to know this?”
For example, when a team member heard about a failing merger, he came to me and said: “I just heard the XYZ deal is falling through.
“Does that mean we can rekindle the project we have with their subsidiary?”
When you and your team have had an accomplishment, you could show up as more strategic (and helpful) by asking: “Who else would benefit from doing this? Then sharing your insights with those people.
This not only shows you understand the bigger picture, it also helps you show up as helpful and leader-like.
However, it’s hard to be strategic when you’re constantly in fire-fighting mode. That’s a sign it’s absolutely urgent you set aside time to think.
Guard that time as if it’s with the person you’re most afraid of cancelling on.
For me that was the meeting I finally secured with a new client prospect. Who is it for you?
Fire-fighting mode can be addicting because it comes with an adrenalin rush.
The danger is when fire-fighting becomes a habit that starts dictating your days, which can look like you’re constantly bailing water without fixing the leak.
The longer-term risk is that you’ll wake up one day and find yourself way off course because you’ve been too busy with urgent tasks to notice.
So don’t let something or someone else rule your life without your permission. Instead, take time out to be strategic.
*May Busch works with smart entrepreneurs and top managements to build their businesses. She can be contacted at [email protected].
This article first appeared at maybusch.com.
