Everyone spends a significant amount of their life at work.  To get the most out of your career you need to manage it.  So what are key steps that you need to take to manage your career.

Tip 1: Know what you want to achieve 

When you have a career as opposed to a job, you take a long term view.  Those who achieve most will generally have a very clear vision of what they want to achieve.

What’s your vision?

Tip 2: Set out a plan

Once you have clarity on your vision, the next step is to develop a plan.  Your plan needs to clearly set out:

• Where you currently are

• Where you want to get to

• The steps to move you to where you want to get to

In setting out your plan, think about skills, knowledge, experience, education and personal attributes.

Tip 3: Find a coach or mentor

Most people have 10-15 years to reach their vision so you need support and accountability to make it happen.  A coach or mentor can help you:

• Get clarity on your next move

• Make the right moves that contribute to your overall vision

• Avoid wasting time and effort going down the wrong path

Tip 4: Deliver outstanding performance

If you want to progress and reach the top, you need to build a reputation of being someone who consistently delivers outstanding performance.  One of the ways of delivering outstanding performance is to be clear about what you are measured on and make sure everything you do contributes to success.

Tip 5: Don’t move out of a job because you are disgruntled

Sometimes people move jobs because something short term annoys them.  It might be that they are not feeling valued, that they are not supported or whatever they do it will never be good enough.

If you find yourself in this situation, speak to someone more senior before taking action or to you coach or mentor.

Tip 6: Discuss you career with your boss

Employees are sometimes reluctant to discuss their career with their boss.  They worry that their boss might misinterpret this.  The truth is that the best bosses want to have people around them who are motivated and have a desire to get on.

How could you create a relationship with your boss that allowed you to openly speak about your career?

Tip 7: Avoid job moves that only offer short term advantages

It is easy to be lured in the short term by money.  Keep the focus on your vision and test job opportunities in terms of what you need to progress rather than short term financial gains.

Tip 8: Leave jobs on good terms

You might be working with someone today who pops up at some organisation you want to work with in the future.  This is more common than you think so always leave on good terms.

Tip 9: Speak openly to superiors about internal positions that are of interest to you

Managers often form a completely wrong impression about individual’s career aspirations.  If there is an internal post that would help you closer to your goal, speak to your superior about it.

Tip 10:  Be open to lateral moves

It is easy to think that every job change needs to be a move up the ladder.  Sometimes it might be useful to move at a similar level to get new experience.  For example imagine all of your experience was in subsidiary companies and you wanted some head office experience.  A lateral move might be the best way to do it.

Tip 11: Plan moves in advance

When you have secured a position and have got some clarity about some of the skills and experience you are gaining, start thinking about your next couple of moves.  Why?  The main reason is that it keeps you alert for new opportunities that might be ideal for you as you move towards your vision.

Tip 12: Keep your CV or Resume up to date

Make a habit of regularly updating your CV to capture new experience, skills or attributes that you have developed.

Tip 13: Record achievements and successes

In every interview you will always be asked about achievements and successes.  If you record achievements on a weekly or monthly basis you will have a bank of successes available to draw from when faced with this question.

In addition, you will also have the drive and motivation to do even more.

Tip 14: Don’t stay in a job too long

If you want to reach a senior level, you need to find the right balance.  Move too regularly and your loyalty will be questioned.  Stay too long and your ambition and desire will be questioned.  Three indicators that the time might be right to move on are:

• The excitement has gone from the job

• You are not getting any new experience

• The job is too easy

In my experience moving every 2-4 years is about right, but be aware of industry or sector norms.

If you want a career rather than just a series of jobs, you need to take control.  What’s your first step?

Are you achieving all that you want at the moment?  If you are keep up the good work, notice what you are doing right and do more of it.  In reality there will always be times when everything is going well and other times when it feels like everything you touch falls apart.

There are a whole host of reasons why you might not be achieving all you want right now.  Let’s explore some of these:

Fear: You might not be taking action right now because you are frightened of failing or frightened of the consequences if you succeed.  People do worry that they might be too successful, become overwhelmed and then not deliver.

Lack of focus: Often when working with clients they complain that they are not making progress.  When we dig below the surface we often discover that they are not completely focused.  They might not be getting signed up for courses essential to their continued development, getting their CV completed or asking to get on a particular project that will given that essential experience to their success.

Lack of desire:  To achieve anything you need to have the desire and hunger to get the benefits that success will bring.  You might not be motivated because you are playing safe and operating in your comfort zone and taking what might be regarded as a logical next step.

Lack of commitment: Do you find yourself starting lots of new things but never see things through to completion?  Sometimes it takes a lot of commitment to achieve things so ask yourself if you are willing to do the work to achieve.

Lack of skills, knowledge or other resources:  Maybe you are clear on what you want but tell yourself that you cannot do it because you don’t have the right skills, knowledge or other resources to do it.

Lack of clarity: We can often lack clarity on what you want.  If you don’t know where you are heading, it is difficult to plot out your route to success.

If any or all of these reasons apply to you, what can you do to start achieving?

1. Clearly define what you want, why you want it and what the benefits will be once you achieved it.

2. Start one big project at a time, plan it thoroughly and follow through step by step.

3. Drop things that you don’t really want to do but feel you need to do it because it is expected.

4. Start consciously choosing what you will and won’t do rather than leaving it to chance.

5. Accept that when you take action you will fail some time but by stretching your comfort zone you will achieve more than you would have done otherwise.

6. Recognise that it is better to have something that is 90% complete now than 92% complete in 3 month’s time.

Bottom line – If you want to achieve anything, the first obstacle you need to address is yourself.  So what’s your first step to achieving more success?

Whatever organisation you are working in right now, there is likely to be some form of change happening. You might be:

• Restructuring
• Acquiring another business
• Cutting numbers of staff
• Implementing new working practices

Sometimes we fall into the trap of thinking that change is difficult or requires some special skills which you might not have. 

In reality, we are dealing with change every day.  The weather, how we are feeling, new food in a different restaurant, visiting new places are just a few examples.  The next time you are faced with a major change, ask yourself the following questions:

What are you resisting?
Why are you resisting?
What are you afraid of?
What is the cost to me of not changing?
What benefits are there of changing?
What would I need to do to make the change?
What is the first step I could take?

Contrary to what we all think we are much more ready and able to make change than we believe.  So what’s the first step for you?

Those in leadership positions will sooner or later have to deal with change on a significant scale.  It is claimed that as few as 3 in every 10 changes maintain momentum beyond the initial phase of enthusiasm.  So what 3 key roles must change leaders master?

Clarity of Vision

Leaders need to be able to create a compelling vision of what things will be like once the change has been made.  It sounds like it is something that is really easy to do but in truth it is incredibly challenging.  As a leader of change you need to be able to recognise when change is needed and then get a crystal clear view of what you need to create to give your function or business the edge.

Communication

Communication is often regarded as talking and writing and less so about listening.  Leaders when faced with change need to be masters in all three of these areas. They may need to present their vision to a Board, which will require them to articulate it clearly.  They will also need to listen to the concerns and re-assure.  Once they have top level support, the message needs to get passed through the organisation and concerns need to be heard and responded to.

Empowering others

The leader cannot do everything on their own without the help of many others.  The leader has the challenging role of empowering others while at the same time making sure that the change moves in the desired direction and delivers the expected results.  As part of the empowerment, a framework needs to be developed to check on progress and ensure that all of the constituent parts in the process are functioning as they should.

Change is a challenge and leaders have a key role to play in delivering sustainable change in the fast moving and demanding business environment.

Managers and leaders need to deliver results.  The extent to which they deliver results depends on how effective they are when it comes to influencing.  You might have to influence staff, your boss, the Board, funding bodies or lenders to name just a few.  So how can you achieve better results through better influencing?

Tip 1:  Be clear on your goals

People often go into situations where they need to influence without having clarity about what they want to achieve.  In any influencing situation you need to be crystal clear on the outcome you want from the situation.  It might be more staff, a new piece of equipment or a supplier discount.  Whatever, the situation, be clear on what you want in terms of outcome.

Tip 2: Be informed

Have you ever been in a situation or observed a situation where it was clear that they had not done their homework in advance.  With information and resources being so freely available these days, there is really no excuse for going into an influencing situation unprepared.

Tip 3: Order your thoughts logically

If you have done your research in advance, chances are that you will have collected a lot of information.  Presenting this information in a logical and structured way will greatly improve your ability to influence positively.  Make a point of thinking about the most logical way to present your thoughts.  It is even better if you can do it with someone else.

Tip 4: Tailor points to the decision makers

You may well be the expert in your field or area but chances are that one or more of the decision makers will not be.  When you are trying to influence and get a positive response, make sure that you tailor your points to things that will be important to decision makers.

Tip 5:  Highlight the key benefits

The party you are trying to influence wants to know what is in it for me, the organisation and other stakeholders.  The easiest way of addressing this is to highlight the key benefits of your proposition.

Managers and leaders will frequently find themselves in positions where they need to influence.  So what’s your next step in becoming a more effective influencer?

As a leader you face many challenges.  There are however some top challenges that you need to address to achieve success.  So what are they and what can you do about them?

Challenge 1: Human resources management

Attracting, retaining and managing talent is one of the biggest challenges you face as a leader.  The best people are becoming more conscious of the choices that they make when deciding which organisation to join.  They want to be sure that the organisations they work with take their development seriously and have a structured approach to developing and growing people.   Take the time to look at how effectively you and your organisation are when it comes to recruiting, retaining and managing your best talent.

Challenge 2: Change resistance

Change in business is inevitable.  Even if you have had a period of reasonable stability, it won’t be long before you need to take some action to move your business forward or stay competitive.  Change can only be accomplished through others and yet people are often resistant to change.  As a leader it is important that you recognise that resistance is part of the cycle of making change.  You need to allow the time and space for people to come to terms with the change and then support them to make the change.

Challenge 3: Short term focus

In organisations there is a tendency to focus on the short term.  Leaders are expected to deliver results at rapid speeds and if they don’t they can find themselves relieved of their role.  While it might be tempting to focus on short term, quick wins, the outstanding leaders are those who created long term sustained success.  As a leader, commit to long term success and develop a compelling strategy to achieve that long term sustained success.

Challenge 4: Finding good managers

You might have the best team of leaders around but unless you also have good managers you will struggle to get results.  Managers are the key bridge between the strategy, action and results.  They are the people who make things happen on the ground on a day to day basis.  As a leader you need to find and develop your managers so that they deliver the performance levels that you need.

Challenge 5: Surviving the downturns

The economy and market place will not always be thriving and there will be downturns from time to time.  As a leader you need to put in place plans so that you can survive and continue to prosper during downturns in the economy.  This includes making sure that you are creating some reserves, that you have a portfolio of different offerings and having a structured and systematic approach to risk management.

Bottom line – Being a leader is demanding and success is never guaranteed.  So what challenges do you need to address to thrive as a leader in your organisation?

Leaders’ priority is to deliver results.  When leaders deliver results they create success for the organisation’s they lead which leads to more personal success.  While leaders deliver results those leaders that are truly successful recognise that creating and building teams are critical to their success.   So why are teams so critical to your success as a leader?

Only one of you

As a leader you are probably extremely good at what you do and highly capable.  After all you would not have achieved the success you have so far unless you were good.  That said, there is only one of you and you have finite amount of time.  24 hours a day, 168 hours in a week, and 744 hours in a month is what you have no matter how great a leader you are.  With this limit in time, there is a limit on what you can get done on your own.

Skills, knowledge, experience and expertise

Teams bring a much greater of range skills, knowledge, experience and expertise than any one leader could ever have.  Think about it.  Every Managing Director or CEO started out their business career in a particular discipline.  It might have been marketing, sales, finance, operations or human resources to name just a few.  They started out experts and became generalists and more rounded.  At the same time they recognise that they can never be experts in every area of business so they build teams with complimentary skills, knowledge, experience and expertise.

Creativity

You might be a highly creative person. Imagine having 5 or 10 other creative people contributing ideas, knowledge and enthusiasm into creating a compelling vision for the organisation.  How much richer would the final product or output be in this situation?  Leaders who achieve success know that much more can be created through teams working together than working on their own.

So teams maximise the possibilities and achievements but what can leaders do to leverage the benefits of teams and achieve success:

1. Know what you are brilliant at

2. Be aware of the gaps in your skills, knowledge, experience and expertise

3. Make sure that your teams are full of people with complimentary skills, knowledge, experience and expertise

4. Make recruitment a priority area in your business so that you attract and recruit the best people

Bottom line – The best leaders know that teams are critical to their success.  So what steps are you going to take to be an even more successful leader?

If you are a leader, people will take the lead from you.  One way of giving people a clear lead is to be a role model.  A leader who is a role model sets the tone for the whole organisation.  If they are someone who:

• Treats people badly
• Bullies
• Throws their weight around
• Does not listen
• Does not take responsibility

Guess what happens.  Everyone follows this lead and thinks this is is the norm.

On the other hand if the leader:

• Sets and follows standards
• Behaves professionally
• Listens to and uses the contributions of others
• Treats others with respect and dignity

Guess what- others follow the lead of the role model.

So the big question to ask yourself is what do you want to have a reputation for?

A survey by recruitment company Robert Half has identified that almost 9 out of 10 accountancy and finance professionals questioned were concerned about the health of the UK economy over the next twelve months.

While this survey was specifically aimed at accountants and finance professionals, chances are that it the results would be very similar if aimed at a wider group of professionals.

At times like this, professionals without doubt come under scrutiny and questions are asked about the cost of these functions.  Yet in reality, it is at times like this that professional staff have the opportunity to really demonstrate the range of expertise that they have.  For example:

• Accountants play a vital role in the area of cash management and working capital which is likely to be one of the top, if not the top challenge facing businesses
• Purchasing professionals can look to re-negotiate key contracts to get the best deal possible for the organisation
• Internal audit professionals can ensure that there are robust risk management processes in place
• Legal professionals can play a vital role in ensuring that employers go through all of the necessary steps where it is deemed necessary to reduce staff numbers.

Bottom Line – Professionals who are ready and willing to step up to the plate and demonstrate leadership really can make a huge contribution to the long term prosperity of the organisations they work for.  The question is are they ready to grab this opportunity?

A team as a collective can deliver much greater results than any one individual could.  A key component in any team is the leadership of the team.  So what are my 7 key tips when it comes to leading teams?

Tip 1:  Have a clear vision

If you don’t know where you are heading, how will you know when you have got to the destination?  Put differently, it is essential that you create a clear vision of what you want the team to achieve so that it can be understood by everyone.

Tip 2: Learn to be a great listener

You are the leader and have many ideas, views, opinions and solutions.  Your team know that this but also want to be able to offer their views and feel like they have been heard. A good leader recognises this and focuses most of their communication on listening.

Tip 3:  Be someone who takes decisions

As a leader you need to weigh up the upside and downside of any particular option and then decide.  Team members may not always support your decisions 100% or may not have taken the exactly the same decision.  On they other hand they will respect you for not procrastinating.

Tip 4:  Empower your team 

One of the big advantages of a team is the range and variety of skills and experience that is available.  You know what you are good at and not so good at, so empower those to do what they do best.

Tip 5:  Encourage participation

In any team there will be those who are vocal and those who will be quieter.  Your role as a leader is to encourage the full range of contributions and encourage the introverts who make great contributions to get their point across.

Tip 6: Be a role model

One of the best ways to show how you want others to act, behave and interact is to show them.  By being a role model you encourage others to follow your lead.

Tip 7:  Know your team limits

Within any team there will be a range of skills and abilities.  If you are to lead effectively you need to understand the limits of all team members.

Bottom Line – Leading a team is a challenge but by doing some simple things you can become a highly effective team leader.  So what’s your first step in becoming a highly effective team leader?