What do you do if your performance evaluation reveals untapped career opportunities in Digital Strategy?

If your performance evaluation uncovers untapped career opportunities in Digital Strategy, take time to thoroughly assess your current skill set and how it aligns with these new opportunities. Identify any gaps or areas for improvement that could enhance your eligibility for these roles. Consider the feedback from your evaluation to pinpoint specific skills or knowledge areas that are highly valued or in demand within the field. This self-assessment will guide you in prioritizing which skills to develop or strengthen, setting the foundation for a strategic approach to your career growth.

If truly untapped, start tapping. Why wait a day, unless you need buy in from upstairs? Set a plan, generate a checklist of action items and get started with your content strategy role. And we say this in the best way possible: FAIL FAST! Learn your lessons and grow with the experience. Experience is the best teacher, success or failure alike (and neither success nor failure will linger, so move fast).

Begin by evaluating your proficiency in core digital marketing disciplines, such as data analysis, content creation, and user experience design. Determine the extent of your experience and expertise in these areas, as well as any specialized skills or certifications you may possess. Next, identify any skill gaps that may exist between your current abilities and the requirements of digital strategy roles. This could involve areas such as proficiency in specific software or tools, understanding of digital consumer behavior and psychology, or knowledge of emerging trends and technologies in the digital landscape.

This is a good thing! Adding feathers to your bow is growth. If these untapped career opportunities excite you, go for it. Find consensus, seek partners and start ideating in that untapped space.

Self-Assessment: Reflect on your skills, interests, and experiences to determine alignment with a career in Digital Strategy. Research: Thoroughly explore Digital Strategy, including trends, roles, skills, and career paths. Skill Development: Identify skill gaps and take action, such as courses, workshops, or mentorship. Networking: Connect with Digital Strategy professionals for insights, advice, and potential job leads. Internal Opportunities: Explore roles within your current organization related to Digital Strategy. External Opportunities: If options are limited internally, consider opportunities at other companies. By taking these steps, you can proactively pursue opportunities in Digital Strategy

Setting goals and prioritizing them as short-term, mid-term, and long-term goals are key. However, inundating your teams with targets can be counterproductive if they are not backed by the right resources and timelines. While setting goals, it’s equally important to make sure we know which initiatives should be actioned immediately, which should be delegated, and which ones should be scrapped or carried forward. Given the dynamic nature of businesses today, the set goals must be evaluated at least quarterly to see if they're still relevant and mitigate any risks around them.

Setting clear and actionable goals is essential for guiding your development in the digital strategy space. Utilizing the SMART framework—specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound—can help ensure that your goals are well-defined and conducive to successful skill acquisition and career advancement. Start by identifying specific skills or competencies that you aim to develop within the realm of digital strategy. Whether it's mastering a particular digital analytics tool, enhancing your proficiency in content marketing, or gaining expertise in search engine optimization (SEO), clarity is key in setting achievable goals.

Siempre hay habilidades duras que desarrollar y más cuando el mercado cambia rápidamente. Tu líder y/o mentor debe trazar contigo los objetivos y metas para no dejarlas aisladas del resto.

Short-term goals: Define what you want to achieve in the next year. This could be learning new skills, gaining certifications, or completing specific projects. Long-term goals: Outline where you see yourself in five years. Consider roles you aspire to hold and the impact you want to make in the digital strategy space.

Seeking mentorship from experienced professionals in the field of digital strategy can indeed be invaluable for accelerating your learning curve and navigating the complexities of the industry. A mentor can provide valuable insights, offer guidance, and share real-world experiences that can help you develop the skills and knowledge needed for success in digital strategy roles. Start by identifying individuals who have a track record of success in the digital strategy field and whose expertise aligns with your career goals and aspirations. This could be someone within your current organization, a professional contact in your network, or a thought leader in the industry whose work you admire.

Finding the right mentor who is well-versed in digital strategy can indeed accelerate your learning curve. Look for someone who has a track record of success in the field in the context of where you work now or where you want to work after a career change. Defining and implementing a digital business strategy in a corporate or governmental organization is very different from ding tht as a solopreneur, as founder of a startup, in a scaleup or in an SME. You need new simple to use strategy models and different skills for that.

Find a mentor: Look for mentors who are established in the field of digital strategy. LinkedIn is a great platform to connect with potential mentors. Reach out with personalized messages. Learn from their experience: Regularly meet with your mentor to discuss your progress, challenges, and get advice on navigating your career path.

Finding the right mentor is like having the right compass to give you direction to your destination. While a strong mentor-mentee relationship can provide invaluable guidance, a single mentor may not always work in some instances. Personally, I've cultivated relationships with mentors specializing in strategic planning, financial acumen, PR, and branding, among other domains. It’s the same as there is no one-size-fits-all solution, we have to have different perspectives and be multifaceted to foster holistic growth.

Effective networking comes with one’s ability to "connect”. It’s one thing to connect via LinkedIn, but it’s a completely different ballgame when you have to instantly create an impression and strike up a conversation that’s engaging and interesting. These initial interactions may extend beyond immediate business interests, and it’s an opportunity to explore commonalities like shared hobbies, current events, or cultural backgrounds. This focuses on fostering genuine and trustworthy connections, which in turn will create a more receptive environment for professional exchange.

It'sall about engaging with the right and relevant people in the right network. Finding meaning in your work can be done in many different ways. Especially in an age where 2/3 of people working in large corporates and governmental agencies are ‘sleepwalking’ through their professional lives, disengaged and unfulfilled and many people are having a burnout or are showing first signs of a burnout. Focus on the right life/work balance for you and your loved ones and connect wth the right people with relevant experiences.

Keep in mind that mentorship is not just about receiving advice but also about building a supportive and collaborative relationship. Be open to feedback, actively listen to your mentor's insights, and apply their guidance to your professional development journey.

Participate in groups: Join LinkedIn groups related to digital strategy to engage with like-minded professionals. Attend events: Participate in webinars, workshops, and conferences to build your network and stay updated on industry trends.

As you consider leveraging your own network, remember that the key is to be proactive and genuinely interested in engaging with others. Always be willing to offer help and support to your connections as well, because networking is a reciprocal relationship. By maintaining this balance, you will build stronger, more meaningful relationships that can benefit you professionally for years to come.

Gaining practical experience is essential for developing proficiency in digital strategy and building a strong foundation for your career advancement. Look for opportunities within your current role to get involved in projects that have a digital strategy component. Volunteer for assignments that allow you to apply and expand your skills in areas such as digital marketing, data analysis, or user experience design.

Volunteer or freelance: Take on freelance projects or volunteer for tasks that allow you to work on digital strategy. This could be within your current job or through external opportunities. Launch projects: Consider starting your own digital strategy project to apply what you’ve learned and showcase your skills.

When your evaluation points to new paths in digital strategy, see it as an opportunity to refine your career trajectory. Assess your journey, recalibrate objectives where necessary, and take stock of your accomplishments. This ongoing process not only sharpens your focus on career goals but also ensures you’re evolving with the digital field. It grounds you in your current contributions while preparing you for future roles, emphasizing the importance of agility and lifelong learning in navigating the digital strategy domain.

Remember that practical experience is not just about building your resume; it's also about building confidence in your abilities and developing a deeper understanding of digital strategy principles in action. Embrace challenges as opportunities for growth, learn from both successes and setbacks, and continuously seek out opportunities to apply and refine your skills in real-world settings.

Evaluate progress: Regularly review your goals and the progress you’ve made towards achieving them. Adjust your strategies as needed. Stay curious: Keep learning and stay open to new ideas and technologies that can enhance your digital strategy skills.

To capitalize on untapped career opportunities in Digital Strategy: Assess current skills, set measurable goals for improvement, engage with industry networks for guidance, and activate learning through courses, workshops, and projects. This proactive approach ensures targeted development, leveraging existing strengths while expanding expertise in digital strategy to advance career prospects.

Determine which specific aspects of your digital strategy have untapped potential. This could include areas such as social media engagement, SEO optimization, content marketing, email marketing, or e-commerce conversion rates.

Find your Right to win in the domain. This framework always works in corporate and otherwise, since you think from both supply and demand side of things, you get a clearer picture of what you need to do to tap into and excel in the new opportunity.