What’s your definition of career success?

The definition of the term career success gets a lot of attention. You’ve only to do a quick google search, and you’ll be inundated with commentary and opinions claiming the secret to success is one thing or another.

Yet fundamentally it only really comes down to one important factor.

What it means to you.

No matter what you read, or see what others are doing, your definition and measure of career success is individual and unique to you.?Only you will know if you’ve achieved it.

It might be when you’ve reached financial stability, or recognition for your contributions and hard work.

You might have your eye on industry achievements or awards, or a particular qualification or specific job role.

Or you may simply want to make a difference and have a positive impact on other people’s lives.

It’s also likely that how you define career success now is different to how you termed it earlier in your career. Back then, it might have been related to the next promotion or job opportunity, or if you’re anything like me you had no idea at all.

I started my career as a nurse and had some vague idea I’d become a Sister or Matron at some point. There was a fairly clear pathway to follow, so I wasn’t too worried and I was happy to drift along. Even when I left the clinical field behind and went into, initially, nurse management, then project and programme management, I didn’t really have any clarity about what success meant to me.

In fact outside of an annual appraisal and a wishful thinking new year’s resolution list, I didn’t even set any goals. Looking back though I’m slightly horrified because not knowing what success looked like for me meant I was never going to know if I’d achieved it, or even how to start on the path towards it.

Because essentially, if you don’t know what success looks like for you, ultimately you won’t know if you have it.

What you can do

Not knowing is a common mistake many of us make. But it's actually one that’s easy to rectify if you ask yourself the right questions and are prepared to be uncomfortable as you uncover probably how little you’ve actually considered or planned where you’re going.

Having a clear direction is vital when you’re heading for somewhere new. A bit like getting in the car without setting a destination, you’ve no idea where you’re going to end up. Admittedly that might be fun and spontaneous when it comes to a day out.

However, if you want to achieve career success and advancement, knowing where you’d at least like to go, makes the whole journey a lot more fulfilling.

What changed for me in my career was when a project came along that I wanted desperately to be part of. I was in the right place at the right time, and even though it was way out of my comfort zone and I would need to develop a shedload of skills pretty quickly, I wasn’t deterred. In fact I knew right away I wanted to be the one to lead it, because not only was it a worthwhile endeavour, but I wanted to learn, to be challenged, to experience new possibilities.

And yes I wanted the eventual success for both the project and myself, and I knew I was prepared to work for it.

Understanding the importance of setting goals and evaluating your own progress outside of an annual appraisal can be pivotal in helping you understand what success means for you, and what you want for yourself.

Evaluate where you are now

When you’re thinking about your career, and the success you want, I’d recommend forgetting everyone else’s ideas, opinions, expectations and concentrate on yourself.

Make a list of possibilities that resonate with you.

Think about what you might regret if you don’t do something that you’ve always wanted to do.

How do you want to be recognised for your work?

How will you know if and when you’ve made a difference?

Where have you wanted to challenge yourself and get out of your comfort zone?

Even if you only start with a leading a project, you’ve no idea what you will learn, the experience you’ll gain and where it will take you.

Taking time to think, list, and brainstorm these questions will not only help you understand where you are now, but will provide you with a clear idea of what’s important to you.

You can evaluate your current role and determine whether it allows you or has the potential, for you to do the things you like doing that inspire your interest, enthusiasm and sense of achievement and fulfilment.

What else you can consider?

Ideally, taking time to comprehensively and regularly set goals that matter to you is the next big step, and I’ll be covering that in a later newsletter.

In the meantime, there are several suggestions I want you to take on board when it comes to achieving your own success:

o??Listen to yourself and trust your intuition

o??Be honest with yourself

o??Get to know what you’re good at and what you like doing

o??Be prepared to take risks

o??Get comfortable with feeling uncomfortable

o??Build relationships with the people you're working with, both internal and external

o??Network, meet new people and build relationships with them

o??Be prepared to have fun

o??Find a mentor, a sponsor, a coach (like me) or a trusted work buddy who can be, at the very least, a sounding board

o??Stay positive and avoid people and gossip that aren’t

o??Be solution focused

o??Be prepared to fail

o??Appreciate you have everything right now that you need to take the next step

The most important thing to remember is that defining your career success, starts and ends with you!

If you want to have a chat with me about how I can help, then get in touch and we can chat through how you can define and achieve your own career success.

Remember to also subscribe to this newsletter so you can keep in touch with me and learn some more simple yet effective career and leadership tips and guidance.

And if you have any comments or queries about anything I’ve discussed in this newsletter, or have an idea for a topic, let me know.

Until next time,

Jackie x

P.S. Want to dig a bit deeper into how to achieve success, then check out my blog “nothing will happen unless you make it happen.”