Developing Professionally
Companies today are required to be highly adaptive and agile in their style and approach to business. Today’s workforce is seeking greater flexibility regarding how they work and where they work, and is pursuing a more fitting representation of a healthy work-life balance.
Consequently, companies are moving away from traditional centralised structures to a model that is decentralised in nature. The decentralised structure provides the individual employee with:
- Greater potential to experience career growth and development
- A sense of contribution and collaboration
- Meaning and purpose for future direction
- An experience of self as an influential agent within the workplace, including autonomy and self-direction
No longer is the workforce defined by a single aspiration or drive for upwards promotion but rather a pursuit of a greater sense of purpose, achievement, and alignment.
What this means for you, the employee, is that being proactive in your career management is more consequential than ever before. You have the capacity to shape and redefine your career. Your success in outcomes such as employment, fulfilment, growth, development, and advancement hinges on your proactive investment in your future self.
Being proactive is about accepting responsibility, taking command, and making things happen. It involves self-directed choices and behaviours to actively bring about change.
But how does one tap into a proactive mindset within the context of career management? A simple tool to use is proactive motivation.
Proactive Motivation
According to Parker’s Model of Proactive Motivation, proactive motivation is underpinned by a belief system that acknowledges one’s capacity, reason, and dedication to achieve beyond the boundaries of one’s role and responsibilities.
Values
Starting off by understanding yourself and your values is key to envisaging a future work life that is aligned with these values.
Our values are, in essence, those things that we place the greatest significance and importance on. Our values have the capacity to change and evolve with us as we grow older and experience more of life. Values serve as a compass, providing us guidance and informing our choices and behaviours daily.
Passions and Interest
Moving beyond values, you may also explore and consider what you are passionate about, what interests you, what are your greatest attributes, skills, and qualities, and in what environments you excel. If you struggle to identify this for yourself, perhaps you can ask those around you who you trust for their feedback to get you started.
Remove Limitations
Once you understand who you are, start to think big. Remove limitations and consider what it is that you want from this life. What is it that you want to have experienced and achieved? What will have given you a sense of fulfilment at the end of the day?
Whatever your process, the focus of this step is to challenge yourself. Think outside the box and beyond what you know, as you consider the endless possibilities.
Define Actions
From here you start to define the actions required to achieve your future. What changes are required in you and your environment to start moving towards the life you seek?
Perhaps there is a need to surround yourself with a cohort of like-minded driven individuals who can support your pathway and provide motivation down the track. Maybe you need to upskill and invest in training. You may need to allocate some time to review your methodologies at work, find new ways to work, and/or make more time with your current employer to help them see the possibilities for your growth and advancement.
Final Words
Career management is a process – one that places you at its centre and your future happiness at the forefront. Start to map out your future today. Take it from a thought in your head, to a tangible and actionable plan.
If you need support, you’re not alone. Acacia EAP has a team of EAP Professionals who can help you get started and support you along this pathway.
