Life offers each of us a fabulous array of opportunity in both our careers and personal experiences. To realize our dreams we need only flex our imaginations and plan for success.
And yet, be warned, “If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. Guess what they have planned for you? Not much.” (Quote: Jim Rohn).
So, lets’ face it. To succeed, we must plan and compete.
Competition for management jobs intensifies with each passing year and the poor economy just makes things worse. So, if you’re betting your financial welfare on your next management position and subsequent promotions, you’ll need to be much better prepared and plan how to capture those increasingly scarce opportunities.
The best way to take on this challenge and compete effectively is by actively investing in your development. You must choose to increase your marketability and maximize your value. Whether you are a junior manager or a seasoned executive, it’s certain you will benefit from optimizing the development of your foundational management skills.
The need for this investment is self-evident, but how do you actually go about evolving and growing your capabilities? Indeed, what are the process and the most efficient way to navigate the vast array of potential materials, books, training and recommendations that are out there? Well, let’s begin by identifying the simplest outline to this process that will help you minimize your investment of time and energy, yet maximize your returns in self-improvement as an effective manager.
Consider this 6-step process:
1. Understand which are the most fundamental skills that effective managers might require in their day-to-day work.
2. Develop a basic (yet comprehensive) understanding of what is involved with each skill and, then…
3. Quickly evaluate and rate your current competence with each skill. Are you excellent (E), average (A), or poor (P)?
4. Review your career path. Assess which of all these generic skills are immediately needed for elevating your current work and more specifically, targeting that next position that you seek.
5. Pick and prioritize just those skills you will develop next. Build a timeline and plan.
6. Execute your plan and methodically revisit the process of self-development as you progress through your career.
The process is straightforward enough and applicable to all managers, regardless of their seniority or the industry in which they work. The same fundamental steps even apply to self-employment, entrepreneurship or any personal development. However, navigating each step on your own, in an integrated, efficient and cohesive fashion can sometimes prove easier said than done! So, let’s consider your options and how to engage.
Many individuals spend a lifetime understanding which are the critical management skills they might need, then laboriously gleaning an understanding of each. This is generally a hit-and-miss process with many dead ends spent learning skills and behaviors that do not necessarily match your very specific and unique needs. Traditionally, this is the daunting option we face.
There are many authors and bloggers that can provide you lists of the potential skills you might eventually need; unfortunately, most are less complete than others. Similarly, there are numerous training classes, books and presentations that will let you learn the details of each skill. But again, nobody needs to master every skill and certainly there should be some priority order to your learning. We want to quickly evaluate skills we really need and then invest in learning only those that have a real priority in our unique career path.
However, regardless of the challenge you will need to go through the process. There is an alternative: a hands-on guide for all managers that walks you through this entire process. A simple set of instructions that rapidly moves through a complete and integrated process, as described above. There is only one such guide and you can find it here. You can choose to take this particular option, or not. The important thing is that you take on the challenge, have a process, make progress and above all, invest in yourself.
And again, be warned! “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” (Quote: Benjamin Franklin).
The job market is tough and good management spots are becoming increasingly difficult to win. If you need to develop your skills to more effectively target desirable positions you will have follow such a 6-part process (as described above), anyway.
The trick is to choose to advance, enjoy the experience and reach your goals as quickly as you need. So, make the decision, pick a path and develop a plan! My best wishes to you in your career and personal development experience.
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BIO: Ian R Mackintosh is a 30 year veteran executive of Silicon Valley and the author of Empower your Inner Manager. Find him on Twitter @ianrmackintosh.