March – Take Charge of Your Career

Welcome to March.  Time flies faster than you think, it is almost the end of the first quarter.  March is the time to focus on two things – finalizing your development plan, and delivering your first results…

  1. Translate February Feedback into a Development Plan

In February you collected feedback from your boss, mentors, and clients.  Review your notes to identify patterns of strength (“towering strengths”), and development areas.  Select one or two areas of focus for your development plan.  How?  By answering the question – “What areas if improved, or skills if added, make me a strong candidate for promotion or increased responsibility in the near future?”

Then take these steps to put your plan on paper:

  • Work Experiences: describe two new job experiences you will have over the next twelve months to build your skills based on your focus areas.
  • Learning Experience: identify two learning experiences you will have over the next twelve months.
  • Mentor Experiences: identify a learning mentor to help you gain new types of knowledge, and a work mentor to help you apply your new knowledge / skills.
  • Life Experiences: identify two outside of work experiences that will help you in your current role.
  • Accountability Partner: engage an accountability partner. Someone to observe you applying your new skills and knowledge and to give you feedback as you adopt new behaviors.

 

  1. Performance – Deliver Results

Channel your energy to deliver tangible results by the end of March.  Ask yourself, “What projects could be completed if I focus my energy?”  What actions can I take to advance my boss’s agenda, goals, etc.?  In April you want to write and communicate your first quarter accomplishments.  Plan ahead.  Write draft accomplishments using the STAR Method.

The ability to communicate the value you offer an organization is a critical skill. You want to hone your ability to  tell simple, but effective, stories.  In a business setting I tell people to use the “STAR Method” to create full but concise stories.

  1. Situation: outline the situation – when, where, etc.
  2. Task: review the specific tasks you were given and what your supervisor or client expected you to do.
  3. Action: share the major actions you took to accomplish the task.
  4. Results: describe the results or impact of your work.

A movie director gets to decide how the story unfolds.  They may tell the story chronologically, going from beginning to end.  Or they may start at the end, then flashback to the beginning.  When you speak with your boss, however, you don’t get to decide.  Your boss might ask for an update by asking you a question (the starting point), and then you must fill in the rest.  Your story must cover all for components of the STAR.  Below are two examples to illustrate the point:

  1. Your Boss: “Demonstrating leadership ability is important to get to the next level. Leaders know when to go above and beyond their day-to-day responsibilities.”

    You:  “I was working as a store manager in Rhode Island (situation), when I was asked to join a project to increase sales in the New England region (task).  I was responsible for leading the five-person team that developed a new sales, distribution, and promotion strategy in ninety days (action).  We implemented the new strategy last year, and overall sales have increased fifteen percent year to date compared to the same time last year (result).”

    In this case, you started with the situation and then covered all the other points.

  2. Your Boss: “Tell me about team project you worked on.  What went well and what did not?”

    You:  “I was responsible for leading a five-person team charged with increasing sales in the New England region (task).  I was working as a store manager in Rhode Island (situation).  In ninety days, we developed a new sales, distribution, and promotion strategy (action).  The planning phase took longer than expected and I made mistakes getting everyone on board, but the implementation went well.  We implemented the new strategy last year, and overall sales have increased fifteen percent year to date compared to the same time last year (result).”

    In this case, we are telling the same story but started with the task.

Bottom Line

March is about focusing your energy to achieve tangible results by the end of the first quarter.  In addition, use the feedback you collected in February to create a robust development plan.  These two actions help you deliver results and success in your current role and prepare you for promotions and future success.

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