How to Think and Act Strategically to Aid Your Career

A professional life benefits from maintaining both a healthy, long-range perspective and an ambitious, strategic shorter-term plan 

Five-year plans are valuable and essential. But if you are truly serious about getting ahead in your chosen field, also apply strategic thinking to a much shorter time frame. 

Regularly reviewing and redefining shorter-term objectives based on long-term goals is a powerful habit to cultivate. Here are some suggestions for introducing a strategic viewpoint into your daily work life.

1. Keep your eyes on the prize …

Approach your career the same way founders start building a company: draft personal mission and vision statements. Your mission, simply put, is who you are: your professional purpose. Your vision is what you aspire to be; it’s what fulfilling your mission will look like sometime in your future. 

A bit of honest self-assessment is necessary to ensure your mission and vision are reality-based while also being aspirational. Be aware of your strengths and weaknesses and open to advice about what you do well or less well. Use any constructive criticism to fine-tune your skillset.

And, like an entrepreneur plotting the course of a new venture, it also helps to adopt a “growth mindset,” which emphasizes belief in your capacity to achieve goals through hard work and dedication. Natural talent will only get you so far. Hard work is what usually separates the highest achievers from those who are less successful. 

Maintaining a long-range perspective will guide you in career decisions and buffer you through disappointments and loss. It’s a healthy way of thinking that prioritizes the big picture and understands that temporary setbacks are inevitable. 

2. … but manage the daily details 

Once you’re clear on the big picture, the smaller details also need to be managed daily. Productivity tools can help with this, and most business coaches swear by some type of daily time-management app.  

Managing your job's everyday details while simultaneously executing a plan for your future can be a challenge. To keep yourself on track, create a weekly list of ongoing objectives to accomplish. Some categories to track are professional education, skills training, and networking or connection creation. Setting and attaining smaller goals in each of these areas ensures consistent progress toward long-term objectives. 

Be sure to pay attention to your personal as well as professional development. Learning work-life balance early in your career will position you well for the future. Having coping mechanisms in place along with healthy eating and exercise habits will protect your wellbeing during stressful times. 

3. Develop a framework for success

It is helpful to create an outline for your professional progress using a strategic planning model. Treat your career as an extended project, with milestone goals and periodic checkpoints. Use your mission and vision statements to chart a path, keeping in mind your strengths, weaknesses, and perhaps most importantly, passion.

When you are planning, factor in the possibility of taking calculated risks along your career journey. If possible, assess what the potential impacts of those risks might be.

4. Invest in ongoing professional development

Taking courses to learn or refine in-demand skills in your industry is a great way to keep yourself relevant and competitive throughout your career. If your employer does not offer robust professional development within the workplace, look to online resources for earning that additional proficiency. Some career coaches recommend adding one new skill to your resume each year.

One of the most critical proficiencies to develop is the ability to communicate well. You can also learn how to fine-tune problem-solving and strategic thinking skills through classes and coaching. Demonstrating self-sufficiency and solid judgment is another way to put yourself into a leadership position.

5. Expand your network

Your success will depend largely upon the connections you make during every part of your professional journey. The people you invest the effort in getting to know—and how you work with others—will have an enormous impact on your working life.

With that in mind, start cultivating a supportive professional network early in your career. Ask someone successful you admire to be your mentor. Engage with both like-minded colleagues and people with whom you may differ significantly to expand your professional perspective. Think globally and learn as much as you can about other cultures.

Consider spending some time volunteering—not just in your community, which is an altruistic way to make connections, but also for assignments at work that may be slightly out of your comfort zone. Offering to take on challenging and high-profile projects, even if they are out of your comfort zone, can earn respect and new experience and skills. 

As you progress professionally, having a strategic plan to refer to will help you stay on course. Whatever your goals, it's essential to remain true to your mission and consistently work toward achieving a personal definition of success.

Carrington Legal Search is celebrating 20 years in business: we were in the trenches with our clients during 9/11 and 2008. We partner with our clients to identify leaders and mission-critical talent to shore up and grow companies even during the most challenging times. We are here for you! To make our nationwide network work for you, get in touch at 512-627-7467 or email carrie@carringtonlegal.com.