3 Ways to Crush Your 2022 Career Goals
Original Article: https://www.inc.com/young-entrepreneur-council/3-ways-to-crush-your-2022-career-goals.html
It’s never too late to set new goals for your career. Whether you’re changing roles, starting a new business, or looking for actionable advice in the constantly evolving career landscape, these three principles will help set you up for real success.
1. Advance Your Skills, Not (Just) Your Titles
Believe it or not, job title progression is no longer the ticket to success (if it ever was). It’s your skills and the effort you actively make that will help you supercharge your career. Focus on how you’re making an impact now and how you’d like to make an impact in the future.
Sometimes your hard work will earn you a higher title, but sometimes it gets handed over on a silver platter, either through office politics or an organizational overhaul. If you still lack the necessary skills and are unable to make a genuine impact on your team or business, that’s a rather insecure position to be in. So instead, focus on mastering your innate abilities and working even harder at the things that don’t come as easily. Set your own personal goals and use these as your North Star, not what gets listed on LinkedIn. And be ready to work hard to achieve said goals.
Put another way, if you focus on how big your contributions are, that promotion or better pay will often follow. The ripple effects of working hard to make a positive impact are profound. Solve problems and sharpen your skills, don’t chase titles.
2. See It, Believe It, Live It
In order for your goals to take shape, you must create a vision that you believe in. Visualize yourself having surpassed your major milestones, and do it often. This mindset is one of the key ingredients in making the right decisions and holding yourself accountable throughout the process.
It might take some practice, but be as specific as possible when describing your goals. This takes self-reflection and usually some brutal honesty around what’s realistic. Keep a list of simple, time-sensitive, and actionable goals, crossing them off your list and updating them whenever you need to rethink your action plan. This rhythm will help you build and keep your momentum, and it also allows you to make smaller daily and weekly wins towards bigger goals.
With that said, you need to maintain some flexibility here. Life can change in an instant, from geographic relocations to new career opportunities, but returning to your established goals makes it easier to stay on track, pivot when necessary, and keep moving forward with intention.
3. Work With The Best Possible People You Can
You have a vision and are knocking your goals out of the park. Is there anyone around you who notices? Do the people you work with champion your success? Whether you collaborate with a large team or tend to fly solo, you need mentors who help compound your success and drive you closer to your ultimate vision.
This type of mentorship doesn’t have to come solely from a boss. You can learn from many different connections through your various networks. The important thing is to surround yourself with capable, driven people who help amplify your skills and career development.
Ultimately, crushing your 2022 career goals may require a change in mindset. Hold yourself to high standards and understand that reaching your goals will require heavy lifting. Taking action is non-negotiable here. And as your vision starts to take shape, don’t forget to celebrate the milestones along the way.