5 Steps to Becoming CEO of your Career

Do you want to earn more, work less, and find greater enjoyment in your job or business?

Are you stressed out or burned out and ready to get into the driver’s seat of your career?

If so, I’d love to help you. Here is a five-step program to help you take your career where you want it to go. As the CEO, you’ll be in charge, and you’ll create the profitable career you really want. Before we get started on the journey, answer this question:

What are some important characteristics or qualities of effective CEOs?

Here are some of my answers to this question:

• They have a solid vision and plan for their company
• The have specific short-term goals to attain long-term objectives• They understand the strategic positioning of their company in the marketplace
• They are inspirational, proactive, action-oriented leaders

Here’s how you can create these qualities of effective CEOs.

Step 1: Create a Solid Vision

As a CEO has a strong vision for where the company is headed, you need to have a vision for your career. This vision will guide decision making, inspire and motivate you, and keep you going in the right direction.

The most powerful vision will be motivated by what’s important to you. When your vision is built upon your values, it’s more likely to be achieved. You’ll feel like you’re on a mission.

Exercise : Brainstorm your core career values. These are things like, “Achieve balance to have time for family , “Earn a lucrative income,” and “Have room for continuous learning and growth.” Come up with values and rank-order them. Then use them to create a vision for yourself.

Step 2: Have a Solid Plan: Short Term and Long Term Goals

Goals are great if you make the right ones. Make all your goals SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timed.

Create your shorter-term goals for 1 year and 2-5 years. Then create your longer-term goals for 5-10, 10-20, 20+ years.

Make sure that your goals are driven by your vision and career values. Once you have your goals, it’s time to brainstorm creative ways to make them happen.

Exercise : Write down all your career goals- don’t forget to put them in the SMART format. Then divide them into categories: Short-term (1-5 years), medium term (5-7 years) and long-term (7+ years)

Step 3: Strategic Positioning

For a company to be successful, the CEO must have a clear understanding of where the company’s market values lies in comparison to competitors. What’s your market value? Do you know? If not, ask people, “How do you think I contribute to this company?” Look at your performance evaluations and find your key strengths.

As CEO of your career, do a SWOT analysis on your own competitive position in the marketplace. Analyze your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.

Exercise : List your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats in comparison to your peers, colleagues, and coworkers. Once you know your strengths and opportunities, start promoting and marketing yourself and achieve the goals you described in step 2.

Step 4: Bottom Line Profits and Success

Carefully review whether your career is currently in a deficit or creating profit for you. Use your vision and values to make this determination. Remember that profit includes money but also things like time, happiness , and significance.

What you are getting out of your career and what you are putting into it?

Do the liabilities and losses outweigh the assets and profits? If so, you’ll need to take action (see step #5).

Exercise: Create a P & L (profit and loss) statement. Determine exactly where you’re benefiting (profits) and where you aren’t achieving what you want (losses).

Step 5: Be Daring and Take Action

Now that you know your strengths and weaknesses, you can take positive action!

Address your weaknesses by requesting additional trainings, partnering with a colleague, speaking with more people who you can learn from, hiring a consultant or coach, and gaining confidence by pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone.

Address your strengths by celebrating your successes, recognizing opportunities for advancement, requesting a promotion or salary raise, mentoring others, or starting your own company.

And don’t forget about the P & L statement. Be proactive and turn your losses into profits. For example, if your “loss” is that you work too much and aren’t earning enough, look for ways to delegate, become more focused and less distracted, and get organized so you get your work done more quickly.

Exercise: Create one action step for your strengths and opportunities, one for your weaknesses and threats, one for your profits (to build on what you’re doing right), and one to turn losses into profits. Make sure that all action steps are in line with your values, vision, strategy and goals.

Follow these five steps and you’re sure to have the mindset, confidence, strategy, and action to be the CEO of your career. Enjoy the profits and rewards you create for yourself and others!