Own Your Career: Think Like The C.E.O.

[image error]I met earlier today with an executive of a large global company to discuss some consulting needs they had. We had met at a conference a few weeks back where a colleague I had a booth related to our services. We paid for that in time, energy and money.

In our discussion, she said her company doesn't usually send people below her title and  position to conferences, but this year they sent 45 people. She said, "In the past, if you wanted to go to a conference and weren't high up enough in the company, you had to pay your own way." I wondered how many from her company actually did that, so I asked her. She didn't know of a single person who had the mentality of owning their career to do something like that.

I've been self-employed for quite a while now and it is natural for me to think like the C.E.O. of my company because there is no one else to do it for me.

But I remember working for Motorola many years ago and the fact is that I had the mentality then of owning my career. I invested in my personal-development and my professional development. I bought books, audio programs and went to seminars and conferences. It never ocurred to me to do otherwise because as a teenager, I read that that's what you do to get ahead.

What about you. In the past five years, in the past year, what have you done to invest in your career and in your personal development? 

If your company pays for some of that, great! Do more on your own dime. If you company doesn't pay for your development and doesn't provide it in-house, (most don't excel with this) do it yourself.

Yes, times are hard economically for many. But you can buy a book once a month and read it. You can listen to audio digests of books on your way to work or on your way home. You can find great resources at your library. If you are not investing on some level to further your career, to build new skills, to upgrade the ones you have, you don't have financial problems, you have a problem with priorities. It's just not that important to you.

The C.E.O. of your company is there because he or she planned to be there at some point and did what it takes to get there. You might not want to be a C.E.O., but owning your career and thinking like the C.E.O. is the way to get wherever you want to get in your company or life.

Think bigger, think like a leader, think like a C.E.O. and own your career. After all, your career doesn't belong to your company, it belongs to you.

Alan Allard, Leadership Coach, Speaker

http://www.alanallard.com