In the corporate environment of the 21st century, the successful professionals have some very distinct characteristics:
* They have the quality of "Interdependence": they are independently motivated, and widely connected through personal and professional networking relationships.
* They are focused on developing their leadership and communication skills and empowering those around them.
* They create a learning environment and a growth oriented organizational culture, leading to adaptive, successful and productive organizations.
In order to attract and retain such independent and capable employees, organizations must develop a culture of growth and agility and position themselves to meet the challenges of a highly competitive global market.
“If it is to be, it is up to me” – Neal Whitten
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." – Thomas Edison
“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life” - Confucius
When we talk of self-directed career development, it is important to realize that career development is not something that happens to you, it is what you make of life! A career development plan is a written listing of the short- and long-term goals of a worker pertaining to the current and future jobs. It is a planned sequence of formal and informal experiences to assist the worker in achieving their goals - should be linked to the person’s potential. Career development plans are usually optional; but employers should encourage that all employees develop them, so that their long-term career expectations are realistic and in line with their industry and company's objectives.
Working through your life and career without a plan is like driving around town without a map, or a destination in mind. Drifting through life is not an option in these times of severe global competition, economic uncertainty and shifting geopolitical forces. We have to be cognizant of our direction and focus and make conscious choices for laying the foundation of the rest of our personal and professional life! A self-directed career development plan is the roadmap to success!
"Leadership is the conviction to chart new territory, the vision to create a path to success and the compassion to help others along the way." - Sarah Haider
Turbulent times call for a higher level of leadership than calmer times. The winds of change often upset the delicate balance of "comfort zones" and tend to separate the leaders from the followers, or worse, complainers! Leading in turbulent times is the challenge of the day - how you model your behavior to paint the vision and inspire your team against all odds determines your mettle as a leader. The tragic events of the world have also been catalysts to bringing forth great leaders among us, in recent history, the aftermath of of 9/11, and the way Mayor Rudy Guiliani handled that crisis separated him from the mayors of thousands of other cities:
http://www.schulersolutions.com/change_leadership_lessons_of_r.html
By contrast you have the words and action of Mayor Ray Nagin of New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/08/24/60minutes/main1933092.shtml
How do you think history will remember Guiliani or Nagin? One rises to the challenge of leadership, the other is looking for excuses for why things are the way they are!
"The price of greatness is responsibility" - Winston Churchill
How do you keep your balance in this day and age of tight budgets, uncertain economy, and ever increasing demands of career and life? By taking responsibility for your life, taking stock of what occupies your time and energy and consciously re-allocating them to the things that matter most, you can create a life truly worth living! It is true that we make time for what is important to us; we have the ability to choose our priorities. Living a balanced and fulfilling life is the result of aligning our priorities with our deepest values and choosing our actions accordingly, rather than merely reacting to what happens to us on a daily basis. It is about drafting a plan of action for life, and then living out that plan according to the guiding principles and objectives that form its foundation.
A lot has been said and written about the importance of managing your time, setting goals and priorities. These are good techniques on how to go about making the best use of your resources, but miss one important ingredient: the WHY of doing them! Life is not a random happening; we are on this earth for a finite amount of time for a reason. A life well lived is one that leaves the world a little better than before. When we are motivated by our deepest values and core beliefs, we are able to take a long-range view of life as a marathon rather than a series of sprints in random directions. By actively defining our values and focusing on the ultimate goal, namely leaving the world a better place, we are able to make small changes that lead to great contributions. Mother Teresa said, “We can do no great things, only small things with great love”.
When you go about the business of living with a desire to create a life that makes a positive difference in the lives of others around you, no step of that journey is wasted! The life plan is our vision of what we want our life to be, what lessons we want to impart to people we have the fortune to teach, how we want to be remembered by the world when we are gone. Living day to day is like driving a car, and your life plan is the road map to get from the point of origin to your destination. When you are going in cruise control on a straight road, you still have to keep your hands on the steering wheel to make sure you stay on the road. If we cannot let go of the steering wheel of a car, how can we let go of the direction of our life? There will inevitably be speed bumps, bends, twists and roadblocks along the way. We will be sure to end up by the wayside if we are not carefully maneuvering our way to stay on course. In life, as in driving, it is important to remember that in order to achieve our overall objective; we have to pay attention to the short-term and immediate needs as a means to an end and not an end in themselves. If you hit a speed bump, or someone cuts you off on the road of life, you should not abandon the course, rather remember the reason you are on the road in the first place and focus your attention on achieving it.
In his book, “Man's Search for Meaning”, Victor Frankl states "Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather must recognize that it is he who is asked. In a word, each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life; to life he can only respond by being responsible." (p.172). Too often we get bogged down with pondering on the purpose of life without realizing that the answer is not an obscure theory, it is a tangible reality that we help shape every day of our lives. Different religions offer their own versions of the purpose of human existence, the glory of God, the service of people, suffering and humility being the most prominent ones. It is important to recognize that your life cannot be a function of something outside of your mind and soul; it has to be at the very core of your heart. By actively shaping your vision of life you create a personal, real and tangible plan upon which you build your life.
In order to create a balanced and fulfilling life, we need to strike a balance among the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual aspects of our lives. Taking care of your health and physical well-being is paramount in leading a positive life. When you take the time to nourish your body and improve your health, you are building your capacity for a fulfilling life. If you want to weather the storms of life safely, you have to make yourself strong enough to withstand the storms! However, too much focus on the physical can lead to unhealthy obsessions about it without realizing that it is not an end in itself, rather a means to an end. The body is the vehicle for the spirit, the person within. The quality of a life is measured in the value of its relationships. Nurturing the relationships in your life is the best investment in your emotional health and well-being. Human beings have an innate need to be heard, and when you make the time to hear someone out, to understand them and empathize with them, you build bonds that last a lifetime and enrich both lives. Acknowledging all of our feelings, accepting our need for social bonding and developing caring and mutually nurturing relationships with our loved ones and the world at large helps us develop a healthy and positive self-image feeding our emotional needs.
The way to continuous personal growth is through learning, stretching and developing our mental capacities. We develop and expand our horizons by reading, sharing, listening and learning. Opening ourselves up to the possibility of growth is an important first step in our mental development; we have the opportunity to learn from experiences large and small if we are willing to look at things in a different perspective. All the personal development can be an exercise in futility if we cannot see a greater purpose to our actions, a cause larger than our self. The essence of spirituality is the pursuit of good beyond our immediate person. When you reach out to help a fellow human being in distress, when you go out of your way to be kind, sympathetic, helpful, and supportive to another human being without thinking “what’s in it for me”, you rise above personal gain for a greater cause. Reaching out beyond yourself to play a positive role in the community creates a spiritual connection and develops bonds with others in the pursuit of a greater goal. This spirit of shared purpose is what nourishes our soul in its spiritual development.
When we develop a conscious awareness of our priorities and develop a “plan of action” for life in line with our values, we are well on our way to creating a life worth living. It is my firm belief that no experience in life is wasted if we absorb the lesson it teaches and use it to mold the rest of our life. Life is a series of experiences that are linked together by the conscious desire to create a larger, more meaningful impact. Like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, each piece may not represent anything of significance, but all pieces are vital in creating the greater picture which is unique in its beauty and significance.
Walking through the sands of life
One day, I looked back
And was heartened to see
That my footprints
Were not lost in the sand
Who knows when someone
Following in my footsteps
May find their destination
And I may be redeemed.
Life is like walking through a thick jungle, and often you are looking for light to get to your destination. Sometimes you come to a clearing and get excited that you are getting close to your destination, only to find out, it is a clearing around a body of water. If the body of water is a small puddle, you can jump over it, if it is a pond, you can go around it and continue on your journey through life. If it is a larger body of water, you cannot go around it so easily. When encountered with a raging river you are faced with several choices in your quest to continue your journey:
1. Turn around and go back where you came from,
2. Pace up and down the bank and stay stuck there,
3. Build a house and make a life at the river bank,
4. Swim across against the current,
5. Build a boat or raft to cross the river, or
6. Build a bridge to get across the river!
All of these choices require progressively greater effort, but also yield progressively greater rewards. I choose to build a bridge, so the lessons I have learned through life are not lost. And today I am happy to see that we have been able to help others on a similar journey get to their destinations faster because they don't have to start from scratch and re-invent the wheel! They can benefit from the work of others who have gone before them and left markers and bridges to make their journey easier.
