Figure out your career potential and put dreams into action

My take on figuring out true career potential and putting dreams into action as told to Stylist . Click stylistmagazine or read below.

Do you ever find yourself thinking wistfully about if you could be doing more with your career? Maybe you don’t enjoy your current job but feel stuck. Or perhaps you have some goals in mind but doubt your abilities.

It can be hard to judge what you’re capable of. So Stylist sat down with career coach Helen Slingsby to find out just what you need to do to figure out your true career potential – and start putting your dreams into action.

Look at your values and motivations

To start, consider what makes you tick. “Look at what values you hold and whether the role you do now matches and aligns with your values,” says Slingsby. “Say, for example, your values have changed and you really want to be more altruistic and helpful in your role. Does your corporate banking job match that anymore?”

Slingsby recommends the website Find My Why to help pinpoint what motivates you, and suggests speaking to a career coach is a great way to look more in-depth at your aims.

“If you’re working in a place where you’re dissatisfied with your career, then it’s really important to start deconstructing what it is that you like and dislike about your role,” advises Slingsby. “Ultimately, the literature says we perform at our best when we play to our strengths, our latent talents, the things that we do naturally and the things that energise us and get us out of bed in the morning.”

Understand your strengths

It’s all too easy to forget your successes, but spend some time reflecting on your career so far. What are you proud of? Do you remember a day when you left work on a high because of how well things went? It can help to jot these down so you have a list to add to and to remind you of your achievements. Do you notice any themes? You might find that the moments you’ve held onto are those where you used your communication skills to support someone having a hard time, or maybe it was really satisfying to utilise your problem-solving abilities.

Slingsby recommends writing down a list of things you do well and enjoy doing. You then think about the things that you do well but don’t particularly like.

“Also look at things you don’t do well and don’t like doing don’t and then vow not to do them,” she adds. “Career success comes from doing the things well that we love doing and are good at.”

Another area for analysis, says Slingsby, is reflecting on what you do well but could do better – or develop. So, you may be good at writing reports and enjoy doing so, but would like to improve. Suggest to your line manager that this is an area you’re keen to develop. This could be through training, support from a colleague or taking on extra responsibilities around report writing. This gives you the chance to try new things, with the space to grow and discover.

You could also turn to others you trust, whether a colleague, friend or mentor, to get their thoughts. Chances are, they’ll surprise you with their insights into how capable you really are.

What’s holding you back?

“Working out what’s holding you back in your career very much depends on what ambitions and goals you set for yourself,” explains Slingsby. What success looks like to one person will be different to another.

“Being held back could also be to do with your professional standing and how you behave in the workplace,” adds Slingsby. “Do you have a professional attitude? Do you meet the company’s ethos? Are you collaborative? Are you someone people can rely on? Do you deliver? These are all factors that will propel a person forward in their career. It’s about reflecting on who you are and how you are in the workplace.”

Of course, it may be your employer themselves that’s holding you back. Having an unsupportive line manager, a lack of development opportunities or feeling stuck in your role could all be factors.

For many of us, confidence and self-doubt are big barriers. Do you find yourself turning down opportunities because you don’t believe you can do it? Again, this is where celebrating your successes comes in. You can also get feedback from your line manager or a supportive colleague about your performance: what do they think your strengths are? What potential do they see in you?

How to realise your career potential

Realising your career potential “is about being proactive and not reactive, not waiting for others to act on our behalf”, says Slingsby. “This in turn will build career confidence and propel us forward. It’s also about being brave, taking qualified risks and not being worried about being judged or watched by others. It’s about saying to ourselves, ‘What’s the worst thing that could happen if I went for that extra promotion or if I took on some extra responsibility?’ It’s being positive about our future and not fearful.”

Look at the job descriptions and person specifications for roles you’re curious about, and see how much you already match up with what they’re asking for. If there are gaps, make a plan for how to fill these – it could be as simple as going on a short course or an afternoon learning how to use a piece of software.

If you’ve identified a different role or promotion you’d like to go for, Slingsby recommends being brave and applying. What kind of response do you get? You may find you get shortlisted for an opportunity you’d assumed was above you. If you don’t get the role, ask for feedback to help you identify your strengths and areas to build on.

“It’s also about raising your profile internally and externally,” Slingsby says. “And that’s through building relationships and selling yourself. That might be sending a simple email each Friday that lets your line manager and others know what you’ve been up to and what you’ve achieved that week. Nothing too boastful, but factual, ensuring that your profile is out there and that people know who you are and the impact you’re having.

“It could be attending internal events, offering to speak at conferences, or going to networking events connected to your profession. At the end of the day, it’s about putting yourself out there and getting yourself known and not being passive.”

It probably won’t happen overnight, but once you start identifying what you want and how to get there, you may be surprised at how well things go.