The majority of us plan for our children’s college education, or to get married or stay single but unfortunately very few executives plan their careers. Many potentially successful executives fail to climb the executive ladder because they don’t plan where they want their career to advance to.
Healthcare professionals can progress in their careers, but only if they position themselves for success.
In my experience, less than 5% of healthcare executives plan their career. Most, as I would say, “wing it”; taking advantage of opportunities as they present.
I describe career planning like building a straight fence. You define where you want to go and then identify the points and steps it takes to get there.
Successful executives complete a gap analysis: what are they missing for experience and skills. Skills fall in two categories: hard skills and soft skills. Executives often focus on the hard skills areas and miss the needs for developing soft skills: communications, conflict management, effective messaging, emotional intelligence, relationship building etc.
Through my work with executives in transition, 95% of people in transition lost their job due to a lack of emphasis and engagement in the soft skills.
Preparing to climb the ladder requires a plan that includes the skills both hard and soft to be successful. Successful executives must master emotional intelligence and navigating the political landscape to stay at the top of that ladder.
Here’s to your success!
Jim
