Somehow it’s July, and we’re about halfway through the year. This a great time for you to step back and take a look at where you are in your career and your life. Is it where you expected to be? If not, there’s time to turn that around so that you can have the 2021 that you wanted to have.

Going into this year, most of us didn’t quite know what to expect. If you managed to set some goals for yourself, I applaud you and encourage you to take a look at those to see where you are in your progress. To support that kind of thinking, here’s a reflective exercise to take stock on five aspects of your career that I think are worth paying attention to as you move along.

We’re going to dive into each topic with some reflective questions. Take a moment to process before you answer. Then a scale of one to ten, think about where you are with each of these five dimensions.

Career Momentum

Are you where you want to be in your career?

  • Do you love your job most days?
  • Do you feel like you’re excited to go to work?
  • Do you leave work at the end of the day feeling fulfilled and proud of what you can accomplish?
  • Do you feel like your career is moving in the direction you want?

Management Skills 

Are you where you want to be as a manager?

  • Are your team members feeling engaged, fulfilled, productive?
  • Are they getting the work done that you want them to get done?
  • Are you proud of how you’re managing the people who report to you?
  • Are you helping them grow and take on new challenges?
  • Are they stepping up in a way that they’re delivering what you want them to deliver? Or are you finding yourself having to step in and push things along?

 Team Leadership

 Are you where you want to be as a team leader?

  • Are the people who work for you getting along well?
  • Are they coordinating their efforts and keeping each other in the loop? Or are you being pulled in to “air traffic control” more than you would like?
  • Are the people who work for you able to get together and solve problems without you? Or do you have to referee their disagreements?

 Professional Reputation and Influence

Are you where you want to be as a thought leader in your organization or in your field?

  • Do people look to you as an expert with answers?
  • Over the course of the last six months, have you been invited to contribute in conversations where you want to influence the decisions that matter to you?
  • Are you able to have a voice and a seat at the table on the issues that you should be part of, given your role in the organization or based on your expertise?

Work – Life Balance

Do you have the work-life balance that you want to have?

  • Have you been able to spend time with family and friends as often as you’d like?
  • As you look back over the first half of the year, have you made meaningful connections and memories the way you wanted to – or has work gotten in the way?
  • Does your schedule allow sufficient time for self-care such as exercise, diet, spirituality, time off, etc.?
  • Are you able replenish your energy so that you can operate at an optimum level in both your career and your life?

Now look at your scores and see if you’re where you want to be at this point in the year on each of these dimensions.

If you’re not, I encourage you to consider working with a coach, whether it’s me or another qualified and experienced coach. I can tell you that in my own career, working with a coach has been crucial to keeping me moving forward toward my goals, growing and learning, and taking my career to the next level. I can’t say enough about the impact that it’s had in my life.

This is exactly what I help my clients with. We clarify their goals, identify their strengths, notice any gaps, strategize about how to fill them, and decide what to do next to close those gaps. The result?  They build momentum in their careers, become the leaders they want to be, receive the recognition they deserve, build teams that are productive and fun – all while having the work-life balance that they want to have.

If you’d like to talk with me about your own career trajectory, you can book at call here (Insert link to zmcoach.com/apply).  We’ll explore your current situation, where you want to be and what it will take to get there.

Appointments are limited, so schedule now so that we can get your career moving in the right direction to finish 2021 feeling accomplished, productive and fulfilled by doing the kind of work you want to do in the ways that you want to do it. I look forward to talking to you.