Take one step at a time to skyrocket your career success

For 2018, my resolution is to take one step at a time.

This strategy is something that came out loud and clear during the On The Tipping Point LIVE! interviews with 13 of the most successful female business leaders.

However this one-step-at-a-time strategy is not only good for business, it will skyrocket your career success too. And today I’m proof of the pudding, so to speak.

The first principle of the one-step-at-a-time strategy

In fact this one step at a time strategy works brilliantly no matter what you are trying to achieve: change career, go for promotion, find a new job, start a business, grow your business or train for a marathon.

Simply focus on one step at a time. This strategy is so simple, that it’s quite easily the most powerful thing you can do to maximise your career success.

The second principle of the one-step-at-a-time strategy

What you’ll love even more … you only need to focus on the next step. It doesn’t matter if you don’t know what the next step after that will be.

It doesn’t matter if you don’t know exactly where you are going, just get started.

It doesn’t matter if you think you might be going in the wrong direction … just get moving.

It doesn’t matter if you don’t know what the next step is … just take the first step.

What holds ambitious women back in their career

Sometimes what holds ambitious women back in their career is that they don’t know what the overall career journey looks like. They start worrying about what might happen in two years’ or five years’ time when they haven’t even figured out what they’re doing next week.

When you focus on one step at a time … just the next step, it makes it easy and relieves the stress of worrying about the whole journey. Yes, that might mean that your career journey will take twists and turns. Often it’s only once you get started, that you work out where you are headed.

Though if you want a roadmap before you set out, talk to a career or leadership coach (like me, hint hint) to get some help.

How to figure out the next step

Now you might be asking, well how do I figure out what that next step is. And actually what that one step is … that’s not so important. What IS important is that you take it.

Simply taking that first step, the very act of taking action, gives you energy and momentum. The next step after that will appear.

For example, if you are looking for your next career opportunity, a good first step could be to:

• find your CV
• give your CV a polish (check out the Confident Conversations episode with CV Expert Orla Cahill for the secrets of a successful CV);
• get clear on the type of company or industry you want to work for;
• identify your transferable skills if you are thinking of a sideways move;
• write down a list of your achievements and responsibilities in your current role;
• make a Hell Yes, Hell No list (one of the exercises I regularly do with clients)
• or get your LinkedIn profile all spick and span (as it happens, I have something fabulous to help you with this – my super popular LinkedIn Kickstart  starts again soon).

Use the one-step-at-a-time strategy and you WILL skyrocket your career success.

If you’d like some help to figure out what that next step looks like, or you need encouragement to get started, let’s talk. I work with ambitious women who want to map out their career journey. You’ll love how much more focused you’ll feel and the bigger impact you make when you know where you are going.