Imagine a hockey game without goals. Yep, if they take away the little nets at each end the game turns into the players skate around just flicking the puck to each other. The final score would always be 0 – 0. Let’s try football without end zones? How about basketball without any way to accumulate points? Sound ridiculous? Now, let’s use this image in reference to our work. Yes, some of us work like that every day, just doing stuff without a way to know if what we are doing has any impact on anything! Let’s fix that right now with three easy ideas to take ownership of your career.
Work goal measurements are as important to have when asking for a raise as home plate is to baseball. And that’s just one consideration in positioning yourself for raises or promotions. It all falls under the heading of… OWNERSHIP
Take Ownership of your Career
What does it mean to take ownership of your career? It means that you take the initiative in three ways:
1) Understand your role and responsibilities. Especially if you regularly go above and beyond them! Having a clear idea on this means you know what is expected of you and if you met the criteria for success.
2) Set goals. This is where you get to score points! We like to recommend goals that are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-based). Consistently meeting specific goals is something to show a manager when it’s time to ask for that raise. Working without goals is like playing keep-away.
No one wins when there’s no way to check progress!
3) Track and report on what you do. If you’re looking for a raise, it’s important that you can demonstrate your impact and communicate it to your supervisor or board members in ways that show what the company would miss if you weren’t there.
So, there you have it, three quick ways to take ownership of your career, and get paid! Now implement this strategy and let us know how it worked for you.
There’s always a lot more to say about these ideas, so let’s start a conversation!
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