The_Essential_Manager_s_Handbook

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78 / LEADING OTHERS

Managing careers


Charting your own career path
Self-assessment is an ongoing process
in career management. Successful
careers develop when people are
prepared for opportunities because they
know their strengths, their methods of
work, and their values. Self-directed
career management is a process by
which individuals guide, direct, and
influence the course of their careers.

This requires exploration and
awareness of not only yourself, but
also your environment. Individuals
who are proactive and collect relevant
information about personal needs,
values, interests, talents, and lifestyle
preferences are more likely to be
satisfied and productive when searching
for job opportunities, to develop
successful career plans, and to be
productive in their jobs and careers.

In today’s rapidly changing business landscape, managers need
to actively manage their careers and provide career guidance to
those they are managing. To determine where and how you can best
contribute, you need to know yourself, continually develop yourself,
and be able to ascertain when and how to change the work you do.

Driving forward
The first step in self-directed career
management is planning. Taking your
strengths, limitations, and values into
account, start searching the environment
for matching opportunities. Use the
information you gather to establish
realistic career goals and then develop
a strategy to achieve them. As you
progress through your career plan,
regularly undertake performance
appraisals to make sure that you
are remaining on track and that
your goals haven’t changed.

Ensure that those you


are managing have
reasonable workloads

US_078-079_Managing_Careers.indd 78 30/05/16 3:01 pm

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