LEADERS PLAN FOR THE FUTURE

So often at work, leaders are encouraged to plan ahead. How many times have we heard the admonition to plan for anything that might go wrong, to plan for a year from now, and to plan for unanticipated consequences?

Many of you know that for 20 years, I taught “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,” the Franklin Covey seminar. Habit, one is to “Be Proactive” and “Habit two is “Begin with the End in Mind.”. Both of these habits direct leaders to think and then plan ahead, for themselves and for their teams.

There’s another aspect of planning ahead that all leaders should have in the back of their minds, but many neglect to pay attention to it. That is planning for your next leadership position.

I was reminded of this valuable piece of advice this past week. A dear friend told a story about a re-organization at her old job with a major corporation, whose name you would recognize easily.

As part of the reorganization, all her male peers received raises. She did not. She was hurt, both emotionally and psychologically. At that time, she promised herself that she would always maintain an updated CV to have in her back pocket in case she was re-organized out of her job, or she heard about a job opening that was significantly appealing to her.

Very often as we get comfortable with leadership positions, we get so focused on our current job that we neglect to think about future positions. Our leadership journeys will inevitably include multiple challenging positions.

Sometimes surprising reorganizations force us out of our current position. Other times, a friend tells us about a very appealing position at another organization, and the time frame is short. Still other times a headhunter may reach out to us, asking us if we may be interested in a different position at a different firm. So please keep your cv updated.

Here are a few tips I have found helpful:

-Make sure you add active verbs and eliminate passive verbs
-Include an updated and modern-looking font at the top
-See that your updated LinkedIn and appropriate social media profiles are included
-Use numbers and dollars whenever possible to reflect your accomplishments
-Use bullet points, which are much easier to navigate than long sentences
-If you can, tailor your cv to the particular position for which you are applying
-Do not neglect your volunteering experience – it’s a great reflection of who you are and your values you hold dear
-Use a sleek and good-looking template
-Proofread your cv numerous times and consider allowing someone else to do so – we often do not see our own typos

No matter how comfortable you may feel in your current leadership position, I encourage you to maintain an updated CV just in case you may need it in the near future. One can never guarantee what’s going to happen next.

But we can guarantee that we are as prepared as possible, for what will happen next!

If you believe this content would resonate with a friend or colleague, please feel free to forward it along! -Larry