Does your Career need an Alignment?
Imagine that you’re driving a cross country road trip. You feel the steering wheel of your car pulling to one side. You hear weird noises from your tires and feel a lot of vibration in the steering wheel. You know your car needs an alignment.
Well, it’s the same for your career! There are always signs that we need to make adjustments, but we often overlook them. We’ve been convinced that certain undesirable factors are “a part of the game” so we learn to deal with them - to push through - to get over it and move on. We don’t advocate for adjustments that will make our career journey a smoother ride. But just like your car, eventually you will break down too if you don’t make adjustments.
WHAT IS ALIGNMENT:
I describe alignment through three examples:
Position of agreement or alliance e.g. negotiating a contract (aligning relationships)
Correct or appropriate relative positions e.g. aligning wheels on a car (aligning priorities)
Matching of frequencies e.g. tuning into the correct radio station (aligning focus)
Career alignment is honoring your authentic needs + desires, living your core values, and focusing on work in your zone of flow. In order to get there, you must adjust the relationship between your career and other important aspects of your life, align your career priorities with the role you want your career to play in your life, and focus on what you want to create in your career more than the unwanted aspects you are experiencing.
Each person has their own unique alignment formula - there is no one-size fits all approach. What alignment looks and feels like can ebb and flow and evolve over time. Alignment is also multidimensional - my proprietary career alignment process reviews your career through 8 dimensions so you can build sustainable success.
DO YOU NEED AN ALIGNMENT?
The important first step to career alignment is getting beyond your ego and other’s expectations. You need clarity on what YOU really want in order to build authentic alignment. Sometimes we’re afraid to stop and assess our situation or ask ourselves the tough questions because we don’t feel capable of managing the answers. But you don’t have to be in it alone - that’s why coaching support is so powerful.
Here are two exercises you can use to evaluate your current state of career alignment:
ASSESSMENT TOOL
Use the Wheel of Life tool to identify the dimensions where your career most needs realignment.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. For each dimension, note how satisfied you feel by the impact of your career on that particular dimension on a scale of 0 (low) – to 10 (high). Ask yourself “how does my career impact my [dimension]?”
The dimensions noted are what I focus on in my coaching services, but you can change the dimensions to align with what is important to you.
2. Join up the marks around the wheel and color in the space between the spokes, until you have filled in your wheel. It could look something like this when you’re done:
The new perimeter represents the wheel of your life.
Analyze your wheel of life with these questions:
Does your wheel of life look and feel balanced or are you experiencing a bumpy ride?
What is your ideal level in each dimension? Balancing your career with your life does not mean getting 10s in each dimension - it's about creating a smoother ride.
What gaps need attention?
What actions could you need to take to create more alignment?
Download the Assessment Tool Worksheet
GO DEEPER WITH JOURNALING:
Journaling is a powerful tool because it creates a safe space for you to ask yourself the hard questions. Here are a few questions you can ask yourself to evaluate your current state of career alignment:
Why are you still choosing your career? What makes you get up and go to work everyday?
How does your career impact the way you show up for yourself?
What are the emotional and mental states you experience most often in your career?
Are you able to live your core values through your career? Do you know your core values?
How does your career impact your relationships with your friends, family and significant others in your life? Are you able to give these relationships the attention they deserve?
Do you cope with unwanted aspects in your career (e.g. tough workload, demanding clients, difficult colleagues) in ways that make you feel proud of yourself?
Do you have mutually productive and respectful relationships with your colleagues, subordinates and superiors?
How does your career positively contribute to the legacy/impact that you want to create? What is the legacy/impact that you want to make in your life?
Does it feel safe to learn and grow in your career? Do you feel supported in your career development?
Is your salary an accurate reflection of the value you produce in your career? Is your earning trajectory meeting your financial needs and goals?
How does your career support your overall life vision? What is your life vision?
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If your responses aren’t to your satisfaction, no need to beat yourself up over it. I’ve been there - and once I was over grinning and bearing it, I did something about it. I created alignment - and I can teach you how to do it too. As a career wellbeing and performance coach, I teach established and emerging leaders how to build successful and fulfilling careers without burning out or over-compromising their values. Schedule a complimentary 1:1 call with me and let’s discuss how I can help.
