The #1 thing to implement to make your career thrive in 2022

In my 5+ years in business, I’ve seen countless lists of tips and tools that folks “should” be implementing for professional success. Out of all the things you can be doing, though, there is one shift that I firmly believe is crucial to your success. Ready for it? 

The single best thing you can do (in my opinion, as a career clarity coach helping a lot of people with their careers) is to take ownership of your career.

What that means? Taking ownership of your career means acknowledging that you’ve gotten your career to its current place. It means recognizing that you’re in charge, so if you’ve driven yourself down a bit of a road that you’re not so keen on, you can turn the car around at any point… 

• In a career that’s perfect on paper, but secretly feeling unfulfilled and scared? Well, that might be because you’ve been making your career decision based on what you “should” be doing, not on what you actually want to do. 

• Not getting the promotion you wanted because you don’t have enough management experience? Well, maybe even if you haven’t managed people before, you haven’t done enough to show your boss that you’re ready for the responsibility (such as leading projects, special programs, etc). 

Got it? 

Now, it’s important to note that there is certainly some nuance here. There are systemic challenges faced by certain people based on things like their origin, race, ability, gender identity, etc. Taking ownership does not mean saying that you are the only factor leading you to your current state in your career (in my opinion). Instead, taking ownership is more about acknowledging that you are one of the major factors, and one of the few that you can actually control. 

So, when it comes to your career, how would you do things differently if you were taking tons of ownership over yourself, your decisions, and your actions? 

Start there if you want to see a difference in the new year. And as always, I’d love to hear from you in the comments if implementing a more ownership-focused approach has benefited you! 

Cheering you on from here