Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 23
FEATURESTORY
The Secret to Reaching
Your Full Potential
I By Hayley Norman and Stephanie Melnick
T
imes are changing. At one time,
the ladder for career development
was well-defined. There was a clear
and well laid out path for every role.
Whether you wanted to be a manager,
A lot of people
vice president, marketing executive or
have gone
CEO, the steps to achievement were often
farther than
described in a graph or chart for you to
follow. The goal was to step on each rung,
they thought they
gather the necessary experience and
could because
master the required skills until you
someone else
reached the top.
thought
But organizations and organizational
structures have evolved. Downsizing,
they could.
right-sizing and reorganization have
- Unknown
changed the way organizations look and
function. Today's career ladder looks more like a
lattice. Instead of moving from associate to
supervisor to manager to director to vice
president to the "C-Suite," you may take a more
divergent route that includes untraditional roles,
special projects and/or international
assignments. Career paths are unpredictable and
can be difficult, if not impossible, to navigate
alone. Most accomplished leaders know that
asking for help can be the secret to success.
Where can you find help? You might consider
recruiting a coach, mentor or sponsor. In fact,
you may want to recruit all three.
To better understand each role and how these
individuals might help you on your career
journey, consider this
analogy: Imagine that
Coaches instruct you,
mentors guide you and sponsors you were planning to
climb Mount Everest.
advocate on your behalf. At some point, Would you climb the
mountain alone?
you may want or need all three.
Probably not.
You might start the journey by finding a
coach, someone who can prepare you for the
climb, tell you what it will be like, and give you a
FOCUS | SPRING 2014 | www.spbt.org
specific set of instructions and tools to ready you
for the trip. The coach acts like a GPS:
* Guiding you with step-by-step directions.
* Giving you direct feedback.
* Helping to develop needed skills and
confidence.
* Problem-solving.
* Helping to fill knowledge gaps.
In the business world, the coach might help
define the steps to achieve your career aspiration,
outline the knowledge and experience you'll
need to be successful at each level or in each
position along the way, evaluate your readiness
for each role and build the skills you'll need as
you progress.
You may need a coach if you want direct
feedback, skill development, problem-solving,
confidence or help filling a knowledge gap.
As you climb to base camp, you will likely
have moved beyond the basics and will no longer
need turn-by-turn instructions. Instead, you'll
need a compass, or a mentor. A mentor:
* Has climbed the "mountain" you are hoping
to climb.
23
http://www.spbt.org
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Focus Magazine - Spring 2014
Focus Magazine
From the President: Coaching for Success
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Guest Editor: Enhancing the Classroom
Front of the Room: Flexing to a Smaller Class Size
Neuroscience: The Neuroscience of Learning
Ethicon's K2: The Summit of Customized Learning
The Secret to Reaching Your Full Potential
Transforming Organizations: Change Agents & Team Coaching
Member Solutions: Developing Leaders: Building a Bench
Deliberate Practice and the Power of eLearning
EQ & You: Building Leaders
Training for Co-Pay Programs
Constructs not Curriculums
Virtual How: Moving from Reactive to Proactive
Member News
Ad Index
Focus Contacts
5 Questions with Jim Trunick
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - Intro
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - Focus Magazine
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - Cover2
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 3
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 4
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - From the President: Coaching for Success
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 6
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - Table of Contents
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 8
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - Table of Contents
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 10
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - Guest Editor: Enhancing the Classroom
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 12
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - Front of the Room: Flexing to a Smaller Class Size
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 14
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - Neuroscience: The Neuroscience of Learning
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 16
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - Ethicon's K2: The Summit of Customized Learning
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 18
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 19
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 20
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 21
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 22
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - The Secret to Reaching Your Full Potential
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 24
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 25
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 26
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - Transforming Organizations: Change Agents & Team Coaching
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 28
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 29
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 30
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 31
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - Member Solutions: Developing Leaders: Building a Bench
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 33
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 34
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 35
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 36
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 37
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - Deliberate Practice and the Power of eLearning
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 39
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 40
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 41
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - EQ & You: Building Leaders
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 43
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - Training for Co-Pay Programs
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 45
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - Constructs not Curriculums
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 47
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - Virtual How: Moving from Reactive to Proactive
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 49
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 50
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - Member News
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - Ad Index
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - Focus Contacts
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - 5 Questions with Jim Trunick
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - Cover3
Focus Magazine - Spring 2014 - Cover4
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