Winning Gold

There are plenty of leadership lessons coming from London and the 2012 Olympic Games. One of my favorites is the importance of planning and preparing for individual success.

For many athletes individual success comes with winning the gold medal. Other athletes like American Al Oerter have different  goals. Although he won 4 – gold medals in discus throw in 4 – consecutive Olympic Games (1956 – 1960 – 1964 – 1968), he once said “I didn’t set out to  beat the world; I just set out to do my absolute best.”

Olympic goals are important for individual success and then the athletes must plan, train and work every single day to achieve their goal.

Translating this to your personal career goals, let me ask you these 3- questions:

1. What is your target for individual success?

2. What does your professional development and growth plan look like?

3. Are you working on your skills in a way that will help you advance in your career?

 My leadership tip this week is to be absolutely clear that you have an effective – ‘rock-solid’ professional development plan.

Many organizations do have individual development plans or personal improvement plans, but often they fall short of accomplishing their primary purpose.

In many cases, it seems we go through the motions but don’t take professional growth as serious as we should. I often see poor execution, weak follow up, no accountability, and other priorities get in the way … don’t let this be you – you deserve better … get inspired by an Olympic athlete.

Having a ‘rock-solid plan’ is critical in winning the gold and for achieving career excellence

Join my complimentary webinar on Thursday August 16th at 1:00 pm eastern and I’ll show you how to create a ‘5 – step plan’ that will guide you in your professional growth and development.