Visualizing Your Future Self

Take a moment to ask yourself: are you advocating for yourself and making your career or business growth a priority?

Many high-achieving individuals who aspire to higher levels of leadership, despite their credentials and success, fall into the trap of thinking their hard work will automatically lead to recognition and success. But that's not always the case. Without strategic action and self-advocacy, it’s easy to find yourself overlooked or held back.  

Maybe you're so competent at your role that you've neglected taking the necessary steps to reach the next level. Maybe you're unconsciously sending signals that you like the level where you are.  But deep down, you feel frustrated or disappointed - especially if a colleague or peer who began their career or business at a similar time as you, has jumped several rungs ahead of you.

If you don’t take the time to build this awareness, the roadblocks you face today will keep you where you or even follow you to the next opportunity.

So how do you break through?

It begins with a mindset shift. Start thinking more strategically about your career, advocating for yourself, and learning how to leverage relationships to open doors.

And the most critical step is to first start by building confidence and clarity around what you want.  Ask yourself:  what do you want? What does career success look like to you?

When one of my clients - a highly accomplished investment professional - joined my BLISS Accelerator program, she shared her deep frustration at being passed over for promotion not once, but twice. It stung even more to watch two former peers rise into high-profile roles she had long admired.

Yet, as we dug deeper, it became clear that while she felt overlooked, she had never actually communicated her aspirations to her boss or leveraged key relationships within her firm. In fact, she told me, “Title and compensation aren’t that important to me.” The reality was, her behavior was signaling that she was content exactly where she was.

We got to work clarifying what she truly wanted. With a little encouragement to think boldly, she became crystal clear on what she wanted. From there, we built the mindset and strategy to help her get there.

If you’re feeling stuck or overlooked, take some time to set bold, meaningful goals about where you want to be in twelve months to three years, and write them down. That’s the first step toward moving from being merely competent at your current level to truly owning your career growth.

Recently, I was a guest on the Life Check Yourself podcast. I sat down with Marni Battista to discuss how to help high-achievers like yourself overcome career challenges.Together, Marni and I share insights and actionable tips on how to shift your mindset, advocate for yourself, and create the career success you deserve.

Click on the image below to watch our conversation on YouTube or here to listen on your favorite podcast platform.