A lawyer recently asked me for some career coaching. She wasn’t sure what direction she wanted to take her career and how she might get there. We had a great first session. I shared some ideas with her that I want to share with you.
I want to share with you five ideas for making your career more successful and fulfilling. Here is a preview of what we will cover the next five days:
- Today: Focus on your strengths
- Tuesday: When planning begin with “what” and “why”
- Wednesday: Why practice deliberately
- Thursday: How to practice deliberately
- Friday: It’s What You Learn After You Know It All That Counts Most
How long do you think it would take you to read 10 pages? If you can make that time, then read: Dr. Jill Ammon-Wexler’s: You Can BECOME EXCEPTIONAL 10 Pages That Can Change Your Life. I am confident you will find many helpful ideas in the book. Here is an example:
So … you can choose to become incredible by focusing on and developing your strengths — or you can be ordinary, and focus on and worry about your “weaknesses.”
If you are a regular reader, you likely have seen my links to StrengthsFinder 2.0. When I begin coaching lawyers, the first thing I do is suggest they take the StrengthsFinder survey to discover their Top 5 Strengths.
When you create a plan and put it into action based on your strengths, client development becomes easier and in many cases becomes more fun. Plus, focusing on your strengths gives you the opportunity to “become incredible.”
Once you have a plan based on your strengths, you must take action. Here is another quote from the 10 pages.
Too many people spend too much time dreaming of doing something exceptional, but never get around to taking action. Clearly if you want to be exceptional, you need to take action.
So:
- Discover your strengths
- Create a plan playing to your strengths
- Take action and keep at it by being accountable