O P I N I O N
Building a personal vision
P ete, a 35-year-old project manager for a 100-person architectural firm, lies in bed thinking about his career. He can’t remember the last time he felt like he was caught up and could breathe, when his to-do list was done, that stack of papers organized and off his desk, and no unanswered emails in his inbox. It weighs on him as he wrestles with the idea of getting up and facing it again. What new issue will there be? What new demands on his time? Create a three-year vision thinking about what you need to achieve personally and professionally to be happy with your progress, and then work to reach your mountain.
Leo MacLeod
is useful in helping emerging leaders create a practical plan for their future. One year is too close, five years too far. A three-year vision is close enough to see but far enough it will take effort to reach. “It’s amazing how much more fulfilling your career path will be when you’ve taken the time to think about what you want. Leadership is hard work and the only way it’s worthwhile and sustainable is if you are getting your needs met.”
He’s not a whiner by nature, instead he sucks it up. In fact, he’s been identified as one of the upcoming leaders, mainly because he doesn’t say no – ever. But now he’s questioning it all. Is this what life is all about? Grinding away the hours until you’re drained and getting up and doing it again? If there is a leadership path, what is it? Even if he knew the path, does he really want to be on it, if it just means more work and less of a life? The first question I ask emerging leaders is: In three years from now, what has to happen personally and professionally for you to be happy with your progress? I use the metaphor of looking out into the horizon and envisioning a mountain, a destination of what your life might look like.
See LEO MACLEOD, page 10
The metaphor of moving toward a mountain
THE ZWEIG LETTER March 9, 2020, ISSUE 1335
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