Daisha Hankle: One thing that you can do or take away after our session is, maybe take some time and just go to a quiet space and just jot out what are your top 10 core values. If everything else is stripped away, what is the foundation that you stand on? It can be very helpful if you go back and revisit that annually, because as we know, life keeps moving along and as you continue to grow, and you may start to find that there's some changes and shifts that take place, but this is still the basis of your foundation.
We'll talk about this last point around what are your motivators and start to think about this, what gets you excited about waking up in the morning and going into work? Like, are you at your best when you're working closely with the group or when you're working alone? Would you say that you excel at highly conceptual work or when it's more detailed-oriented? It's about aligning your motivators, much like with your values, to the work that you perform. One, so that you can identify the type of work that you find fulfilling, and the other reason for this is so that you can put yourself in a position and be your best self.
Now, let me tell you where that leads us. If you can get to this next slide, it leads us into this thought process for you. Start thinking of yourself as a brand. Yes. I said you, as a brand. Why? Because personal branding is not reserved just for celebrities and CEOs. To help you with this, I have you on the slide, a question for you. What do you wish for people to associate with your name? I mean, really think about this question. What do you wish for people to associate with your name? Do you want to be known as someone who is an expert in collaborating across internal teams in order to reach a department or organization goals? Would you say you would want to be known as someone who is consistently creating positive customer experiences? These all sound great. But the reality is, how are you taking action on this? How are you displaying this through your actions, your attitude, your work output, and even for some of you in your social professional online presence?
Let's talk about how this relates to our topic of career planning. To the next slide please. Because when you're able to take your brand, it allows you to really focus in on your value. Identify the unique talents and strengths and traits, essentially that you are the only person who can bring that into your workplace. It helps you to essentially depict how your own personal vision for your future growth and career, aligns with the longer-term objectives of the business.
Now, I recognize for some, you're thinking, "I'm maybe a bit apprehensive." Maybe you’re fearful of defining yourself so narrowly. But also know that this branding exercise, it allows you to showcase your relevant value and allows you to deliver this in an authentic way. For some, this may be the link that you need to take. So, where do we start? We talked about the importance of continuous reflection, which allows you to figure out what is the areas that I will find the most fulfilling as far as a career growth stage and as well as, where will you be your best self?
So, let’s get to our next slide here, because what we would like is for you to start thinking about taking it to the next level, explore. What comes next? Where are the tools? What are the resources that you need to be leveraging in order to propel yourself to that next place that you want to go? To the next slide.