{"id":56846,"date":"2021-12-28T23:32:50","date_gmt":"2021-12-29T03:32:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=56846"},"modified":"2022-01-11T23:34:57","modified_gmt":"2022-01-12T03:34:57","slug":"career-reflection-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/career-reflection-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Career Reflection: The 3 Stages of Self-Examination"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Why is self-reflection<\/a> important in career development? What aspects should you reflect on with regards to your career?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Peter Drucker, the author of Managing Oneself<\/em>, career reflection<\/a> is part of the process of taking responsibility<\/a> for yourself and will help you to advance in your career. Drucker says that, once you have greater self-knowledge, you can and must actively seek out situations where you\u2019ll thrive.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn about the three stages of professional self-reflection that Drucker recommends to manage yourself so that you learn who you are\u2014and what your personal recipe for career success is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

1. Reflecting on Your Strengths<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The first stage of career reflection is thinking about your strengths. Drucker states that this is necessary to success because working on your strengths is the most efficient, and thus best, way to make yourself stand out<\/strong> and advance your career. It doesn\u2019t take much effort to improve something you have a natural ability in, and this effort could turn you into an exceptional<\/em> performer. Conversely, it would take a good deal of effort to work on areas in which you\u2019re less skilled, and the results would be less impressive\u2014taking you from poor to mediocre. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, if you\u2019re already disposed to public speaking, you just need to polish these skills to be a great presenter, and this could open many doors for you. On the other hand, if you\u2019re terrible with spreadsheets, it would take a long time to learn how to get better, and that effort would translate into only a moderate level of proficiency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Importance of Working From Your Strengths<\/strong>

Drucker\u2019s advice to work on the things you\u2019re already good at may seem counterintuitive, because you might assume that it\u2019s important to focus on improving areas of weakness. However, Drucker is adamant that finessing your strengths is the way forward, and other authors have echoed this idea. 

Cal Newport, author of So Good They Can\u2019t Ignore You<\/em><\/a>, suggests that it\u2019s important to feel like you\u2019re competent at your work, which is possible if you play to your strengths and choose to do what you\u2019re good at<\/strong>. Competence is important because it\u2019s a pillar of the principle of self-determination, or the intrinsic motivation<\/a> to perform well. In turn, self-determination brings a sense of job satisfaction. Therefore, if you play to your strengths and thus feel like you\u2019re competent at your job, your sense of job satisfaction will naturally increase. <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

How to Identify Your Strengths<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Drucker outlines a method to identify your strengths that we\u2019ll call the future predictions technique. He asks you to write down a prediction of what you think will happen <\/strong>every time you\u2019re at a significant crossroads in your professional life <\/strong>and have to decide on a course of action. At the end of each prediction\u2019s time period, go back and evaluate how accurate your assumptions were. Drucker\u2019s suggested time window for predictions is nine to 12 months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Does the Future Predictions Technique Work?<\/strong>

Drucker doesn\u2019t explain exactly why<\/em> he believes this technique to be so successful at predicting your areas of strength. To link the technique to your strengths, when you\u2019re reflecting on the last nine to 12 months, frame your analysis around what went well and what didn\u2019t go so well. Then use this to infer your strengths, presuming that your successes were thanks to your strengths. 

For example, if over the last year, you took control of your company\u2019s social media accounts and doubled the number of followers, you can conclude that social media account management is one of your strengths. <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Applying the Results of the Future Predictions Technique <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When you\u2019ve used the future predictions technique a few times, you should be able to identify your most promising strengths. Drucker\u2019s next step is to act on this information by positioning yourself in situations where you work from your strengths<\/strong>, preferably in a company and role where these strengths are a core part of your daily work. This will help others to notice you, which may in turn lead to you advancing up the career ladder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also says that it\u2019s necessary to spend some time and effort developing your natural talents to become extremely proficient, turning you into a star player. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Developing Your Strengths<\/strong>

A central lesson of Cal Newport\u2019s So Good They Can\u2019t Ignore You<\/em><\/a> is to adopt the attitude of a craftsman and to hone your skills, which is similar to Drucker\u2019s idea of working from and developing your strengths. Newport recommends that you consciously work on your skills, pushing yourself<\/a> to regularly solve work-related problems so that you become quicker and more competent. He underlines that this will help boost your intrinsic motivation and job satisfaction, turning a job you\u2019re good at into a job you excel in and<\/em> that you like. 

It\u2019s possible to combine both Drucker\u2019s and Newport\u2019s advice to achieve career success. You could begin by discovering your strengths using Drucker\u2019s future predictions technique and then positioning yourself in situations where you\u2019ll use those strengths. Then, adopt Newport\u2019s craftsman attitude to hone your skills, which will have the dual benefits of increased job satisfaction and the possibility of career advancement<\/a>. <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

2. Reflecting on Your Values<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Now that you\u2019ve identified your strengths, the next step is to think about your personal values<\/a>. Drucker says that this is essential because your values are connected to your motivation to succeed<\/a> in your career. If you work in an organization with the same values as you, you\u2019ll naturally want to work hard, which will help you advance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n