Chart Your Course!

In a busy world that encourages non-stop activity and communication, it is urgent at-times to pause and check to be sure you are moving in the right direction. Here are four keys to help chart your course, check your current career position, and navigate with confidence in stormy or uncertain seas.

Choose challenging yet achievable milestones. The earliest seafaring explorers did not cross the North Atlantic in one uninterrupted passage. They chose to advance in shorter, more manageable legs that connect Europe to England, Ireland, Iceland, Greenland and Nova Scotia. The surest way I know to achieve big things is to set and achieve smaller interim milestones.

Know where you are. Awareness of your current position relative to your intended destination is essential not only for success but for survival. Do you know when you are wandering or on-course? Do you have a clear set of beliefs and principles to guide you? Do you collect and use reliable data to monitor progress and performance?

Maintain proper velocity. Choosing and maintaining the right pace to arrive safe yet on-time is one of the most complex and uncertain challenges facing most executives I coach. Do you recognize when you are stalled or going too slow? Do you know when too much speed endangers you and others?

Recognize changing circumstances. When the wind, tide, or weather change, successful mariners and business leaders adjust their course. Do you know the forecast? Have you considered best-case, worst-case, and likely scenarios? Are you making strategic adjustments or preparing perhaps to pivot altogether?

Enjoy the journey. Win or lose, the most successful leaders I coach enjoy the challenges, uncertainty, and competition on the road to their respective championships. Sometimes we do not appreciate the journey until it is done. Be sure to enjoy and celebrate the opportunities and challenges we face each day while working with others who share our ambitions!

~ bc 🧭