Many of my early- to mid-career phase clients are finding more traction and engagement in their professional journeys by embracing the concept of “Owning Your Career.” Taking on more direct ownership of their career path allows them to ground more deeply into their personal and professional aspirations, orient more clearly to a future with greater optionality and opportunities, and perhaps most importantly, take direct action and accountability in charting their courses forward.  

Sounds great, right? But what does it mean to “own your career”? And more concretely, what are some specific things you can do today that move you further down that path of success?

1)    The “Challenge & a Choice” narrative framework. Every “Hero’s journey” has an “origin story,” and the core of every origin story is the pivot the Hero makes in the face of Challenges. From Greek Myths to modern Marvel comics, all origin stories have this central plot shift. This is the point they muster their courage and make the Choice to step up and grab the ring, put on the suit, and/or wear the cape.

Your “Owning Your Career” journey has such pivot points too. Look around, what are your current challenges?

Sure, your boss sucks, but how are YOU going to choose to respond to him?  

Your technical skills may indeed be deficient, but what are YOU doing to change that fact?

Your workplace culture may be toxic, but what are YOU doing to sidestep or immunize yourself against it?

Are you ready to pivot your narrative from one that has you a helpless victim of circumstances to one that begins to feature you as the Hero defined by the Choices you are making? Where can you move the slider TODAY from “I’m challenged by X, Y, and Z” a few notches over to “I CHOOSE to do A, B, and C?”  

The first step towards Owning your Career is owning your power of choice in this very moment. 

2)    What’s your “Betterment Strategy?” By “Betterment Strategy” I mean your combination of educational intake (relevant podcasts, books, trainings, certifications, etc.), plans for progress (goal setting, mentorship seeking, networking, etc.), and real world action steps that bring you new experiences and greater exposure. In other words, and following up from number 1 above, what are YOU doing to better prepare yourself for WHO you want to be in 5 years?  

Notice I said “Who you want to be,” not “where you want to be.” I use “who” here on purpose to signify that this is all about YOU and YOUR ownership and much less about “where” this path takes you. YOUR skills, YOUR knowledge, YOUR Leadership growth and development are the proper areas of focus. Where you are is much less relevant than WHO you are at any point in the journey. 

3)    Focus on embodying Leadership IN your current role as a prerequisite for moving beyond it. I’ve covered similar takes elsewhere in Leadership IN, Bloom Where You’re Planted, and Responsible TO vs FOR. However, the central point I want to make here is that good Leadership is a quality you can develop, and one that will get you noticed, appreciated, and promoted far faster than your peers with similar or even better technical skills.

Intentionally cultivating and developing your Leadership skills is a critical part of any Betterment Strategy, regardless of your industry, background, or experience level. Even if you have no intention of taking on any direct Management responsibilities, cultivating better Leadership skills will help you create a more functional team at the level you are in as well as help you more skillfully “up-manage” those above you.

And at the end of the day, developing good self-leadership skills will truly accelerate your progress towards more fully owning your career. 

So there you have it. Take more ownership of your career by focusing on the choices you can make vs the challenges you face, by developing a multi-pronged betterment strategy that brings educational input and plans for progress together into concrete action steps, and by looking to develop your Leadership skills IN your current role and the opportunities it provides. Document in your journal or elsewhere where you are now as the baseline, start working these 3 tips today, and then check back in on things in 3, 6, and 12 months to see how much progress you’ve made.  

Regardless of where you might be by then, I’d bet real money that you’re going to be proud of how far you’ve come in your own “Hero’s Journey,” and more importantly, WHO you’re becoming along the way.