Career Decision Making

Measuring Success: How Competency-Based Assessments Can Accelerate Your Leadership If it’s you who feels stuck in your career despite putting in the effort. To help you gain measurable progress, one can use competency-based assessments to track skills development over time. 💢Why Competency-Based Assessments Matter: They provide measurable insights into where you stand, which areas you need improvement, and how to create a focused growth plan. This clarity can break through #career stagnation and ensure continuous development. 💡 Key Action Points: ⚜️Take Competency-Based Assessments: Track your skills and performance against defined standards. ⚜️Review Metrics Regularly: Ensure you’re making continuous progress in key areas. ⚜️Act on Feedback: Focus on areas that need development and take actionable steps for growth. 💢Recommended Assessments for Leadership Growth: For leaders looking to transition from Team Leader (TL) to Assistant Manager (AM) roles, here are some assessments that can help: 💥Hogan Leadership Assessment – Measures leadership potential, strengths, and areas for development. 💥Emotional Intelligence (EQ-i 2.0) – Evaluates emotional intelligence, crucial for leadership and collaboration. 💥DISC Personality Assessment – Focuses on behavior and communication styles, helping leaders understand team dynamics and improve collaboration. 💥Gallup CliftonStrengths – Identifies your top strengths and how to leverage them for leadership growth. 💥360-Degree Feedback Assessment – A holistic approach that gathers feedback from peers, managers, and subordinates to give you a well-rounded view of your leadership abilities. By using these tools, leaders can see where they excel and where they need development, providing a clear path toward promotion and career growth. Start tracking your progress with these competency-based assessments and unlock your full potential. #CompetencyAssessment #LeadershipGrowth #CareerDevelopment #LeadershipSkills

It’s graduation season, and I’ve been reflecting on the lessons I wish I’d learned sooner, so I can share them with new grads. Here’s the first one: Passion is necessary, but it’s only one piece of the puzzle. Too often, we hear “follow your passion,” as if passion alone guarantees success or fulfillment over the course of your career. In reality, you have to consider passion alongside four other critical factors: Your unique assets (What skills, experiences, or perspectives do you bring to the table AND where do you have a genuine advantage over others? Market realities (What problems are people willing to pay to solve? Which industries are growing, and which are shrinking?) Supply & demand (Is there real demand for what you want to offer?) Timeliness fit (Ask yourself: will this path sustain your interests, values, and well-being? Is it going to position you to have a next step in the area you want to explore next?) Hopefully, this is helpful to those of you thinking about what’s next in life, from someone who has been there…just a short time ago.

I’ve enjoyed reading reports and LinkedIn recaps from the recent World Economic Forum’s annual conference in Davos. One of the most discussed topics was the future of work, as professionals worldwide are re-evaluating their careers, seeking more fulfillment, flexibility, and financial security. I am glad to see people talk about financial security in this context. When you make a career change, the financial implications have to be top of mind. Several years ago, at the height of the Great Resignation I wrote an ‘Ask Carrie’ column to guide people through the financial implications of leaving their job. These core principles still apply today:  ✅ Clarify Your Why: It’s important to first envision where you want to go and what you are ultimately striving for. Visualize what your life and career looks like 5 years, 15 years from now and build off of that vision. It's one thing to be dissatisfied or want to make a change; it's another to know what will make you happier. Dig into the details of any new position and define your real motivation to ensure your next move aligns with your long-term goals. ✅ Assess the Financial Tradeoffs: Leaving a job often means leaving behind benefits and depending on the position you’re leaving, they could be significant. Employee benefits can encompass everything from health insurance and matching retirement contributions, to paid time off and childcare subsidies. And don't forget about things like stock options and restricted stocks. You may be walking away from good money! ✅ Plan for Learning & Transitions: If you're looking for a new job in your current field, making a change may be pretty straightforward. But if you want to do something completely different it's going to take time and money—and upfront planning. Map this out in advance and plan for the investment required to make a smooth transition. ✅ Strengthen Your Financial Safety Net: You may be emotionally ready to make your move, but be sure to give yourself a smooth financial path before you do. I recommend you: 1. Shore up your savings—Building your emergency fund is key. I suggest having enough cash to cover 3 to 6 months of essential expenses. Things don’t always go according to plan. 2. Pay down debts—If you're carrying credit card balances, try to bring those close to zero to free up the cash you’ll need for necessities during your transition. 3. Rethink your budget—Wants and non-essentials may need to take a backseat while you're in transition. Take a good look at where you can cut back short term. 4. Review your insurance—This is crucial, especially health insurance, no matter your age Whatever you do, make sure you and your family have continued coverage. The job market is evolving, and there are many opportunities to consider—but making a career move from a place of financial strength ensures both professional fulfillment and long-term security. Are you rethinking your career right now? What’s driving your decision?

Your career success metrics are outdated. It's time for a reality check. Ditching old-school success measures leads to: • More fulfilling work • Higher overall happiness • Increased job satisfaction • Skyrocketing personal growth Stop chasing these outdated markers: • Prestigious company name • Fancy job titles • Hours worked • Salary alone Instead, focus on these 7 modern success indicators: 1. Personal growth → Are you consistently learning and evolving? 2. Positive impact → How are you making life better for others? 3. Work-life integration → Does your career enhance your personal life? 4. Autonomy → Can you shape your work and make decisions? 5. Purpose alignment → Does your work reflect your matters to you? 6. Skill diversification → Are you becoming more adaptable? 7. Network quality → Who can vouch for your abilities? Remember: Your career isn't a ladder. It's a landscape. Explore it. Don't let outdated metrics hold you back. Redefine success on your own terms. Your future self will thank you. Agree? ♻️ Repost to help others see their success. Follow me Mido Atef for more career insights.

Staying true to yourself while climbing the career ladder isn't easy. But it's crucial. I've seen firsthand how a mismatch between personal values and company culture can lead to disaster. One individual, a quiet, process-oriented person, was overwhelmed by our fast-paced, energetic environment. He left within a month. I've also witnessed people trying to adapt to cultures that didn't suit them, suppressing their natural tendencies and feeling unfulfilled. The lesson? Find an organization where your values align. Seek a culture where your authentic self can as much shine. When you find that alignment, magic happens: • You'll contribute with passion and purpose. • You'll bring your best self to work. • You'll achieve true career growth. Don't compromise your authenticity for the sake of fitting in. Find the environment that allows you to thrive, both personally and professionally.

“I just fell into it.” “It was the first job I was offered.” “My parents told me to do it." "It had the most job security/earning potential/prestige.” People come to me unfulfilled in their careers. When asked what caused them to choose that career at the start: → societal and/or parental pressure → the fear of missing out or being left behind → lack of clarity → inability to find a job are often the key reasons. Sharing a common thread: disempowerment. Decisions made not from clarity and conviction, but fear; of what others would think or survival. You can't think about fulfilment when you're down to your last dollar. Taking any job to survive is step 1 - fulfilment comes later. But if you're unfulfilled in your job and can pay your bills, it means learning from the past and making different choices. ✅ Being intentional - making decisions and choices based on your values and priorities. ✅ Drowning out the external noise, releasing your fear of judgement and being true to yourself. ✅ Getting clear on your energising skills, strengths and interests - and aligning your choices with them. ✅ Taking responsibility for your thoughts, emotions and behaviours - actions and inactions - holding you back from fulfilment. And working on them. ✅ Owning your professional development and upskilling (exploring free resources if money is tight). It means deciding, once and for all, what you want out of your career and taking charge of it. You might not be able to change your career today. But you can make a plan. What choices would you make differently now that you know what you know? #careers #personaldevelopment #jobsatisfaction

Any internship is better than no internship. Even a bad one has residual value. But not all internships are quality experiences - as many who have had one can attest. Me included. We have precious little research on what makes for a great internship experience -- an area where I hope philanthropy will focus more effort and funding. But a few fundamentals of quality are clear: 1️⃣ Were students able to work on a meaningful work project? (vs. menial tasks) 2️⃣ Did the student have a manager or internship coordinator who provided them with guidance and regular feedback on their work? (vs. ignoring them/leaving them to their own devices) 3️⃣ Was there any connectivity between the student's internship and their academic work? (vs. being completely unrelated or disconnected) These three factors matter a lot to whether a student (and the employer) get real value from an internship. When I was CEO of Outside The Classroom, we employed nearly a dozen co-op students from Northeastern University. We were a tiny employer - only about 15 employees at the time we took on our first co-op student. So we didn't have any kind of formal internship structure or manager bandwidth to support it. But we did have a ton of meaningful work projects that needed doing. And we treated co-op students as if they were real, full-time employees who had ownership over entire functions. Our first co-op student was a marketing major - and we made her our director of marketing...because at the time, we didn't have one. We need to focus more on the quality of internships. We need to focus more on the equity of internships (unpaid and low-paid don't work for underserved students). And we need to stimulate growth in the number of internships available. Where that all falls short -- and it will for a long-time coming -- is where industy-immersive educational experiences can make up the ground. #highered #internships

Bad decisions aren't usually about intelligence or experience⁣. ⁣ They're about making choices without a clear process⁣. ⁣ The best leaders don't have perfect judgment. ⁣ They have reliable systems that guide them toward better choices consistently⁣. ⁣ Here are 8 frameworks that turn decision-making from guesswork into strategy:⁣ ⁣ 1: The Reverse Advocate Protocol⁣ ↳ Assign someone to argue against your choice before finalizing any major decision.⁣ ↳ Challenging your own bias reveals blind spots and strengthens your final choice.⁣ ⁣ 2: The Energy Drain Audit⁣ ↳ Evaluate how much mental and emotional energy each option will require ongoing.⁣ ↳ High maintenance decisions often fail because they exhaust you before creating results.⁣ ⁣ 3: The Up/Down Impact Chain⁣ ↳ Trace how your decision will influence decisions that come before and after it.⁣ ↳ Single decisions create cascading effects that multiply their importance beyond immediate outcomes.⁣ ⁣ 4: The Constraint Liberation Test⁣ ↳ What would become possible if this decision removes your biggest current obstacle.⁣ ↳ The best decisions don't just solve problems they unlock entirely new opportunities.⁣ ⁣ 5: The Identity Alignment Filter⁣ ↳ Consider which option moves you closer to who you want to become as a leader.⁣ ↳ Decisions shape identity over time, and identity shapes all future decisions.⁣ ⁣ 6: The Network Effect Multiplier⁣ ↳ Evaluate how each choice affects your access to people, information, and opportunities.⁣ ↳ Great decisions don't just create direct value, they position you for better future decisions.⁣ ⁣ 7: The Teaching Test Framework⁣ ↳ Ask which decision you'd be most comfortable explaining and defending to your team.⁣ ↳ Choices you can't teach or justify usually indicate unclear thinking or misaligned values.⁣ ⁣ 8: The Pattern Break Analysis⁣ ↳ Identify whether this decision continues existing patterns or creates new ones.⁣ ↳ Sometimes the best choice is the one that breaks you out of cycles that aren't serving you.⁣ ⁣ What's one framework you use?⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ 💚 Follow Hetali Mehta, MPH for more.⁣⁣⁣⁣ 📌 Share this with your network.⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ 👇Subscribe to my newsletter: https://lnkd.in/eFPeE4gQ

If you're a job seeker at the senior leadership level, you are no doubt finding it challenging to get in front of hiring organisations right now let alone secure a new role. It's tough, no doubt about it. Because of this, you can get to a point where you feel like you need to grab the first offer that comes along thinking it may be the last for some time. Without knowing people's specific circumstances, I'd advise before you take that first offer that comes along, revisit what your career move non-negotiables were. I'm not talking about the financial/extrinsic components but the intrinsic ones. Do these align with your personal values? How do you feel when you think about potentially working for the organisation? In challenging, dare I say desperate times, we can choose to ignore what is most important to us because we feel like we are out of options. You may still choose to press ahead with something that doesn't quite feel right. Do what you have too. Make sure at the very least you have a plan as to how you manage the trade-offs you are about to sign up for. Unfortunately, I am having conversations with a lot of people who have put themselves in situations that they don't feel great about because they felt like they had too. They thought that they could handle the compromises they made and are now struggling mentally. They would probably have made the same call at a push but perhaps prepared themselves differently. Easy to say in retrospect of course but a lesson for those out there about to embark on similar decisions. Make the call you have too and then plan out how you keep yourself in check. Your overall wellbeing is too important. #careerplanning #jobsearch #execsearch #mentalwellbeing

You scan job titles. You compare salaries. You chase prestigious names. But what if you're optimizing for the wrong metrics? Employees at culture-first companies are 3.7x more engaged. Teams with strong cultural fit outperform others by 33%. Here's your 5-step framework for finding your perfect company: 1. The Value Alignment • Culture beats compensation • Purpose drives performance • Value-aligned employees stay 4.1x longer • Meaning beats money 2. The Growth Factor • Look for learning budgets • Check promotion patterns • Development-focused teams show 29% more innovation • Progress beats position 3. The People Proof • Study team dynamics • Watch meeting behavior • Strong cultures reduce turnover by 72% • Connection beats credentials 4. The Leadership Lens • Observe management style • Track transparency • Great leaders retain talent 3x longer • Trust beats titles 5. The Balance Benchmark • Check work-life integration • Study stress levels • Balanced companies see 41% higher productivity • Wellbeing beats workload Remember: A job pays your bills But culture shapes your future ♻️ Share this with someone searching for their perfect fit 🔔 Follow Kabir Sehgal for career wisdom that puts humans first