Each of us establishes a professional career voice. Sometimes our voice is created consciously and conscientiously. On the other hand, perhaps you unconsciously create and reinforce a professional voice which is not an accurate reflection of who you are. Think about it. What is your preference: leader or follower?
Consider that your professional career voice is a function of whether you see yourself as a leader and CEO of Your Career, or not.
First, like your employer’s CEO, you bring a distinctive “voice” to your professional roles.
Is your voice clearly and consistently communicating beyond your current functional role? Does the organization receive your strategically collaborative, purposeful and revenue-driven voice?
Then, consider how you voice your professional statement of purpose and values.
You know, all the stuff that typically is not listed chronologically on your resume and LinkedIn profile. Are you ignoring yours? If so, others may also be ignoring your purpose and values, as well.
Next, consider the professional voice of your current team assignments.
Are their collective voices complementary to yours? Or are you out of sync? Do you talk at each other instead of with each other? Is group-think more valued than creative tension and innovation? Are you glad of or by frustrated by this scenario?
As a result, before accepting a position with any employer, consider your professional career voice. Are your voiced purpose and values, as well as skills and insights, complementary to those of your prospective employer? Or are you on a collision course? How might you use this criterion to evaluate your team assignments, as well?
When your professional career voice becomes the foundation of how you answer the question: “what do you do?”, you have different conversations with each other. You create different outcomes, together. And your business cases expand beyond yesterday’s formulas.
Are you ready to take your first, one millimeter next steps forward, together with me? Get to where you really need to go, tomorrow and moving forward. To get started, contact me here.
Planning your next team, corporate or association meeting? Searching for a one-on-one catalyst to get you unstuck? Engage me to present a One Millimeter Mindset ™ program! Delivered virtually or in-person. Contact me here.
Babette Ten Haken | Change Catalyst | Purpose-Driven Professional Innovation | Cross-Functional Team Leadership | Trust-Based Client Retention | In Person & Virtual Speaker, Consultant, Coach, Author |
Babette Ten Haken leverages Voice of the Customer methodology to catalyze individuals, teams, and companies to translate the value of change. Build trust across people and professional disciplines, together, one millimeter at a time. When you lead teams and clients co-invested in the strategic business and human capital value you bring to the table together, everyone gets to where they need to go. Babette is a business-oriented STEM professional, Voice of the Customer facilitator, MCCT™ certified, and a Six Sigma Green Belt (Quality) focused on new product development, professional innovation, cross-functional leadership, and client retention. She is a member of ASQ, SHRM, PMI, and the National Speakers Association. Her playbook of cross-functional collaboration, Do YOU Mean Business? is available on Amazon.com. Contact Babette here. Image source: Adobe Stock.
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