The season of Spring is here and it causes me to start thinking of transitions. Midwesterners are hoping for warmer temperatures as soon as possible. We can't wait to transition out of our bulky outerwear.

Although we have no control over when the temperatures will actually change, the idea that it won't be long controls our thoughts. Some of us try to make the transition from winter to spring occur sooner than designed by not wearing the heavier clothing as long as we should. We fail to strategically plan our transition and our reward is often a bad cold or even worse, the flu.

This type of wishful transitional thinking is often what happens to people who dream about their ideal work environment. They have visions of doing great things and try to jump to the next level of performance without properly planning the transition and all the steps that need to be involved. As a result, they usually don't get the desired achievement, or even worse, similar to catching the flu, they encounter a major set back to their goals.

In this newsletter community we talk about using all of your leadership skills to assist you in attaining your career goals. Identifying your goals is one of the first steps. The next steps involve patience and focus. Considerable time must be placed on strategically planning how to best implement your goals. This strategic planning needs to include a number of options in the event your first ideas don't work.

For example, I am reminded of the time during my corporate career when I decided I wanted my next career move to be senior management. In my mind, I had already proven my capability to lead and get results through others. I now wanted the recognition and monetary rewards that would come with a senior position. What I discovered is that identifying my goal was just a small part of the puzzle. I also needed to place a lot of time and effort in planning my transition.

If I had not put a strategic plan in place that calculated my every move, I would never have been noticed by the executive vice president who eventually interviewed me. Did it work out on the first try? No. Second try? It actually took two years before I reached my goal. Instead of continuing to ask why and feel sorry for myself, I listened to the feedback and consciously worked to close the gaps. Step by step. Consistently, every day I strategically focused on executing my transition steps.

Given that it is almost April, how much time have you spent strategically planning and implementing the steps that will lead to your career fulfillment? If you are ready to begin to transition to achieving your career goals, give me a call. Remember, it is a process.

Regarding the need to strategically plan your focus, I want to offer the following recommendations:

1. First, be clear on what you want to achieve. Without clarity you will find it difficult to get the results you want. Determine what matters most to you at this point in your life and career. Is it a plan to get the next promotion or is it a plan to gain visibility that could lead to a promotion at a later time?
   
   
2. Secondly, make sure you get feedback from all stakeholders who will be involved in either helping you to achieve the goal or who could be a detriment to you accomplishing your goal. Always make sure you have the boss's buy in to what you want to focus on. There is nothing worse than finding out after all your hard work that what you think is important, is not important to the boss.
   
   
3. Third, prioritize your time to ensure you are working only on what matters most. It is easy to allow yourself to get caught up in doing busy work. Busy work does not equate to results and if you are not getting results, you are off track with your plan. Distractions need to be identified and eliminated. If you are not getting value from where you are spending your time, only you can change your direction.
   
   
4. Finally, stay the course despite any barriers you encounter. If you remain strategic in your planning, you will be able to overcome any obstacles. It all goes back to you believing in what you want and your ability to make it happen. You have to have the mindset that nothing is impossible if you are willing to focus on making it happen.
   

My monthly reading recommendation is; Simplified Strategic Planning: A No- Nonsense Guide for Busy People Who Want Results Fast! by Robert W. Bradford.

Doug is excited about implementing his 2005 development plan. He has a good relationship with his boss, Linda, and he is confident that she will support his goals. During a recent meeting he met with her to get her signoff. The meeting did not go in the direction he had hoped for. Linda communicated that she is pleased with his progress in the areas of developing people and achieving the desired business metrics.

She told him she wanted to see improvement in the areas of leading change and strategic planning. Prior to the meeting, Doug was not aware that Linda had a concern with his skills in the area of strategy. He attempts to get Linda to talk about the areas that he wants to grow in which are, team building and learning how to gain consensus. He doesn't view his strategic thinking and planning skills as an opportunity. Linda does not provide a lot of specifics in the area of strategy improvement other than mentioning her observation that his skills need some work in this area. Doug is disappointed and from his perspective the meeting does not end well.

What are Doug's options? Should he continue to push for the areas of development that are important to him and his immediate career goal of becoming a Project Manager? What would you do in this situation?

I would love to hear from you regarding your perspective on this type of scenario that occurs quite often in some work environments.

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Coaches Corner

Coach's response: One reason why you may not be receiving the immediate feedback you desire is due to the amount of time that has gone by since you received the feedback. If it has been less than 3 months, I would first encourage you to give it some more time before you expect others to notice. People want to see consistency before they are willing to believe that you have changed your behaviors.

Also, depending on the amount of time that you may have behaved inappropriately with your team members, it could take even longer for them to believe that you have actually changed. The tapes may have been playing for awhile and it will take even longer to erase. That is just human nature.

In my opinion, an even bigger question needs to be answered. Did you attempt to change your behaviors because you agreed with the feedback, or are you trying to be something that you are not because you want people to believe you have changed? Your response to this question will provide some insight as to how authentic your proposed changes are coming across.

If you truly believe the feedback was valid and you purposely want to change because you don't want to be perceived that way, then just keep working at being a better team player. Consciously working at being more approachable has to be perceived as sincere if you expect your efforts to be credible. You need to strategically plan how you will reverse the negative perception without coming across as insincere. That is not an easy feat to accomplish but it can be done with a lot of effort on your part.

My last piece of advice is to continue focusing on fixing the perceived problem with your team members. If they truly notice the difference in your approach, it will become obvious to your boss. They may even mention their opinion to each other and to the boss. This approach will be much more respected then you asking the boss if he or see are seeing a change.

Each month a question will be answered in the coach's corner. Submit your question to the coach at: deborah@chambersconsult.com. If your question is chosen, your identity will not be revealed.

Leadership Coach Deborah Chambers Chima offers one on one coaching, consulting, and teleclasses designed to assist professionals in creating a work environment that is challenging and provides opportunity for career growth. If you liked today's issue, you'll benefit from her interactive, results-oriented coaching designed to help you define and execute the professional development plan that will lead to achieving your goals. To learn more, log onto my website at www.chambersconsult.com.

Deborah Chambers Chima is passionate about assisting her clients with achieving their professional goals. Prior to launching her consulting and coaching firm, she achieved an award winning, twenty four year tenure in corporate management in the retail industry, in both international and domestic markets. Her clients appreciate her attention to detail and her desire to assist others in improving their productivity.

To learn more about Deborah, please visit her website at www.chambersconsult.com.

(c) 2005 Chambers Consulting Group, Ltd.