Building my development plan, even though planning is not one of my strengths...

Around July 2021, my then manager asked me to share with the team some tips about building a successful career, and at its core: how to build a development plan. My immediate response was: "I haven't actually planned, I'm not good at planning anything". She then left me with no answer: "then how come you have reached all your development goals for the year already?"

After that, I got more reflexive about this topic. Specially because it was actually scary to accomplish my development and career goals for that moment so quickly. I have never saw myself in a situation where I didn't know what were my next step, where I should develop myself towards. As this uncomfortable feeling of having no new goals yet became more familiar, then I decided to "enjoy the ride" and do one of the things I love the most: share my experiences in the hope of helping others in their journeys.

One of the ways I've shared my experiences was with a presentation - again to my former team - about how to develop your powerpuff career (big powerpuff girls fan here)! My decision to build the presentation around this concept was simple: there are a bunch of ingredients needed to develop a super career, most ingredients are really common (sugar, spicies and everything nice), but there is also a special one (chemical X) which might be different to each of us and it's what makes us unique. With that, here is what Professor Utonium (me, actually) believes are the main ingredients to a powerpuff career:

Self-awareness (or sugar):

I've only learned how instrumental self-awareness is after working with people that lack so much of this. Some lack internal self awareness, others lack external self-awareness and some lack both of them (quite difficult people to work with...)

Internal self-awareness is how clearly we see our own values, passions, aspirations, fit with our environment, reactions (including thoughts, feelings, behaviors, strengths, and weaknesses), and impact on others. And external self-awareness is about understanding how other people view us, regarding these same aspects.

Some studies show that people with high internal self-awareness have higher job and relationship satisfaction, more personal and social control, and they are happier! They also have less anxiety, stress and depression. People with high external self-awareness have better relationship with manager and peers, and are perceived as empathic and collaborative people.

Personally, I've noticed that with high self-awareness we can identify next steps we might not have planned (written in our development plan). We have a saying in Brazil that is: o cavalo encilhado só passa uma vez. This means that some opportunities are unique and we need to be able to identify them quickly. That was the case for my international transfer, I had not properly planned that for the moment, I've only pictured a small international experience, and not a full relocation. By having high self-awareness, I could identify that this opportunity (that I was not actively looking for at that moment), was aligned with my values and aspirations and then take the leap.

The best ways I know to develop self-awareness are: psychotherapy, mentoring and/or coaching, to be a feedback addict (great for external self-awareness development) and focus on exploration always (new experiences will help you learn more about yourself).

Planning & Prioritizing (or spices):

This may sound obvious - but obvious must be said sometimes: if you don't prioritize your career, no one will do it for you. I've said this many times, this is not your company's job, nor your manager's job. You'll be the one to benefit from it, so make it a priority. For the past four years at least, I've had a weekly blocker in my schedule just to focus on my development plan.

I've learned that is more pleasurable to take next steps (promotions, new projects, etc) when those were somehow planned. This is because the chance - or intensity - that the impostors syndrome will hit me, will be much easier to handle when I know I have worked towards that objective. Whenever a new opportunity was offered to me, that I had not planned, that made me feel more insecure about my abilities to take that challenge. So trust me, planning is time well invested.

And last on this topic, know that career development is a skill. And like every skill, you can learn it and get better at it. The first time will be the most difficult, but soon this will become part for your weekly tasks (one of the most fun actually) :)

Personal branding (or everything nice):

Your personal brand is how you promote yourself. It is the unique combination of skills, experience, and personality that you want the world to see you. It is the telling of your story, and how it reflects your conduct, behavior, spoken and unspoken words, and attitudes.

I've realized that every single step in my career was due to networking. If my personal branding (how I tell my story) didn't match my career goals, how could I expect new opportunities thorough networking?

I remember having a career conversation with a leader I truly admire in SAP, which was an opportunity provided by a development program I was participating. We had such a great connection, that he ended up asking to continue to have regular calls (and he is a big deal in the company, I don't know how he finds the time for that!). When I reflect about this experience, to me it says about my personal branding. I was able to communicate who I am, and that helped me establish this important connection.

To develop your personal brand you can start by focusing on your interests (e.g.: diversity, customer success, leadership, etc). As you increase your self-awareness, include your core values and strengths to define your personal brand. You should also focus on expanding your network on LinkedIn, and take advantage of the tool to position your personal brand (I guess that's what I'm doing now!)

And above everything, by being consistent on your deliveries you will reinforce your personal brand. For instance, part of my personal brand is being a problem solver and taking ownership. To achieve that, I’ve solved many problems and always kept an approach of taking ownership :)

Go the extra mile + Growth mindset (or chemical X):

I'm sure that's what you were expecting the most, and maybe you are disappointed because it's not actually a chemical you can drink and magic will happen. It's quite the opposite, so much work goes into these two...

I'm a true believer that growth is always outside of your comfort zone. And many times this will only happen when you are willing to go for the extra mile. This is what makes a difference on how quickly you’ll reach your career goals.

Still on my chemical X: Individuals who believe their talents can be developed (through hard work, good strategies, and input from others) have a growth mindset. They tend to achieve more than those with a more fixed mindset (those who believe their talents are innate gifts). This is because they worry less about looking smart and they put more energy into learning.

After hearing many feedbacks about how proactive I am, always going an extra mile. And that I have a growth mindset, always looking for opportunities to learn and improve, I've learned that this is my chemical X. Personally, I'm a believer that these two aspects make a huge difference on achieving what some called "a successful career" (or powerpuff career).

And it's quite simple what I recommend to develop these skills: When you start perceiving your work responsibilities first and foremost as learning opportunities, your mindset will start changing, and my version of the chemical X will come naturally to you :)