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If you don't plan your career, someone else will plan it for you — and their

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plan probably doesn't align with yours. Most people drift through their careers

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reactively. A promotion opens up, they apply. A friend mentions a job, they

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interview. That's not a career plan. That's career roulette.

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Start with the destination. Where do you want to be in five years? Not just a

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job title — a lifestyle. What responsibilities energize you? What kind of team

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do you want to lead? What impact do you want to make? Now assess your current

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location honestly. What skills do you have? What experience? What's your

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network? Then do the gap analysis. Between your current state and your five-year

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vision, what's missing? Maybe it's management experience. Maybe it's technical

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depth. Maybe it's industry credibility. Finally, build the route — specific

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actions to close each gap. Not "get better at leadership" but "volunteer to lead

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the Q2 project, enroll in the management training program, and find a mentor

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who's a VP.

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Research shows seventy percent of development happens through on-the-job

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experiences — stretch assignments, cross-functional projects, and challenging

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problems. Twenty percent comes from relationships — mentors, coaches, and

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sponsors. Only ten percent comes from formal training. So your development plan

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should be seventy percent experiential.

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Write your career plan this week. Share it with your manager and your mentor.

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Revisit it every quarter. The most successful professionals I know all have one

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thing in common — they're intentional about their growth. Next lesson —

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developing leadership skills regardless of your title.