The Big Picture: How to flourish in your career

A career path doesn't always advance in a linear or upward fashion. Follow these tips to lay the ground for a career that will blossom over time.

A career path doesn't always advance in a linear or upward fashion. Changing companies, sectors and roles, as well as career breaks, can all factor in. As with any journey, there are many possible routes, depending on your desired destination and the unexpected detours or paths you take along the way. Pay attention to what you should avoid, watch out for the new opportunities that open up, and embrace each stage with gusto.

What's important is not to grow more quickly than the people around you, but to lay the ground for a career that will blossom over time.

Let the infographic be a handy reference as you reflect on your own career path and consider where you are at in your own age of life and career stage.

Useful tools

IESE offers resources to help you on your way.

Coaching programs

Understand your strengths and how to develop them, and accept your limitations and seek ways to overcome them. A good coach can help you set realistic ambitions as you plan your next steps.

Leadership Coaching Program: for executives who aspire to foster a coaching culture, and for executive coaches seeking to magnify their client impact.

Informational interviews

Meet with someone you admire, or who works in a sector you're interested in, just to find out more about their experience. Or perhaps it's you who is imparting the wisdom.

Mentoring

Advise and train someone less experienced to help them acquire new skills and knowledge. Though usually intended for younger workers, senior managers can benefit from reverse mentoring, letting younger, more digitally savvy employees teach them new tricks.

WeGrow mentoring program for entrepreneurs and IESE Alumni mentoring program.

Annual checkups

• What are your priorities at this stage? Is this the right time for training or to focus on a new personal goal?
• What are the skills and competencies you currently have? Are they helping you or holding you back? Do you need new ones to keep growing professionally?
• How diverse is your network? Who among your current personal or professional contacts should form part of this network? What new relationship could you strike up that, with time, might contribute to your development?

Professional Transition Program: to support you in your professional transition, helping you to develop your job or project search strategy, focus on your skills and finalize a plan.

Source: "Multiple stories to career building," published in IESE Insight Issue 11, and other work by IESE professor Mireia Las Heras, as well as the 5th Annual International Executive Coaching Symposium on "Ages of Life and Career Stages."

A version of this article is published in IESE Business School Insight 157.