The external force field is changing so it might be we need to take purposeful approaches to think ahead. We can learn from where we’ve been and learn from others too.
everywoman expert, Fiona Morden
Since your very first days in work, you’ve been keeping at ear to the ground for looming opportunities, paying close attention to and acting on performance feedback, growing your support network, and cultivating your skillset wherever possible.
You may not have thought about these actions as part of a strategy for future-proofing your career, but that’s precisely what you’ve been doing. With the world of work in continual flux, we look at how future proofing, conducted on a more conscious level, can elevate you to even greater longevity, agility and career success.
You’re already…learning about technology
Now it’s time to…ask what you can learn from it
Whatever industry you work in, you’re unlikely to have escaped the creep of technology into almost every facet of business life. In your mission to stay one step ahead of the curve, you might have undertaken training in new software, read up on forthcoming tech developments in your field, or downloaded the latest hot app to see for yourself what all the fuss is about.
Whatever your confidence level with learning about new technology, it’s also worth taking a moment to consider what you can learn from this fast-moving, ever-disruptive digital world. Even tech giants Apple, Google and Facebook sometimes get it wrong – launching with great fanfare products and services that somehow miss the mark and wind up on the slagheap of consumer castoffs. What separates such organisations from the many others who’ve faded to obscurity, is their ability to remain nimble in the face of backlash, to quickly adapt enough to bounce back stronger.
Ask yourself: How do I respond in stressful, high-pressured environments and situations? How do I react to negative feedback? What can I learn about my reactions to setbacks that can enable me to cultivate greater resilience for the future?
You’ve already…defined your personal brand
Now it’s time to…refresh your brand approach and market profile
Your future is created by what you do today, not tomorrow.
Author, Robert Kiyosaki
Only 12% of everywomanNetwork members regularly take stock of their personal brand as part of their conscious future proofing strategy. For most, this is an activity carried out as part of preparation for a new job application, when prompted to by a boss or mentor, or never at all.
To really stay in tune with market needs and give yourself and your skillset the best visibility possible, it’s essential that you regularly take stock of who you are right now, asking how you’ve changed and adapted since you last defined your personal brand statement, and in what ways you might need to further evolve in line with external forces.
As an exercise, look at this strapline used to market Amazon Echo.
Always ready, connected, and fast. Just ask.
What if you were to apply these principles to yourself? Are you always ready to raise your hand and step out of your comfort zone? To initiate the conversations that will get you noticed? To quickly change your approach when the old no longer serves you best? To seek out fresh opportunities every chance you get?
Unlike Amazon Echo, you don’t have a team of branding experts working around the clock to sell your wares. But can you come up with a short strapline that defines who you are and why everyone should want your services? Who could help you define that? And once it’s ready to share with the world, how can you ensure its key principles reach the minds of your key career stakeholders?
You’re already…building and maintaining strong networks
Now it’s time to…reach out and ask: “What’s new?”
We can’t know what we don’t know, but what we can do is know people who do.
Everywoman expert Fiona Modern
A support network offers many career advantages – connections who offer support and guidance, opportunities and introductions, or perhaps challenge you to up your game when you see the new and interesting initiatives they’re involved in.
A strong network also offers enhanced ‘horizon scanning’ opportunities – enabling you to see further and wider across the current landscape, noticing opportunities and threats in every direction. Those who consciously incorporate horizon scanning into their future proofing have one ear to the ground; constantly observing trends in conversations; asking what’s being talked about in the marketplace; how the needs of their stakeholders are changing in response; and growing their networks by adding individuals whose specialist insight can add real value to their own knowledge bank.
Examples of horizon scanning include:
- Reading job descriptions for roles like yours to notice how they may have changed since you landed the position
- Watching and participating in conversations on LinkedIn
- Connecting selectively to thought leaders on social media and fostering your own opinions about their posts
- Remembering that everyone in your network has their own, unique view of the world and work, and there’s much insight to be gained from reaching out and asking, simply: “What’s new?” companion webinars on Future proofing, and in the everywomanNetwork workbook Future proofing your career, which is available online in interactive form, or via a downloadable PDF.
You’re already…mentoring those coming up behind you
Now it’s time to…become a future-proofing role model
If you’ve benefited from the inspiration of an older role model in business, you may have already decided to “pass it on”, devoting time to helping another as he or she navigates their own career. To do so in conscious future proofing mode, says everywoman expert Fiona Morden, is particularly beneficial for Generation Z – those newcomers to the workforce who are entering the world of work at what is arguably its paciest, most turbulent period in modern history.
Helping the next generation shape their careers around a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous working landscape isn’t just about reciprocity. It also offers the future leader an invaluable insight into the younger generation (and future customer base) – indeed 55% of everywomanNetwork members are inspired to help future proof the careers of Gen Z for the additional knowledge it can provide them.
As you embark on your new role as future proofing mentor, be aware of any filters or biases you might have about different age groups. Actively listen to understand their worldviews and where they might be coming from. And, above all, be prepared to learn as well as guide.
These topics are explored more fully in our companion webinars on Future proofing, and in the everywomanNetwork workbook Future proofing your career, which is available online in interactive form, or via a downloadable PDF.
