Make Your Goals Known!

Happy Monday, Sisters! 

This week, we’re talking about your career path. Here’s the big picture:

In my opinion, it’s 100% acceptable (and encouraged) to let your boss know what you’d like your next step to be. Tell your boss’ boss too! Hopefully you’re having skip-level meetings at least once per year, and you should let them know your goals as well.

People can’t help you get where you want to be if they don’t know what you want. 

It’s important to be transparent early about where you want to be next, and not wait until you’re desperate to make that transition. It can take time for a position to open up in your desired area, and it might not be well-received if you say “I’m ready to move NOW. Make it happen.”

Hopefully your boss is asking where you see yourself and/or what your goals are at least a couple times per year. Then, it’s pretty easy to say: “my eventual goal would be to move into Marketing once I’ve mastered this Sales role. I’m passionate about [something about your desired role], and think I could bring value to the company in [this new area] using the experience I’m gaining in my current role.”

If you’re looking to grow into a management position, this would be great to phrase as: “I’m enjoying my role very much, and feel like I’m gaining tons of valuable experience. My eventual goal is to grow into a leadership position, as I enjoy pouring into and supporting others. I’d love your guidance on what steps I should be taking now to set myself up for that opportunity in the future.” Again, we’re not demanding a promotion now, but letting them know that you’re willing to put in the work to earn it. Some people don’t want to be in management, so it’s fair to let it be known that you do.

Separately, corporate companies seem to LOVE a restructure. Not even talking about layoffs here, they just love to move people around to different teams and roles “based on the needs of the company.” And often, these decisions are made behind the scenes at the leadership level without consulting the affected employees. Which I HATE, but maybe we’ll dig deeper into that later. But, If you’ve previously been vocal about where you want to be next, maybe one of those restructures could be beneficial to you. 

The part that makes everyone nervous about this is wondering how your boss will react. If you’re looking to change teams, you’re essentially saying that you don’t want to be on your boss’ team forever. Statistically, some bosses won’t take that well. Just make sure you’re focused on the “I want to expand my areas of experience,” or “I’ve found that I’m passionate about [whatever it is]” reasons for having that specific goal.

Use your best judgement, and make sure you’re bringing this up at an appropriate time. If you your boss doesn’t take it well, they probably shouldn’t be your boss (also a conversation for another time).

To sum it up, RESPECTFULLY making your goals known is a great way to reach them. I said it up at the top, and I’ll say it again: People can’t help you if they don’t know what you want.

Until next week, ladies! Remember, you can either kick this week’s ass, or let it kick yours.