You Are the CEO of Your Success
Be the Executive of Your Educational Plan
A Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is the highest-ranking position in a company. The CEO’s role is to make major decisions, manage operations, and plan for the future. The CEO has a great deal of responsibility for the company but is not the only person running it. CEOs see the big picture, and they are adept at identifying resources that serve the organization’s best interests.
Think of your life - and specifically, your education and career - as a company of which you are the CEO. As the head of You, Inc., you are responsible for making decisions, managing your time and workload, and planning your future. Since you’ve built this company from the ground up, you’re intimately familiar with its strengths, weaknesses, goals, and needs. Your job as CEO is to identify the resources that will serve your best interests and make your company successful.
If you see yourself as a worker in You, Inc., you may be focusing on just the step in front of you. You feel responsible for every detail, and the pressure is on you to figure out everything on your own. Once you promote yourself to an executive role and check out the panoramic view, you’ll see that you have abundant resources to support your success.
Be the Head of the Team, Not the Whole Team
Now that you’ve zoomed out to see the big picture of You, Inc., take stock of your goals and resources. You have a plan and an outline of what’s needed to get there. Begin connecting resources to the outline and consider how to maximize these tools in pursuit of your goals.
Remember all the attributes that led you to your current university and reflect on how effectively you’ve put them to use so far. Since you arrived at school, additional resources have been made available, but are you accessing them?
Successful students know what help they need and how to obtain it. Every CEO’s assets will be different, but they include:
Tutors
Writing Center
Career Resource Center
Academic Advisor
Peer Study Groups
Alumni Mentorship
Fraternity/Sorority Network
Professor Office Hours
Internship or Work Study Program
No one in a company is rooting for the CEO to fail. Everyone on the team knows that the company’s success will be largely dependent on that chief executive. The people on your team are similar. While they help you achieve success, you are the ultimate driver of your company.
Manage Resources for YouR Success
Reaching your goals is not a solo pursuit. Of course, you’re putting in the effort and doing the hard work that will result in achieving your career plan, but you aren’t required to do that work on an island. As the executive, your first job is to keep the big picture in sight. Manage your resources to help you efficiently take each next best step towards your ultimate goal, and you will realize long-lasting success with You, Inc.
Smart CEOs know when it’s time to bring in outside help for strategy. If you are charting your higher education plan and need some assistance discovering the resources that will help you achieve your career goals, contact Hollenback Consulting. As a career coach for emerging young professionals, we are your partner on the journey to realize your potential.