Activity: Step 1 to Define Your Professional Career
Upgrade Me. Productize Self, Navigate Changes, Engineer Triumphs
If you did not read "Over the Rainbow" on the importance and process of creating a vision, you may do so before or after reading and performing the exercise herein. However, I do encourage you to do that exercise. Also, if you have trouble creating your vision, this activity will help you begin to craft one. You need your vision to know where you are going.
I'm an instant star. Justy add water and stir. - David Bowie
Step 1: PERMA-V
Just as a corporation sets fundamental metrics for success, you must define what constitutes a great professional career. This isn't just about job titles or income but encompasses a broader perspective on what makes work meaningful and fulfilling.
Evaluating professional metrics: Consider what professional success means to you. Is it about innovation, making an impact, or achieving work-life harmony? Like an organization deciding between focusing on sales, shareholder value, or societal impact, you need to identify what truly matters in your career.
Beyond Social Norms: Our society often measures professional success in terms of salary, status, or power. However, studies indicate that beyond meeting basic needs, the returns of increased income on happiness diminish. In the professional realm, this translates to understanding that a fulfilling career is about more than just climbing the ladder or increasing earnings.
A Fulfilling Professional Life: The ancient Greeks emphasized hedonic (pleasure) and eudaimonia (virtue and meaning) as dimensions of a great life. In your career, this could mean finding joy in your daily tasks (hedonic) and seeking roles that align with your values and contribute to something larger than yourself (eudaimonia).
Social Connection and Impact: Just as meaningful relationships are crucial for personal happiness, having a supportive professional network and feeling connected to your colleagues can significantly enhance job satisfaction. Moreover, knowing that your work positively impacts others can provide a profound sense of fulfillment.
Have you ever heard of Professor Martin Seligman's PERMA assessment for psychological well-being? If not, here is a quick overview. (View: Professor Seligman on PERMA).
The original PERMA model and the PERMA-V framework were both created by Martin Seligman, a positive psychologist. The PERMA model is designed to help individuals understand and enhance their well-being by focusing on five key elements:
Positive Emotion: Experiencing positive emotions like joy, gratitude, and hope.
Engagement: Being fully absorbed and engaged in activities.
Relationships: Forming meaningful and positive relationships with others.
Meaning: Finding a sense of purpose and meaning in life.
Accomplishment: Pursuing success, mastery, and a sense of achievement.
The PERMA-V framework adds a sixth element:
Vitality: Focusing on physical health, energy, and feeling alive and well.
The PERMA-V framework is used as a tool for understanding and measuring well-being. It helps individuals and organizations identify areas of life that contribute to their happiness and fulfillment. By focusing on and enhancing these elements, people can improve their overall quality of life, increase their happiness, and foster a sense of flourishing. It's often used in positive psychology interventions, coaching, and personal development programs to help people thrive and live more fulfilling lives.
The PERMA-V Framework Adapted: Apply the PERMA-V model to your career development:
Positive Emotions: Seek roles that bring you contentment and pleasure.
Engagement: Look for opportunities where you can experience flow and deep immersion in your work.
Relationships: Cultivate a supportive professional network.
Meaning: Align your career with your larger purpose and values.
Achievement: Set and strive for goals that are personally significant.
Vitality: Ensure your work-life balance supports your physical and mental well-being.
Personal Assessment: Start with each element in PERMA-V (or add your own, like autonomy or creativity) and rate its importance to you on a scale from 0 (not important) to 10 (very important). Reflect on times in your career when you felt most satisfied and identify what contributed to those periods.
Next, rate your current satisfaction with each dimension on the same scale. This assessment will help you understand how you define a great professional life and where you might need to make changes.
In "Upgrade Me," this comprehensive analysis is your starting point, helping you strategize your career like a product manager devises a strategy for market success. It's about aligning your professional path with what truly brings you fulfillment and purpose.
Activity
Rate each on a scale from 1 (low) to 10 (high), and write this down wherever you have stored your vision. This will be your current beginning score for the year.
Positive Emotion _____
Engagement _____
Relationships _____
Meaning ____
Accomplishment _____
Vitality _____
Thank you for taking the time to read and perform the activity. Not so bad, right? This gives us another song for our Upgrade Me 2024 Kincaid's Corner Spotify Playlist: Thank You (Not So Bad) by Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Tiesto, and Dido.
Transform your approach, transcend challenges, and achieve triumphant outcomes. Productize yourself, navigate change, and engineer triumphs!
To close this issue, if you found value, please engage by liking this post, reposting it to your network, or sharing Kincaid's Corner with a colleague. If you feel so inclined, I would love to join you for a discussion over a cup of coffee. Feel free to buy me a cup of coffee, too.