Planning your Career - Continued

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After you have gained a sense for how people generally arrive in the boardroom, start translating that information into goals you have for yourself. Break your prospective career path down into a series or stack of building blocks, and think about what short-term goals you associate with each block. Dissecting the process of career ascension will force you to create smaller, less overwhelming goals, while keeping your vision in mind. This way, you will always be able to measure your progress. 

As you define your building blocks, you may want to ask yourself:

• Where do I want to be in three years? In six years? In ten years?
• What skills will I eventually need to gain?
• How can I gain those skills? Through an advanced degree? Through a specific job I'll have in the future?
• What experiences do I want to have on my way up? 

Phyllis R. Stein, a Boston-area career coach, says that many of her clients find it helpful to keep journals as they figure out and achieve their short-term and long-term goals. A journal also provides a constant forum and record for revising goals, creating lists of objectives, and reasoning through surprise dilemmas or boons. 

Stein warns that while a larger vision and small goals are vital, it is important that you never feel confined by your pre-made aspirations. Your goals, your time frame, and your path to success might change. You might run into unexpected fortune or unforeseen roadblocks. You should never feel like you're in a box, inextricably tied to the goals you created 10 years ago. The process of progress is a fluid one, a duality of ambition and flexibility.