Re-energizing your legal career

We can all benefit from making a conscious decision to re-energise or reinvigorate our work life.

One way of doing this may be to think about the idea of ‘managing yourself’. Sometimes we can be so preoccupied with how best to manage and work with other people that we don’t think about how we can best manage ourselves. Peter Drucker writes about this very thing. Drucker speaks about how we too can build a life of excellence by being our own chief executive officer. Meaning that in the same way a CEO would evaluate the commercial operations of a company, we can all benefit from taking a step back and looking at our own personal ‘commercial operations’.a

To try this for yourself, here are some simple questions to help guide you:

1. What are my strengths? We need to know our strengths in order to know where we truly belong.
2. How do I work? Think about the ways in which you work best. Is it by processing written information, or by talking it over with a colleague? Are you more productive working alone, or in a team environment? Are you in top form when things get stressful, or do you operate better in a highly structured environment?
3. What are my values? What are your ethics? What do you see as important responsibilities for yourself and others?
4. Where do I belong? What kind of work environment suits your strengths, work style and beliefs best?
5. What can I contribute? How can you contribute best to your workplace by utilising your strengths and values?

One other way that can provide answers to these kinds of questions is by taking the time to do your very own strengths and values test. There are a number of different ones available for free online including the RedBull Wingfinder which was developed by RedBull in collaboration with the University College London and Columbia University in New York. Another great one to look into is ViaCharacter for strengths assessment and Values Ink App which is an excellent tool to identify your top 5 values.

There is some fairly strong evidence available that suggests that when you operate from a combination of your own strengths and self-management, you can begin to achieve true engagement and productivity in your work. Surely this is the key to creating a law life that is not just enjoyable but truly meaningful.

http://hbr.org/2005/01/managing-oneself/ar/1 - Peter Drucker article

For more advice on career planning, you can reach us at info@alexcorreaexecutive.com.au.