Episode Transcript
Ever since you’ve been working as an engineer, things have happened very quickly in your career.
There’s been so much to learn about your job. So much to get used to in the work environment. So many people to meet and collaborate with.
You feel engaged and challenged. You’re busy. And time goes by quickly.
But now and then you wonder where this is all taking you.
You wonder if you’re headed in the direction that’ll allow you to be the engineer and leader you want to be.
It’s great to be busy and useful, but just who is in charge here?
Are you leading your career or is your career leading you?
The Role of Energy, Vision and Alignment in Your Engineering Career
I encourage you to own your career. To be in charge and not let others call all the shots. And not leave it to chance.
Now, there are people who do this. People who let others take the lead or otherwise leave things to fate or luck.
And their careers turn out just fine.
But if there’s a way you want to make an impact – if you want to make a certain contribution in this world – then you need to own that.
You need to take charge and lead your career in that direction.
The universe needs to get the idea about your aspirations and intentions.
They’re much more likely to come to fruition if you put a clear and consistent message out there and continue to reinforce it.
And the way you do that is actually pretty simple. It involves energy, vision and alignment.
Define your energy. Create your vision. And align the two.
Define Your Energetic Center to Know Your Engineering Self Better
Energy means knowing yourself. I call it defining your energetic center.
There are 4 elements of your energetic center: values, skills, strengths and passion.
Values are what you live by.
Skills are what you know how to do.
Strengths are what you excel at.
Passion is what drives you.
As we talked about in Episode 22, once you determine what these 4 elements mean for you and put them all together, you have a very powerful description of who you are.
You can then use your energetic center as a guide for your engineering career.
Tips for Creating Your Engineering Career Vision
You’ve heard me many times encourage you to have a career vision.
If you have a vision you’re more likely to go farther faster in your career. You’ll reach your goals sooner.
You’ll be more likely to have the impact you want to have. To make the contribution you want to make. To fulfill your aspirations.
And to do all of this in the way you want to do it.
It’s not always easy to create a vision. I get that.
Some people have no question about what their vision is. But most of us flounder for a while before it becomes clear. That’s what it was like for me.
But keep working at it and your career vision will emerge. Keep refining it and it will become distinct and strong.
Here are 6 quick tips on creating your engineering career vision:
- Base it on your energetic center.
- Always be paying attention to your likes and dislikes: what you like to do, who you like to work with, what environment you like to work in, etc.
- Find people who do work you admire and learn from them.
- Write down your aspirations.
- Notice what gives you a purpose and mission.
- Consider, not just what you want to do to reach your goals, but how you want to feel when you get there.
Eventually you’ll have the start for your vision that you can continuously revise and improve.
Align Your Career Vision with Your Energy
On their own, your energetic center and your career vision are less effective than if the two are aligned.
Think about that and what it means. If your vision and your work are in sync with your energetic center, think how much more satisfying your career will be.
When your vision is aligned with your energy, all sorts of positive things start to happen.
You spend more time doing what you love. You’re in flow mode more often.
People see more of your authenticity and want to work with or for you.
You’re more engaged and motivated. And project outcomes are optimized.
This kind of alignment is the goal. Alignment is what is most important.
Now let’s circle back to where you are in your job and your engineering career right now. Ask yourself these questions:
- Is your work aligned with your energy?
- Is your career aligned with your energy?
- Where are there gaps in this alignment?
- What can you do to fill those gaps?
This is a whole new way to look at your engineering career.
It’s a different perspective for you to assess where you are and where you want to be.
If you’d like to explore this more, sign up for a strategy session with me.
I’d love to walk you through this kind of assessment and help you improve your alignment for a more fulfilling engineering experience.
Define your energy. Create your vision. And align the two.
Discover how enriching this can be for your engineering career. You can see the prospects. You can feel the upliftment and inner peace.
Next time on Her Engineering Career Podcast we’ll explore some realities about leadership that will open doors for you.
Be sure to join me for Episode 140.
