Workplace Boost: Being Ready for the 'Pivot' and Mapping Your Career
Career navigation insights from annual leadership conference hosted by BNY Mellon's WIN
During its annual Leadership Conference this month, several hundred attendees joined BNY Mellon’s WIN Pittsburgh chapter and industry experts to explore ways to boost career performance, enhance career image and elevate career exposure. WIN, BNY Mellon’s global resource for the professional development and advancement of women, is employee-led with chapters around the world.
This year's conference featured an invigorating program of presentations, workshops, and networking opportunities, along with keynote addresses by Patricia Waldinger, Chief Executive Officer, American Red Cross Southwestern Pennsylvania Chapter, and Monique R. Herena, Chief Human Resource Officer, BNY Mellon.
“The career path of many employees in today's environment may be changing or disrupted, either voluntarily or involuntarily, leading to a new cycle of career exploration,” said Dawn Fotopulos, Associate Professor of Business, The King's College. “Being ready for the ‘pivot’ is about focusing on adaptive mechanisms to prepare for and cope with a variety of career changes.”
Dawn’s top three tips to pivot include branding yourself, building your intellectual capital and managing career risk.
“Make the most of every experience and become more self-aware via feedback,” said Monique R. Herena, Chief Human Resources Officer, BNY Mellon. “This really allows you to discover the strengths you have that you should exploit and leverage, as well as what development opportunities you need to focus on improving for growth and greater impact.”
Once you have internalized feedback and have become more aware of personal strengths and opportunities based on your personality and how others experience you, you have more clarity to map out career and life plans for yourself. Try picturing a role or two, or a place you would like to target to end up in the future.
In Herena’s case it was a public company Chief Human Resources Officer role. She mapped out what experiences and strengths she could leverage in her career journey, where the gaps were and planned the best ways to fill those gaps through additional experiences. She drew up her plan, visualizing her goals in her mind as well as on paper. Herena has used this model in career conversations with her managers, looking to ensure that every experience in her journey is additive. She also had a lot of sponsors who saw leadership potential, plus a hunger and willingness to grow and contribute as well as the ability to land on her feet in new situations.
“In my experience, you aren’t really growing unless you are out of your comfort zone and stretched,” Herena said. “Make sure you take some risks so you can test your potential and take risks on others to do the same.”
