Mine, define and refine your skillset

Figuring out what you want entails figuring out who you are

The maxim says, “Find something you love to do and you’ll never work a day in your life.” It’s simple advice that highlights the value of understanding what really makes you tick on a personal level. There’s just one problem, according to soft skills expert Benoit Chalifoux: “Most people don’t have a clue about what really motivates them.”

A good place to start is by thinking about the two types of motivation. Extrinsic motivation comes from external factors such as salary or achieving a promotion, while intrinsic motivation comes from within—the sense of fulfillment at having achieved something meaningful to ourselves.  In career terms, it’s all too easy to let the former take the lead, but long-term satisfaction comes from addressing the latter. It’s what causes already-successful professionals to rethink their careers, and it’s why taking the time to understand what drives you, individually, is such a worthwhile investment.

Of course, motivation is only one piece of the puzzle. While reflecting on what drives you, it’s also crucial to think about the skills you’ve already acquired, whether through study, work or elsewhere.

In an interview with Forbes, Lauren McGoodwin, Founder & CEO of Career Contessa, advises asking yourself a series of questions: “What skills or strengths do you have? Are you the ‘go-to’ person on something specific on your team? Where have you been successful at work? What tasks, projects, and people give you the most energy and which ones drain you the most?” This process can also help to shed light on your true drivers, once extrinsic motivators are stripped away.

No self-audit would be complete, however, without considering the other side of the equation: the gaps in your skillset. The temptation exists to ignore them and focus on what you’re good at—and that may be the right path for some. But it’s important to consider what brought on your self-reflection in the first place. A milestone birthday, relationship changes, or professional dissatisfaction might’ve been the prompt that brought the itch to your attention—but the question becomes how to scratch it.

The first part is to recognize that, whatever stage of your career you’re at, and whatever your circumstances, you have a choice in how you move forward. There is always scope to sharpen existing skills, apply them to new challenges, or even acquire new ones, and your self-analysis may have revealed skills you’ve picked up without realizing.

The second part is determining how to reach your next destination—how to become the next best you. This can involve big decisions about whether to re-skill, upskill, or even change direction completely, and it’s at this stage that the perspective of a trusted adviser can be invaluable—an expert who can help shape your aspirations, tailor your skills, and guide you to where you want to go.

At the heart of this process is an understanding that skills empower you with choices—whether that be to find greater fulfillment in your work, to progress on your career path, or to change that path altogether. Knowing where you want to get to is half the battle; equipping yourself with the tools to get there—and beyond—is the rest.