Creating a strategic plan based on personal skills and development is the guiding force in achieving established objectives. The individual program presented in this paper is focused on performing specific steps to reach the five-year goal of attaining a middle managerial position in the current company and short-term interim objectives. To develop this plan, such resources as personal SWOT analysis, environmental scan, and plans’ assessment have been used. Every particular step of the program is intended to be rooted in the primary mission statement of using ethical principles towards the world and society to lead a sustainable and balanced life.
Steps, Scorecard, Timeframe, and Tactics to Achieve Personal Objectives
The author’s final five-year goal is to obtain a middle management position with the respective salary, preferably in the current company – Fidelity. However, the author is open to change the employer, provided there are sufficient incentives and compliance with their mission statement. To achieve this goal, the author plans to tackle such weaknesses as the lack of technical skills and certain soft skills identified during the SWOT analysis. Since most managerial positions require advanced knowledge of MS Office, the author’s first step is to complete the respective course within 2-3 months. An online course will be selected to save time and provide the possibility to access it at any moment. Choosing this type of course will serve as a functional tactic to achieve this goal.
According to the SWOT matrix, one of the author’s strengths is the ability to learn fast. Therefore, another step will be to attend additional communication courses provided by Fidelity to develop and improve soft skills to achieve the short-term goal of being promoted to a lower-level manager within two years. To comply with and support the author’s mission statement, further development of leadership and organizational skills as the core fundamental drivers of sustainable management are crucial (Kitsios et al., 2020). Thus, after reaching the short-term goal, it is essential to continue developing in the professional field. Between the interim objective and the final five-year goal, the author plans to spend three years learning and obtaining the required certifications to become a successful financial specialist. Besides, to improve the managerial and leadership skills, the author intends to attend on-site courses provided by the company and dedicate time to self-education as part of their functional tactics.
One of the steps to reach the established goals is to develop a professional network across the company. Since excellent communication skills are one of the author’s strengths, it would be beneficial to create mentoring relationships with senior management. Such an aspirational mentoring would help the author to decrease the gap between the current job position in customer service and the future managerial position (Montgomery, 2017). The author plans to participate in all the company activities and establish a strong presence in the online community and company forums as specific functional tactics to achieve short-term goals (Pearce & Robinson, 2013). Therefore, attending technical courses, leadership training, and establishing mentoring relationships within the company are the main steps in achieving the strategic plan’s long-term objectives. The author will track the progress using a personal scorecard linked to the calendar of events and courses. The scorecard will contain short-term and long-term goals, personal performance measures and improvement activities. Therefore, they will be able to not only track interim progress, but also to give feedback and plan improvement actions.
Resources to Complete the Plan and Monetary Ramifications
Part of the strategic plan is the correct allocation of means – financial, human, and others. Each step of this plan requires the use of specific resources or their combination. Financial planning is necessary to complete the first strategic action – signing up for an advanced MS Office course. A personal savings account will be used to pay for the course since the author views no negative monetary ramifications in this action. The advanced technical knowledge received upon the course completion will be of great use, irrespective of the future career, whether within the present company or if a different professional area.
Since other courses are provided on-site and do not require payment, the primary resource the author needs to allocate is personal time. For this purpose, an electronic calendar will be created to be accessible online to have a detailed schedule of everyday activities. This step is necessary to stay up-to-date with daily tasks and to balance studies, work, and additional training accordingly.
Since the author’s mission statement is to be a sustainable individual living in harmony and balance professionally and personally, it is essential to allocate human resources correctly. Even though professional development and success are the primary goals, it is vital to dedicate sufficient time to communicate with friends and family to avoid professional burnout.
Monitoring Progress, Handling Obstacles and How the Plan Reflects Mission Statement
Since the overall plans are considered within a five-year timeframe, the author does not set weekly or daily objectives, but rather monthly reviews of progress. Such revisions will be done based on the electronic schedule to track the attendance of the current courses. The technical course planned has a specific completion term of 2-3 months; therefore, the assessment of achieving this goal will be done at the respective deadline. The major potential obstacles the author expects to encounter are difficulties in balancing studies, work, and additional education. Therefore, special attention will be paid to set up an adequate schedule to allow for sufficient rest and family time between the professional activities. The strategic plan is set for five years to allow for potential setbacks and the possibility to adjust the program, if necessary.
The overall strategic plan presented in this paper is based on the author’s core statement of sustainability and balance. Ethical principles of mutual respect, social responsibility, and maintaining healthy business and personal relationships are rooted in each step. The author is inclined to achieve the objectives set in this plan within five years by aligning individual sustainability beliefs with career growth principles.
References
Kitsios, F., Kamariotou, M., & Talias, M. A. (2020). Corporate sustainability strategies and decision support methods: A bibliometric analysis. Sustainability, 12(2), 1–21. Web.
Montgomery, B. L. (2017). Mapping a mentoring roadmap and developing a supportive network for strategic career advancement. SAGE Open, 7(2), 1–13. Web.
Pearce, J. A., & Robinson, R. B. (2013). Strategic management (13th ed.). McGraw-Hill.