Career Planning: Your Flight Plan for Success

by | Mar 12, 2025 | Building Relationships, Career Coaching, Networking

Most of us don’t just stumble into the perfect career—we have to plan for it. My brother? He’s a tech genius. No flight plan needed. He just built things, solved problems, and the opportunities came flying at him.

For the rest of us? A little strategy goes a long way. Passion can be the wind that gets us off the ground, but we need a solid flight plan to keep our careers soaring.  Whether you are launching into a new career, changing jobs, or climbing the corporate ladder, a well-structured career plan is essential. Here’s how to create one:

🛫 Pre-Flight Check: Know Where You’re Headed

Before you take off, check your altitude goal—where do you want to go?

  • What do you love doing? What are your strengths?
  • Where do you see yourself in 5-10 years?
  • Are you flying solo, or do you want a team around you?

🚀 Build Your Flight Crew: Trusted Relationships

No one flies alone. Build relationships inside and outside of your job:

  • Work friendships that go beyond small talk.
  • Industry groups like women’s leadership forums or Toastmasters.
  • Lunch & Learns—informal skill-building groups can spark lifelong friendships.
  • Career fairs & networking events—even if you’re happy in your job, you never know where a casual conversation will lead.

These connections are like strong tailwinds—they can change the course of your career in ways you never expected.

🎯 Set Your Flight Path: SMART Goals

Goals keep you moving forward. Use the SMART method:

  • Specific: “I want to become a people manager in two years.”
  • Measurable: “I’ll lead at least two projects that showcase leadership.”
  • Achievable: “I’ll take a leadership training course and shadow a mentor.”
  • Relevant: “This aligns with my passion for mentoring others.”
  • Time-bound: “I’ll achieve this by the end of next year.”

🛫 Adjust for Wind Conditions: Headwinds & Tailwinds

Every career has headwinds (challenges) and tailwinds (opportunities).

  • Tailwinds: Supportive mentors, growing industries, strong relationships.
  • Headwinds: Office politics, skill gaps, industry shifts.

Figure out what’s pushing you forward—and what’s holding you back—so you can adjust your approach.

🛫 Navigating Turbulence – Managing Challenges

Even the best-planned flights encounter turbulence. Being prepared for challenges ensures resilience and steady progress.

  • Anticipate Change
    • Economic shifts, technological advancements, and organizational restructuring can impact career paths.
    • Stay adaptable and continuously update your skills to remain competitive.
  • Handle Setbacks Gracefully
    • View career setbacks as learning opportunities rather than failures.
    • Seek support from mentors, peers, and professional development resources.

🛫 Sustaining Flight – Maintaining Long-Term Success

A well-managed kite flight is about sustaining altitude while adjusting to shifting conditions. Career success follows the same principle—long-term growth requires ongoing effort and alignment with personal values.

  • Reassess and Realign Periodically
    • Regularly reflect on your career progress and adjust your goals as needed.
    • Keep refining your flight plan based on evolving interests and market dynamics.
  • Give Back and Mentor Others
    • Share your knowledge and experiences to help others rise.
    • Cultivate a leadership mindset that inspires and uplifts your team.

🛬 Landing with Purpose: Long-Term Success

At some point, you’ll want to look back and ask: Did I fly in the right direction?

  • Did I build something meaningful?
  • Did I help others along the way?
  • Am I proud of where I landed?

Your career, like a well flown kite, can soar to great heights with the right planning, adjustments, and perseverance. Whether you are launching, pivoting, or climbing higher within your organization, a well-thought-out flight plan will help you navigate with confidence. Stay grounded in your values, embrace the winds of change, and enjoy the journey to professional success!

The Kite and the Crosswinds: When Career Change is Thrust Upon You

by | Mar 2, 2025 | Uncategorized

Not all career changes are intentional. Sometimes, the winds shift suddenly, and you have no choice but to adjust—or crash.

That’s exactly what happened to me when my biggest biotech client, ICOS, was acquired by Eli Lilly. Overnight, my entire team and I lost a lucrative contract. The pressure was immense—not just for my own career, but for the people whose careers were, in many ways, tethered to mine.

The only project I could land to keep NWRPros from closing its doors was in healthcare—a field I had never worked in. Neither had my team. But when you’re up against strong winds, you don’t stand still. You move with them.

What followed was a four-year engagement with Group Health Cooperative (acquired by Kaiser), where we built and implemented an outsourced recruiting solution from scratch. We recruited physicians, nurses, healthcare IT leaders, and critical hospital staff—all while navigating an industry we were just beginning to understand. It was a trial by fire, but we not only survived—we thrived. That project became a defining success, proving that with the right mindset and adaptability, you can master new terrain.

💨 Navigating Career Crosswinds

Career shifts—especially the ones you don’t plan for—can feel like chaos. But just like a kite in shifting winds, you can regain control by making the right adjustments:

🎯 Assess the Wind Conditions – When a major shift happens, don’t panic. Step back and analyze where the opportunities are. Healthcare wasn’t on my radar, but it turned out to be a door that opened at exactly the right time.

🪁 Adjust Your Flight Path – You may not land exactly where you expected, but you can still soar. Our team leaned into our expertise in talent acquisition and adapted it for healthcare, proving that skills are often more transferable than you think.

💨 Lean Into the Gusts – Unfamiliar industries, new challenges, and unexpected setbacks can feel overwhelming. But the very things that seem like obstacles are often the winds that lift you higher—if you embrace them.

🙌 Trust the Tension – The right amount of challenge keeps you strong. If I had stayed in my comfort zone, NWRPros might not exist today. Instead, we learned, evolved, and delivered results that even seasoned healthcare recruiters would be proud of.

A strong kite isn’t afraid of the wind. It uses it.

If you find yourself caught in an unexpected career shift, take a deep breath, adjust your strategy, and trust that you have what it takes to soar. You never know—what seems like a detour might just be your biggest success story yet.

What career shift have you faced that ended up shaping your path for the better? I invite your comments. 🚀🪁✨