Introduction
In simple words, leverage means to act in a specific way and get things done effectively. It is a quality that can be utilized to one’s advantage. By using the power of leverage in the context to my education and my careers goals, this essay describes the steps that I need to take in order to produce the necessary favourable career avenues and options. It describes a plan that I must follow in order to move ahead smoothly and effectively. It highlights the three “high leverage points” that I need to address at this point of my educational career, in order to reach my goals of the next 10 years.
What can I do differently so as to move forward?
10 Year Statement: I intend to lead a balanced life by this point of time. I would want to work in a multinational organisation at a managerial position. I would love to pursue management as a career choice, and would love to work for bringing some change in this world. Working for an oil and gas company as an oil and gas consultant would probably be a lucrative option. In order to accomplish this goal of mine, I need to take the following actions by using the power of leverage:
- I should value the importance of having good friends in school and college. I must try to pick up their good qualities and ignore the wrong ones. The most important thing is to learn as much as I can from their perspective, experience, abilities and thoughts. This could be a good leverage point for me.
- I should be well read and must have knowledge of the recent global developments, trends and events. I should expand my knowledge by reading books, articles, and learn more about the current world affairs. By doing this, I would have a new perspective towards things.
- Try and write articles and blogs on topics of my interest. By doing this, I can improve my writing skills and my articles-blogs can be read and reviewed by people all around the world. This can be a good launch pad to the corporate world.
- After I complete my graduation, I should try and opt for a post graduate course that would increase my chances of getting a management job.
- Try focusing on my interpersonal skills and problem solving skills by participating in group discussions, conferences and seminars.
Identifying high leverage points
As discussed earlier, the power of leverage allows us to achieve more in less time, by maximizing our efforts in an effective and timely manner. It is a principle of maximum achievement in a focused and planned manner. If I have to select three “high leverage points” that can be addressed to achieve my 10 year career goal, following would be those points.
- People management skills: It is imperative that I effectively utilize my people management skills to get the maximum benefits of their association. I should focus on building a team that would work together for the benefit of everybody involved in it. By building a team, all team members can gain from the experiences and skills of each other. This would give rise to new learning and competencies. By working in a team, I can get an experience of working in an actual workplace, where there would be different project teams to handle different projects.
Team members can decide to focus on each subject, and try to bring out new perspectives by sharing it with the other team members. In this process, work can be easily divided and delegated. Moreover, new learning and experiences can be shared. The most important thing would be the leverage gained by interacting with different people and increasing our effectiveness in an indirect manner!
- Creative thinking: One of the most important ways of leveraging is by doing introspection at our current situation. I need to step back for a moment and look at my education as it applies to my career aspirations. I need to identify those areas that require time and require improvements. Nobody is perfect; everyone has a weakness. I need to identify my weakness and work on them. The key is to use my creative thinking ability and try to find new ways of doing things. I need to overcome my weaknesses by recognizing the roadblocks and overcoming them by finding their alternative solutions. In this way, I can break any monotonous patterns and come up with better alternatives. Moreover, the creative thinking ability would help me in completing my assignments and projects in a more effective and timely manner.
- Planning skills: One of the biggest aspects of having leverage is to manage and delegate the work (if possible) in a planned manner. It is important for me to start planning my daily activities. Planning our day to day activities is important, as it helps in retaining our focus on key issues and things that need require extra efforts.
Delegation of work is another important aspect of planning. If possible, some of the work can be effectively delegated to the team members. In this way, I can focus on important issues that require personal attention and improvement. Even when I am delegating work, it will be important to have an overall control of the situation and maintain responsibility. By doing this, I could utilize this leverage point and try to achieve my career goals.
Conclusion
The power of leverage is one of the most crucial factors that separate a winner from the losers. It enables us to “See the forest and trees”, i.e. it helps us to see a long term picture of our goals and aspirations. By identifying our career goals, and effectively utilizing the power of leverage along with the “high leverage points”, we can achieve our objectives in an effective and successful manner. There is nothing that can stop us!
