One of the vital questions I have been asked multiple times in my career as a HR professional by employees at all levels is -“Who will plan my career ? As we get into life, we tend to believe that our parents determine what we want to do in life. They we depend on teachers to guide us through what we want to do in life.

As we get into the professional world, we again imagine that our managers or leaders ,are responsible for evolving our career. In the beginning of our career, we depend on our seniors and our manager to tell us what is best for us.

Even when I visited a campus, I used to be asked by freshers, as to what their career will look like, in the organisation they were joining. I would ask them in return, if they could tell me as to how long they would stay in the organisation, ..they would respond saying they were not sure. I would then state ,that the day they were sure of their longevity in the organisation they are going to work for, we could discuss about their career.

Life and career are no different. We can always imagine ,that there is someone else in our lives and organisations, who will enable us shape our careers. Imagine an entrepreneur thinking ,that someone else is going to build and grow their company. It is neither the financier nor other investors, who are responsible for the growth and sustainability of their enterprise.

Similarly, an individual’s career is the prime and sole responsibility of the individual employee and nobody else. While everyone else can help us clarify what could be best for us, it is for us to determine ,what we want to do in life and how we do it.

A sportsperson cannot depend on the coach ,to determine how they want to excel in their sports. If they want to be the best in the world, they have to set their own goals and evolve the path to achieve it ,with the help and support of parents, teachers, coaches and friends and not the other way around.

Similarly, in any organisation, if an employee aspires to become the CEO of the organisation, where she is working, she has to set that goal and work on the knowledge, skills and road map ,to realise that goal, in a defined time frame.

I have seen children ,defining their goals in life and achieving them through hard work, determination and purposeful actions. The same is true for employees. I remember ,once an interviewee ,when asked where he would see himself in his career in 5 years ,replied that I would like to replace you as the head of the function.

The day we understand ,that I determine my destiny ,by my own actions, we will achieve whatever we dream in life. We need to steer our own life and career, thinking we are the CEO of our life and everything ,is in our own hands.

It is time to realise that ,only we ,can build our career and life ,the way we want it.

S Ramesh Shankar

30th Sep 2024