5 ways to create your own luck
Do you consider that you’ve been lucky in your career?
You know – the sort of luck where great opportunities come your way at just the right moment? Or you’ve been in the right place and landed your dream job out of the blue? Or you’ve received support from a great mentor who has opened doors that would not have been otherwise been open to you?
I’ve heard many women claim that their career success has been due to luck. But is this luck at play or is it something else?
I don’t believe anything happens through pure luck. A great life or a fulfilling career is not as simple as falling over a four–leaf clover.
It takes more than that.
Lucky doesn’t just happen by accident – but it can be engineered.
It’s all about building a strong foundation. It’s about building your reputation, positioning for what you want and being willing to say yes when the right opportunity comes knocking on your door.
It’s about being in the game, showing up and doing the work.
And it’s about making sure those that matter know who you are, what you do and how well you do it.
If you are in the market for a promotion, pay rise or a new position next year, let’s start right now to increase your chance of “luck” playing a role in breaking through to the next level of leadership, impact or recognition.
It has been said that luck appears at the intersection of hard work and opportunity.
Here are 5 insider secrets to create more luck and get more opportunities coming your way.
1. Create clarity.
For luck to play a part you have to know what you want.
You will not see the opportunities in front of you if you don’t know that’s what you want.
Likewise, your network can’t support your progression and clear the pathway for you while you remain confused and without direction.
2. Do great work.
This may be obvious but it still needs to be said. You have to do great work for the opportunities to come your way. You will not get offered a promotion or to lead an exciting project if you’re not doing great work.
3. Focus on what matters.
We only have so much time in each day, so focusing your time and energy on work that matters both to you and the organisation you work for is key.
If progressing your career is high on your agenda, map out time in your schedule each week to work on those things that will get you one step closer to this.
4. Raise your visibility.
Great opportunities will not come your way if you remain unknown and invisible! A key to luck is creating a strong professional reputation with people with influence – both internally and externally.
Seek out opportunities to participate in high profile projects that will allow you to demonstrate your skills. Speak up in meetings, focusing on allowing others to see the key skills you want to be known for.
And remember – relationships are everything. People who experience a lot of luck tend to be people who have developed genuine relationships. Make sure you are one of those people.
5. Be open to opportunity.
I believe that opportunities are always around you… we just need to be open and on the lookout for them. Once you decide what you want and start taking action towards that goal, the universe seems to conspire in your favour, to present you with the right opportunities. But the opportunities will only appear once you have clarity and start taking action.
Relying on luck alone is NOT a smart career building move, but by following these steps you can engineer more luck to come your way.
So… what action will you commit to today to open up your opportunities and allow lady luck to play a role in your career progression?
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