How to Create a 5-Year Strategic Plan for Your Career

I recently had the opportunity to facilitate a workshop with a leadership team that left everyone in the room feeling inspired, optimistic and eager. 

In the most impactful exercise, I invited them to consider limitless possibilities. The prompt was simple: “Fast-forward five years and your organization is thriving. What’s happening?”

No budgets. No barriers. No B.S. Only big dreams and bold thinking. 

The answers were hopeful, creative, and deeply rooted in their organization’s purpose — which got me thinking. How would these people answer this question about themselves? 

Communications professionals spend so much time planning the next week, the next quarter, the next fire drill, but rarely the next version of ourselves.

As a longtime PR professional-turned-executive coach whose clients come from Amazon, Nvidia, Microsoft and global agencies, I know firsthand how hard it is for senior communications leaders to take a lunch break — let alone an intentional look at their future.

If this sounds relatable, then I invite you to consider the same prompt: It’s 2031 and your career is thriving. What’s unfolding in your world?