Reference 1
Garcia, E. V. (2016). Strategic planning: a tool for personal and career growth. Heart Asia,
8(1), 36–39. [Link]
Intext Citation: (Garcia, 2016)
Strategic Planning for Personal and Career Growth
Motivation for Achieving Greatness
The fundamental premise establishes that individuals should pursue continuous growth until
achieving greatness—a recognition of eminence facilitating fulfillment of personal and career
vision (p. 36). The document emphasizes a crucial distinction: being great does not equate to
achieving greatness. All humans are high-level biological organisms that have survived
through generations of evolution, possessing instincts that kept ancestors alive. However,
achieving greatness requires considerable, continuous personal and career growth beyond this
inherent biological excellence (p. 36).
Fixed versus Growth Mindset
Carol Dweck's research provides the theoretical foundation for understanding mindsets. A
fixed mindset represents the belief that basic qualities cannot be changed, forcing individuals
to continuously prove themselves and their beliefs (p. 36). Conversely, a growth mindset
emerges from believing that basic qualities can be cultivated through effort. The hand dealt is
merely the starting point for development. While individuals differ in initial talents, aptitudes,
interests, or temperaments, they can change and grow in extraordinary ways through
application and experience (p. 36).
The transformation from fixed to growth mindset is illustrated through brain
compartmentalization. Fixed mindset individuals separate activities into things they do or will
learn versus things they do not do or will not learn. Growth mindset individuals constantly
evaluate whether to do or learn something new and whether to stop doing something to move
forward (p. 36-37).
Get Out of Your Way
The individual who most frequently and severely criticizes actions is oneself—the same
individual who obstructs growth and questions worthiness toward achieving greatness.
Learning to remove self-imposed barriers allows growth at every life stage (p. 36).
Do Not Make Excuses
Making excuses proves easier than investing the extraordinary effort required to accomplish
goals. Common excuses include inadequate intelligence, strength, height, or wealth. While
these attributes help, they are not essential traits for achieving successful goals (p. 36).
Grace Hopper, nicknamed "Amazing Grace," exemplifies overcoming excuses. Born in 1906,
she became the first woman admiral in the US Navy and among the first American computer
scientists, inventing the first compiler for computer programming languages and popularizing
machine-independent language leading to COBOL development. Despite her small stature
and gender in male-dominated professions, she inspired others with two favorite quotes: "A
destroyer is safe in the harbor but destroyers were not built to stay in the harbor," and "If it is
a good idea go ahead and do it even if you don't have the time to ask for permission. It is
often much easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission" (p. 36-37).
An anonymous aerospace engineer overcame blindness from birth to master his difficult
career. In his 40s, promoted to division director, he faced a near-collapsing division due to
poor performance. He turned it around in three years, receiving a prestigious industry award.
When asked if he expected to turn the division around 180 degrees, he stated: "I knew that
the status of the division was such that it was impossible for me to turn it around 180°, but I
had the confidence that I could turn it one degree in the right direction 180 times" (p. 37).
Invest in Your Career/Life
Individuals bear accountability for their own growth and success. Investing time and money
in career and personal growth should be a first priority in investment portfolios (p. 37). Six
investment strategies include:
Get a degree: Advanced degrees such as MD or PhD prove essential in academic leadership
positions. Professionals often pursue business degrees to handle financial aspects of large
clinical or research endeavors (p. 37).
Become certified: Certification implies expertise in specialized fields, enhancing career
focus (p. 37).
Learn cross-cultural communication skills: Beyond working outside native countries
without speaking native languages, this means learning the language of those with whom one
must interact to make progress. For example, a scientist researching a disease should speak
the physicians' language in that field (p. 37).
Build your brand—online: This implies building and maintaining a well-known, well-
recognized brand. The brand might establish you as your city's expert in a specific field like
resynchronization therapy, with online presence in social and scientific networks confirming
it. This also infers no derogatory information exists about you or your expertise (p. 37).
Find mentors: Seek advice from field experts who have undergone the journey you are
starting. Prospective leaders often employ multiple mentors—the mosaic approach—seeking
specific advice from experts with specific knowledge about particular career and personal life
decisions. The best mentors provide honest advice throughout your entire career (p. 37).
Add Value to Your Career/Life
While the previous section emphasizes career investments, this section addresses what one
receives from the process and at what cost. Following healthcare field changes from volume-
based to value-based systems, Porter defines value in healthcare as the ratio of outcomes
divided by costs for reaching that outcome (p. 38). When considering value received from
career growth efforts, consider what outcomes resulted from actions and what it cost
personally to make it happen. All personal outcomes, whether positive or negative, come at
considerable cost (p. 38).
The synergy between personal and professional life is incontrovertible, providing strong
reason to maintain balance between the two (p. 38).
Planning Leads to Continued Growth
The five main personality traits defined by psychologists include: openness,
conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism (p. 38). Psychologists report
that the main trait associated with success is conscientiousness. High conscientiousness
scores indicate preference for planned rather than spontaneous behavior (p. 38).
Planning represents the main trait associated with success. Persons and organizations that
plan succeed. Zig Ziglar expressed: "You were born to win, but to be a winner, you must plan
to win, prepare to win, and expect to win." This mantra is repeated by CEOs of successful
organizations and venture capitalists funding successful entrepreneurs: "Have a plan, stick to
the plan" (p. 38).
Strategic Plan Components
Mission Statement: A general statement of main goals in expected outcomes form,
representing the journey's starting point. It can be simple—promotion to highest level
(professor)—or introspective—having a successful academic career. This requires
differentiating rewards (promotion) from outcomes (successful career) and explicitly defining
success, as expectation is everything for all stakeholders. Short-term goals should align with
long-term goals, necessitating both short-term and long-term strategic plans (p. 38).
Vision: While mission concerns what you plan to achieve, vision addresses how and why you
will achieve goals in general or basic principles terms. Vision is not about predicting the
future but having conviction of what the future should be and how you will help make it
happen. Napoleon Hill's statement best explains vision: a trait common in all world's great
minds—a refusal to compromise a circumstance. Vision generates the passion needed to have
the perseverance required to accomplish your mission (p. 38-39).
SWOT Analysis: This evaluates strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats specific to
the plan. Each component affects plan goals. Set goals that: capitalize on strengths, remove or
mitigate weaknesses, blunt threats, and seize opportunities. This SWOT analysis, combined
with the plan's mission and vision, generates initiatives or action items needed to reach your
destination (p. 39).
Timeline: Having a plan is only as good as whether it is followed timely. A timeline or plan
milestones allows tracking progress toward achieving goals and synchronizing the order
when various goals need completion. Following the planned timeline requires understanding
the need for continuous course correction, like encountering roadblocks when using GPS to
reach destinations. These roadblocks have led to the often-quoted line: "Life is what happens
when you are busy making other plans……...recalculating" (p. 39).
Cost: Every mission, whether success or failure, comes at a cost. Understanding your risk
tolerance is necessary. The planning process requires understanding, accepting, and
convincing stakeholders to see your vision, invest in your mission, and minimize financial
and personal costs to reach your destination (p. 39).
Reference 2
Zacher, H., Rudolph, C., Todorovic, T., & Ammann, D. (2018). Academic Career
Development: A review and research agenda. Journal of Vocational Behavior.
[Link]
Intext Citation: (Zacher et al., 2018)
Academic Career Development: A Comprehensive Review
Definition and Scope
Academic career development encompasses the process by which scholars working in
research, teaching, and administrative roles within higher education contexts manage various
tasks, behaviors, and experiences across jobs and organizations over time, with implications
for their work-related identity (p. 1). This concept applies specifically to scholarly-trained
individuals including doctoral students, postdoctoral researchers, lecturers, and professors at
various ranks and employment arrangements, but excludes other employees like
administrative assistants or technicians working in academic settings (p. 2).
Theoretical Framework
The review employs two complementary "grand theories" as organizing frameworks: social
cognitive career theory and life-span, life-space theory (p. 2). Social cognitive career theory
emphasizes individual agency and the triadic-reciprocal model proposing bidirectional
influences between individual characteristics, contextual characteristics, and overt behaviors
(p. 3). Life-span, life-space theory focuses on different life and career stages—growth,
exploration, establishment, maintenance, and decline—along with work and nonwork roles
people occupy across their lifespan (pp. 3-4).
Individual Characteristics and Personal Resources
Gender Differences and Women's Experiences
A substantial portion of research concentrates on female academics' career paths and
experiences. Fritsch identified three distinct career development patterns for female
academics: individualistic output-driven, political-sustainable, and adaptive-flexible patterns
(p. 5). Women face significant disadvantages compared to men, including less likelihood of
gaining employment benefits from fixed-term contracts and experiencing more active
discrimination (p. 5).
Female professors at medical schools described gender-based discrimination such as being
ignored as significant career challenges, coping through downplaying, keeping distance, and
using humor (p. 5). Terosky, O'Meara, and Campbell found that women's sense of agency in
advancing from associate to full professor was constrained by workload, interactions with
colleagues, and fit between personal values and institutional promotion criteria, while
perceived abilities, self-selected professional networks, and institutional support promoted
agency (p. 5).
Career development programs addressing gender-based obstacles showed significant impact.
Fried et al. found that interventions increased the proportion of women retained and promoted
significantly, with over half of women reporting improvements in promotion timeliness,
reduced gender bias manifestations, and salary equity (p. 5). Chang et al. demonstrated that
female participants in career development programs were significantly less likely to leave
academic medicine after 10 years (p. 5).
Research on gender differences in objective career success yields mixed findings. Kim found
no evidence of less favorable outcomes for women regarding salaries and career
development, while Danell and Hjerm concluded women and men in Sweden have equal
probability of obtaining postdoctoral fellowships and becoming professors, though women
without postdoctoral fellowships had smaller chances due to disadvantages in informal
networking (pp. 5-6).
Other Individual Characteristics
Research addressing diversity beyond gender remains limited. Flores et al. described
initiatives supporting grant applicants from underrepresented minority groups, disabled
individuals, or those from disadvantaged backgrounds (p. 6). Regarding personal resources,
Lieff offered a conceptual framework on faculty members' search for meaning and
professional fulfillment, while Ismail, Ali, and Arokiasamy demonstrated that personality
traits like conscientiousness and extraversion positively predicted self-rated career
advancement above organizational and family support effects (p. 6).
Contextual Influences
Mentoring
Mentoring receives extensive attention, particularly combined with gender or career stage
topics (p. 6). Sood, Tigges, and Helitzer proposed a two-pronged framework including
individual mentoring competencies and institutional climate for mentoring, suggesting that
climate improvement activities should complement individual mentor training (p. 6). Manson
argued that institutions are equally important to early-stage investigators' research career
advancement as investigators' sense of agency (p. 6).
Evaluation studies of mentoring programs show positive outcomes. Serwint et al. reported
positive evaluations of "speed mentoring" events by both mentors and protégés (p. 7).
Fleming et al. found increases in ability to define career goals and career-relevant knowledge
following a two-year mentoring program, while Phitayakorn, Petrusa, and Hodin observed
improved career planning and higher professional society involvement from a one-year
program, though without effects on productivity and work-life balance (p. 7).
Iversen, Eady, and Wessely identified factors influencing mentoring program success:
protégés' younger age, frequency and duration of meetings, and interaction quality positively
affected academic career success. Notably, 93% of mentors agreed mentoring was
worthwhile, familiarizing them with their field's "bigger picture" and motivating them to
consider their own career development (p. 7).
Studies on non-program mentoring experiences found positive relationships between having
informal mentors and objective career success indicators including publications and research
awards for female surgeon academics (p. 7). Kirchmeyer discovered that internal mentors
positively predicted career rank while external mentors influenced publication numbers, and
Curtin, Malley, and Stewart showed instrumental and psychosocial mentoring positively
predicted protégés' self-efficacy and interest in pursuing academic careers (p. 7).
Additional Career Development Programs
Various programs target different academic skill development areas. Rust et al. presented
results from a medical school faculty development program training participants in teaching,
scientific writing, research, and minority career issues, finding self-reported competencies
rose from 2.7 to 4.1 out of 5, with underrepresented minorities in faculty increasing from 33
to 81 over ten years (p. 7). O'Brodovich et al. evaluated a 7-year program including job
expectation reviews, career development benchmarks, and peer performance assessments,
finding participation positively predicted promotions independent of gender and academic
rank (p. 7).
Bruce et al. reported that a national career development program including individual
coaching for grant preparation and time management resulted in participants being twice as
likely to receive grant funding compared to non-participants (p. 7). DeRosier et al. evaluated
a career development conference showing increases in publications, research projects,
honors, grant awards, collaborations, and scientific presentations nine months later,
particularly among female participants (pp. 7-8).
Academic Disciplines
Medical field studies dominate academic career development research, with journals like
Academic Medicine, Academic Psychiatry, and Academic Emergency Medicine publishing
most articles (p. 8). This concentration possibly reflects medical schools' increasing
organizational complexity requiring new career development approaches as research,
teaching, and clinical practice are pursued more independently (p. 8).
Work Conditions and Resources
Limited research addresses workplace contextual factors. Bryson found fixed-term contracts
create significant disadvantages for both female and male academics compared to permanent
employment (p. 8). Broadbent and Strachan identified negative effects of fixed-term contracts
on publications and collaboration development. Robinson et al. highlighted the importance of
organizational factors including protected research time and institutional support for
subjective and objective academic career success (p. 8).
National Culture
While studies were conducted across multiple countries including Australia, Austria, Israel,
Jordan, Malaysia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, and Switzerland, very few compared
academic career development cross-nationally (pp. 8-9). Poole and Bornholt compared
academics' working condition assessments across eight countries, while Vajoczki et al.
compared professional development practices in four countries, but cross-national
comparative research remains minimal (p. 9).
Active Regulation of Behavior
Few studies examine actions academics take to shape career development. Green and
Ridenour discussed how university deans influence careers through active reflection on goals
and challenges, developing leadership skills, and defining career pathways (p. 9). Lieff
argued active career decision-making is facilitated by reflection on strengths, passions, and
values. Carraher, Crocitto, and Sullivan suggested sabbaticals could redirect academic
careers, while Applegate and Williams argued early-career academics need clear goals,
careful employment term negotiation, and time management strategies (p. 9).
Career Stages
Research overwhelmingly focuses on early career academics within their first five years of
appointment, typically in the establishment phase (p. 9). Farley et al. surveyed early career
academics in emergency medicine identifying developmental needs including lecture
development, business and managerial skills, mentorship, leadership skills, and faculty
development process knowledge (p. 9). Hemmings, Hill, and Sharp identified individual and
contextual factors supporting early career academic development, concluding academics
differ widely in needs for redirection, support, challenge, and inspiration at career turning
points (p. 9).
Research on mid- and late-career academics remains scarce. Campion et al. evaluated a
medical faculty development program for mid-career academics reporting increases in
knowledge, skills, attitudes, and social networks (p. 9). Stearns et al. surveyed senior medical
faculty aged 50 and older, suggesting institutions should invest in providing mentoring and
addressing retirement planning needs for senior faculty (pp. 9-10).
Work and Nonwork Roles
No studies focused on nonwork roles or the work-nonwork interface, despite this being
central to life-span, life-space theory (p. 10). Several studies examined particular
occupational roles, especially leadership positions. Fairchild et al. observed many academic
physicians view management and administrative leadership as outside their purview, though
these roles offer opportunities for shaping clinical medicine, healthcare, finance, and
management interfaces (p. 10).
Research on doctoral and postdoctoral researchers showed Zubieta found positive effects of
international postdoctoral mobility on publication numbers, providing access to prestigious
institutions with larger networks and greater knowledge transfer (p. 10). However, Lawson
and Shibayama cautioned that postdoctoral positions might indicate difficulty securing
permanent positions after doctoral completion, though recommending international research
visits as they associate with shorter promotion waiting periods (p. 10).
Reference 3
Serbes, M., & Albay, M. (2017). Importance of career planning and development in
education. International Journal of Social Sciences and Educational Studies, 4(2).
[Link]
Intext Citation: (Serbes & Albay, 2017)
Career Planning and Development in Education: A Comprehensive Overview
Understanding Career
The term 'career' has evolved significantly from its traditional interpretation. Initially, it
referred to paid employment within a single profession, but has transformed into a continuous
process requiring ongoing learning and advancement (p. 149). The dictionary defines career
as "an occupation undertaken for a significant period of a person's life and with opportunities
for progress" (p. 149). The contemporary understanding emphasizes a dynamic progression
showing inclination toward advancement and promotion within administrative hierarchies (p.
149). Career encompasses the combination of various activities during employment including
advancements, trainings, responsibilities, and promotions, with an expectation of upward
momentum (p. 149).
Career Development Process
Career development represents a process rather than a static employment status. Employees
continuously work to enhance their occupational qualities throughout their professional
journey (p. 150). This process provides both employees and employers opportunities to
recognize the power of potential and labor, allowing individuals to transcend their initial
conditions and reach new positions, status, and locations (p. 150).
According to Peel (1992), career development extends beyond employment boundaries to
organize personal lives by affecting individual motivation, effectiveness, and goals (p. 150).
The process reflects continuous change, as reaching new levels triggers shifts in expectations,
interests, and yields. Career development constitutes a flow process of managing life,
education, and occupation, including improvement of individual skills, capacity, and
information that influences decisions, training, and career preferences (p. 150). Ivancevich
(1994) characterizes career development as a combination of processes that rebuild
individuals throughout their professional journey (p. 150).
Career Planning Components
Rogers, Creed, and Glendon (2008) identify career planning as a decision-making process
where personal differences and environmental impacts play crucial roles (p. 150). Individual
targets, personal characteristics, and social interaction significantly affect this decision-
making process. Greenhaus and Kopelman (1981) outline three essential components of
career planning (p. 150):
First, acquiring required information about careers, including individual interests, skills, and
values; employment opportunities such as promotion and status; and non-work elements like
hobbies, family, and interests (p. 150). Second, establishing clear definitions of target yields
and outputs, such as becoming a chief, manager, or securing well-paid employment (p. 150).
Third, developing strategies to achieve these target outcomes and benefits (p. 150).
Education Conceptualization
Education encompasses multiple dimensions and interpretations. Dictionary definitions
describe it as a process that imparts general information and knowledge, improves logical
strength and decision-making capabilities, while preparing individuals intellectually by
maturing them for life (p. 150).
The Latin etymology reveals deeper meaning. "Education" derives from "Educare, Educatum,
or Educare," where "Educatum" and "Educare" mean to train, bring, and nourish, while
"educare" means to lead out (p. 150). This original meaning suggests education involves
bringing up, developing, and shaping individual talent and inner potentialities (p. 150). From
modern perspectives, training encompasses physical or intellectual education processes,
summoning involves bringing knowledge to the surface and making it visible, while breeding
relates to nurturing learners with revealed truth, information, or knowledge (p. 150-151).
Smith (2015) approaches education philosophically, viewing it as seeking truth and
probabilities while providing opportunities for these to appear and reveal (p. 151). Mitchell
(2014) conceptualizes education as a journey starting from kindergarten and continuing
through higher educational institutions where individuals improve their interconnected
abilities and skills (p. 151). Illeris (2002) handles education from an educational perspective
as an act of cultivation—specifically cultivating learning, which combines cognitive,
emotional, and social activity (p. 151).
Educator Definition and Characteristics
Technically, an educator includes teachers, trainers, or any individual involved in planning or
leading educational activities and roles (p. 151). Kingwe and Onchwari (2016) define
educators as professional individuals operating in educational scopes—teachers, school
masters, academics, professors—who participate in theoretical and practical teaching and
learning processes (p. 151).
Schmidt (2012) outlines specific characteristics defining effective educators. An educator
stands by students, expanding their horizons by creating transitions between past and present,
illuminating new facts, and helping learners develop questioning skills (p. 151). Education
represents a journey of seeking the new using previous knowledge, with educators providing
assistance, courage, and guidance to students completing this adventure (p. 151).
Pope (2012) considers education an attractive yet challenging lifelong adventure, where
educators help young generations or learners expand horizons, see beyond current limitations,
perceive reality, and achieve maturity (p. 151). In this sense, educators take initiative and
responsibility for opening eyes and minds to reality (p. 151).
Processing Career Planning and Development in Education
The relationship between education and career planning proves particularly significant
considering current technological era demands, where technology has transformed nearly all
conceptual meanings (p. 151). As technological development increases, market demands and
organizational expectations change accordingly, potentially increasing the importance of
learning and teaching, particularly the role of education implementers (p. 151).
Learning has transitioned from temporary processes to continuous activities representing
"ongoing learning process that seeks to incorporate the lessons learnt (from already
implemented changes) into continuous improvement programs requested by organizations for
employee career development" (p. 151-152). Educational institutions, like other market
organizations, must consider short-term and long-term targets through career planning while
giving necessary significance to staff and student career development (p. 152).
Educator Perspective
Educators shape societies and communities. As time, concepts, and expectations change,
educators must adopt themselves to innovations—technical, social, or intellectual (p. 152).
They should show tendencies toward occupational and professional development through
periodic self-assessments and criticism, receiving feedback from other professionals to
evaluate present conditions (p. 152). Based on results and findings, educators should pursue
extra trainings and supplementary courses when required and applicable to improve skills (p.
152).
Lodahl and Kejner (1965) state that individuals with dedication and commitment to their
occupation internalize their interests, automatically bringing personal, professional, and
occupational development and improvement (p. 152). Such persons demonstrate willingness
and openness to changes, arranging personal and professional agendas accordingly (p. 152).
Learner Impact
As educators affect learners' lives, they must possess passion for their occupations. Teachers
without zeal and energy cannot contribute significantly to learners and cannot survive in
today's rapid world (p. 152).
Yildiz and Celik (2017) mention that dedicated teachers with passion and ambition affect
other teachers, learners, and educational institutions' operational structures (p. 152). Such
educators constantly thirst for new things and remain unsatisfied with existing knowledge.
Regarding career development and planning, they maintain self-motivation to increase
current levels (p. 152).
Celep (2000) notes that teachers developing personal skills and abilities demonstrate
excellent relationships with students (p. 152). Naturally, this teacher-student interaction
influences academic success and students' personal skills development (p. 152).
Organizational Responsibilities
Balay (2000) mentions that school-educator relationships extend beyond mechanical
connections, based on emotions and feelings rather than solely administrative or institutional
relationships when educators demonstrate commitment beyond basic levels (p. 152). Various
factors affect this relationship.
Schools' and schoolmasters' agendas constitute significant factors. When principals provide
sufficient attention to employed teachers' situations and conduct short and long-term career
planning, they contribute to teacher development (p. 153). Such actions affect not only
teachers but also learners' success and schools' positions in public perception (p. 153).
Harmony must exist between organizational needs and career development, with both
mutually assisting and reinforcing each other (p. 153). Career centers or human resources
offices must prepare career planning schedules and programs considering teachers', learners',
and schools' needs (p. 153).
Contemporary Challenges and Requirements
Current century and global changes have created an atmosphere where nearly everything
competes. This applies equally to educators. While everything changes rapidly, educators
must adopt themselves to these rapid changes (p. 153). Such adaptation requires certain
commitment, motivation, and planning concerning themselves and students (p. 153).
Being merely a good teacher proves insufficient. Teachers must demonstrate open-
mindedness, especially concerning innovations and internal or external self-evaluations (p.
153). Institutions must establish necessary settings with short and long-term goals regarding
educators' career development (p. 153). Through these approaches, the education process
becomes a win-win situation for teachers, learners, and schools (p. 153).