Before starting my fellowship, I had a list of things I needed to accomplish within the one year program. This list informed my actions and plans, it was very critical in searching for opportunities around me.
I should say that I was successful in my plans and achieved more than I had anticipated, this is good for any first time person in this country, however, was this the best I could have gotten if I had done things differently? I don’t think so, what was missing? Let’s take a look at some important steps any leader requires.
Stephen Covey in his book, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” encourages in habit two that “begin with the end in mind.” I think for some reasons I got caught up with the process and forgot to pay attention to the actual end goal. As I write this article and counting down few days before I leave, I see clearly that as much as I achieved what I wanted, paying attention to the end goal and constantly changing my approach to everything I did would have scored excellent on my personal evaluation of this one year.
Habit seven says “Sharpen the Saw; Growth,” now this habit and the previous one have majorly what I forget to pay attention to. Especially when it came to my physical body, I found myself working on a computer most of the time, whenever I was not on a computer there was a likelihood that I was attending an event which will end with a lot of follow-up roles. It was not long before I needed to see a counsellor to restore my mental health.
It’s important that as you focus on your career growth and leadership, pay attention to what is discussed in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, failure to do so may catch up with you in the end.