Enlight framework of career success

Every professional wants to succeed in a career, but they do not have a framework ( a structured and coherent approach based on scientific evidence) to take the right actions today to produce results tomorrow. 

In an earlier blog, we saw why a professional must have a framework to succeed in a career. Without a framework, succeeding in career is a hit-and-miss game for a professional. Everything is left to chance. Professionals only can curse their luck when they fail. 

Over a century and half, Doctors have managed to craft a 'generic health framework' that an individual can used to monitor his own unique health. This Enlight framework is perhaps the first step in creating such a 'career success framework' that every individual can use to monitor his career progress even though every career is unique. Until now succeeding in career was more of chance. But with a Career success framework, as it becomes more and more tested and proven, we will reach a time when the art of career building becomes a science, much like a health framework  

To achieve your desired end goals in your career, Enlight framework proposes four sub-frameworks, because each framework helps you negotiate different components of your career. Each of this framework also uses specific beliefs which have been made explicit.

You need Result framework to produce the Results to achieve your end goals. That is not enough. You also need Input framework to bring together the inputs required to produce the results. Your inputs are your abilities. Combining these abilities and mixing them together makes results possible.

You will use these two frameworks regularly in your life. You need Action framework for mixing inputs to produce outputs based on your end goals. Results are not guaranteed. Therefore, when you fail, you also need Diagnostic framework to help you diagnose the root cause and not get sidetracked with the symptoms of your problems.  

1. Result framework to succeed in career: Every professional has a career goal at a point of time, be it performing in a job, altering the work-path, or producing satisfaction in relationships. Each goal is different. That is why professionals think that their challenges are different and therefore they cannot learn from each other. Surprisingly, I have discovered that, like health, even though the end goals of career have huge variety, every individual surprisingly has to produce 2 kind of results: Produce results in work, Produce results in Relationships. This similarity helps every professional to learn from others.

On the contrary, Enlight presumes that Results are produced by 'Systems'. As individuals, we can only influence the 'results'. It is important for a professional to understand when he can produce results and when he has to wait to produce results.

2. Input framework to produce the outputs consistently: Inputs are thinking, physical and senses based abilities. Abilities have to be converted into skills to produce results. Most of the literature on career success, based on positive psychology, is based on the misplaced premise that if you can develop best abilities, you can achieve anything.

Enlight framework however posits that our skills grow only by engaging with the process of creating results. One cannot grow one's skills in the laboratory.

Most of the professionals are ability-blind like Nishikant. They are not even aware that abilities are highly context-dependent.This ability-ignorance makes them commit big mistakes. Enlight framework proposes three different cognitive skills to produce work-related results.

Sometimes, in order to produce desired result, one has to change one's skills. But changing one's skills or traits ( like self control or patience) is not easy. You will find professionals consuming huge effort to acquire new traits which go down the drain. Or take long time to develop a simple trait like communication ability without any success.

Out of all the inputs, Mind is a unique input that man possesses. But our inability to utilise the Mind properly often results in our failure to produce the desired Results. If we understand the limitations of our mind, we can use it as Strength. Or else it can become a huge liability. Mind is used differently in producing work-results and people-results. We use Machine-mind ( more analytical oriented) to produce work-results, and Farm-Mind ( more system oriented) to produce Results in Relationships.

3.Action framework to produce the desired results: To produce the desired results in work, you must bring in the requisite inputs to produce the desired outputs. This framework is used by every professional, while the above two frameworks are used by coaches.

Enlight framework proposes Map and Compass to produce the results in Work-life, while uses Farm and Compass to produce results in Relationships. Whether you are a school student, graduate student, or a working professional you are using your maps to produce the desired results.

4. Diagnostic framework to correct, when necessary: When we cannot achieve results, we need to correct ourselves. In all such situations, it is important to untangle the threads and find the root cause, because in real life, everything is mixed.

An inaccurate diagnostic framework can lead a professional on the wrong path, such as that of Adi. Or like Rohit Sharma ( the cricketer), they focus on the wrong output and take completely wrong actions to correct the output. This diagnostic framework uses Systems thinking as a tool to diagnose.

More importantly, diagnostic framework will help a professional to know when to seek help from experts, much like we know when to seek help from doctors when we are unhealthy. In a real life, a professional can take help from coaches, mentors and friends. Professionals will therefore understand 'whom to ask for help', 'what help to ask for' and 'when to ask for help'.  Many times, prevention is better than cure. If the help is therefore asked 'latter', then the 'help' becomes more costly to take.

Summary

By using Enlight framework, the professionals can now hope to achieve what they desire in their career with more certainty and confidence. Not only can they take preventive actions to prevent damage to their career progress, but they can also take appropriate corrective actions to contain the consequences, if they have sufficient time at their disposal. 

Now, the professionals can use their limited resources in a productive manner. Now, they can adapt the strategies of others, instead of copying them mindlessly.