Editor’s Note: Ragan Communications is happy to announce that one of our partners, Mary Olson-Menzel, founder and CEO of MVP Executive Development, a national leadership and organizational management consultancy, and a coach for Ragan’s Communications Leadership Council, has authored a new book called What Lights You Up? Illuminate Your Path and Take the Next Big Step in Your Career.  

Olson-Menzel has helped companies from startups to Fortune 500s in markets from fintech to the NFL unlock their potential for improving business performance and growth. What Lights You Up is an essential roadmap for anyone seeking direction in their career journey and we’re pleased to share an excerpt below.

What if you could change your life for the better, simply by tapping into your own natural resources and being intentional about the direction you want to go now? I believe you can! Congratulations, you have just taken the first step towards a brighter future! Through the pages of this book, you will start looking at your life with fresh eyes. By tapping into your own “light source,” you can design and follow the path to your next job and a more fulfilling career.

First and most fundamental, discovering what lights you up is vital. You must learn how to identify and to recognize what this is before sharing it with a potential employer. Because if you can’t see it yourself, most likely neither can they. This is where your adventure begins.

Guiding people to see their own value and greatness is my passion and my dream for you. I know that when your light is on, you will:

• Get hired faster
• Get promoted faster
• Make more money
• Have a career that has meaning and brings you joy

If you were to hire me as your coach, the MVP 360 Pivot Program is what we would embark on together. This book is based on my proven methodology, but it’s important to keep in mind that when working one on one with someone, a lot of the process gets customized to meet the needs of the specific client. It’s an organic unfolding that leads us to places together that we might not have been able to imagine ourselves had we not worked together. I hope that the work you do throughout the pages of this book takes you on a journey to places you have always dreamed about and beyond!

MVP 360 Pivot Program

Go deep: Who are you? The first step is taking the time to get to know yourself. We look at your life from a holistic perspective: financial, professional, and personal. We begin to help align your dreams with reality.

Personal brand: What is it that makes you unique? Why should an organization hire you over someone else with the exact same experience? What are your strengths and how can you “sell” them? What is your elevator pitch?

Positioning: What is your personal brand in the market? In addition to a strong resume, a robust, professional online profile is key.

Explore: Where do you see yourself? We work with you to design a target list that we call the Three Ps of places you want to work. We encourage you to think strategically and to look at all potential options and ideas with a fresh lens.

Expand: How can you tap your network? We help you think expansively about how to utilize the power of networking on all fronts. We encourage you to think outside of the box and go for it.

Opening doors: How do you find the best fit for you? We help navigate through the confusion and noise and find the right approach to every unique opportunity.

Preparation and rehearsals: How can you stand out from the rest? We work diligently to help you prepare for interviews and for every networking opportunity created. We want you to be prepared and put your best foot forward to “wow” the hiring managers.

Connection and support for success: How can we best support you? We are with our clients every step of the way to help you navigate and foster relationships that will lead to your next opportunity. Throughout the entire process, we are by your side, as a resource and a coach. We are also here to help you navigate and negotiate an offer that is a win-win for you and the organization. We stay close to you even after you have accepted the new position. We stay connected and offer ongoing coaching to help you adjust and excel in your new role, creating lasting success for your future.

You will see this process as you move through the pages and the exercises of this book. The world continues to evolve and the way people work is changing rapidly, and this in turn creates tremendous opportunity. Many of us get to choose how and where we work. Gone are the days of working 9 to 5 and celebrating 25 years at one company with a gold watch. Our work lives look different now, and more often employees are calling the shots about what that looks like. What’s different now is that people have proven that they can be trusted to be even more productive, creative, and efficient when their needs are honored in a way that resonates with them.

People are standing up and saying, “I am valuable to this organization and I want to work on my own terms.” Companies have been forced into a new frontier where the employee experience matters more than ever.\

You deserve to love what you do! Your life is too precious to work in a place or a profession doing something that doesn’t give you joy.

Just remember, no job is perfect, but if you follow the 80/20 rule—80% good stuff and 20% stuff you don’t necessarily love to do—you will be off to a good (and realistic!) start.

When I started this book, quite a few years ago, it was a different world than what it is today, but one thing remains the same: doing what lights you up is of the utmost importance in your career. The world of work will keep changing but that timeless truth is evergreen. At times we are pivoting, sometimes growing, sometimes flowing, and now we are transforming. Welcome to your transformation.

Throughout this book, I will be sharing wisdom and knowledge through quotes and excerpts from others who have an undeniable light in their work, so I’d like to start you out with this one.

“The whole secret of a successful life is to find out what is one’s destiny to do, and then do it.”

—Henry Ford

Enjoy the ride!

Excerpted with permission by the publisher, Wiley, from What Lights You Up?: Illuminate Your Path and Take the Next Big Step in Your Career by Mary Olson-Menzel. Copyright © 2024 by MVP Executive Search & Development, LLC. All rights reserved. This book is available wherever books and eBooks are sold.

Visit MaryOlsonMenzel.com to learn more.