Defining Your 10-Year Career Goals and Purpose

Deciding where you want your career to be in the next 10 years is vital for your professional success and fulfilment. Defining your 10-year career goals and purpose can help clarify your path. But it can also feel overwhelming. Where do you even start to think that far ahead for defining your career purpose and goals?

There’s an old line, often credited to Yogi Berra, that if you don’t know where you’re going you’ll end up somewhere else. That’s why getting clear on your long-term career vision matters.

I recently had a coaching conversation with one of my team members as they explored defining their 10-year career goals and purpose using the Golden Circle model. I’d like to share this helpful framework to guide anyone setting professional aspirations for the next decade.

Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle model says to start with your “why” – the purpose, motivations and reasons behind your career goals. Connecting to this deeper why provides meaning to the “how” and “what” elements later on.

Some key questions to unearth your career purpose why:

1. Why do I work?
2. What difference do I want to make through my work over the next decade?
3. If I could achieve all my wildest career dreams 10 years from now, what would that look like?

Once you gain insight into your 10-year why, outline tangible goals across 3 horizons as part of defining your 10-year career goals:

Horizon 1 (1-3 years): Short-term professional goals
Horizon 2 (4-6 years): Medium-term goals
Horizon 3 (7-10 years): Your biggest and boldest dream career goals

Defining intentional 10-year career goals gives you a North Star to guide your decisions and progress.

I suggest reviewing your career goals annually using this structured Golden Circle approach. The point isn’t to predict exactly where you’ll be in ten years; it’s to make each year’s decisions with a direction in mind.

If you try this, I’d like to hear what comes out of it. Leave a comment below.

Written by Michael Wignall, who’s spent 30+ years in banking and home lending, including leading a team of home lenders across three regions of NSW.

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Written by Michael Wignall, Lending Area Manager with 30+ years in banking and home lending across the ACT, Illawarra, and Riverina. Got a question or an idea for a post? Get in touch.