Executive coach Michael Melcher recently shared with an audience at Stanford GSB his new approach to career satisfaction and tips for achieving greater long-term success and fulfillment.

In an article by Blaire Briody describing the conversation, Michael shares his insights.

“When I was at Stanford GSB,

I had certain ideas about what my career might be,” Michael says. “Some of those turned out to be true, and some did not, and some I couldn’t imagine. I’d never even heard of my career in the early ’90s. And if I had heard of it, I might not have seen a direct connection between what I was doing and what I’m doing now. It illustrates how careers change, how they develop, and how much uncertainty there is.”

Be a Steward for Your Career

A successful career requires occasionally taking a step back and looking at the big picture, says Melcher. He says to “think about the larger contours of what you’re doing and make that a part of your regular action.” He’s broken this process down into four categories and what questions you should ask yourself for each:

• Values: What do I like to do? What brings out my best?
• Vision: How do I want to grow? What do I want to create for myself?
• Competency: What do I bring to the table? What value do I have and how should this grow over time? What do I need to get to the next level?
• Relationships: Who’s supporting me? Who’s in my posse? Who gives me resilience and validation? And who can I learn from?

“This is what working on your career means,” says Melcher, “finding time to take actions and answer questions that relate to these four areas.”

Read more at the Stanford GSB.