Create a 5-Year Strategic Plan for Your Career

I recently had the opportunity to facilitate a workshop with a leadership team that left everyone in the room feeling inspired, optimistic and eager. 

In the most impactful exercise, I invited them to consider limitless possibilities. The prompt was simple: “Fast forward five years and your organization is thriving. What’s happening?”

No budgets. No barriers. No B.S. Only big dreams and bold thinking. 

The answers were hopeful, creative, and deeply rooted in their organization’s purpose — which got me thinking. How would these people answer this question about themselves? 

Communications professionals spend so much time planning the next week, the next quarter, the next fire drill, but rarely the next version of ourselves.

As a longtime PR professional-turned-executive coach whose clients come from Amazon, Nvidia, Microsoft and global agencies, I know firsthand how hard it is for senior communications leaders to take a lunch break — let alone an intentional look at their future.

If this sounds relatable, I invite you to consider the same prompt: It’s 2031 and your career is thriving. What’s unfolding in your world?

Maybe it’s a career shift that finally aligns with your values. 

Maybe it’s energy instead of exhaustion.

Maybe it’s deeper confidence, better boundaries or more joy.

Whatever comes up first, there’s wisdom in it. Since the new year is a time for reflection and intention-setting, I invite you to give yourself space to think expansively. After all, the future doesn’t magically appear; it’s created. The following six steps will guide you through turning that first spark into a five-year vision you can actually grow toward.

1. Unwrap your gut instinct. Get curious about what’s behind your immediate response, as well as what’s been holding you back until this point. Exploring your intuition is the first step in shaping your vision for the rest of your life. 

2. Produce your future highlight reel. If it’s January 2031 and you’re being profiled in Strategies & Tactics, what is the headline? What does the article say about you, your work, your leadership and your impact? What did you stop doing to make room for that story?

3. Audit your alignment. Looking ahead five years, where is your current role aligned with your values, energy, and strengths? Where is it out of sync? What’s one “misaligned” activity you can start phasing out in 2026? Questions such as “what do I want more of?” and “what do I want less of?” can be helpful in discovering themes. 

4. Name the version of you who’s already there. If the 2031 version of you walked into the room, how would you communicate, advocate for yourself, and set boundaries? What’s one small behavior they model that you can begin implementing right now?

5. Clarify your signature value proposition. What are you known for in your organization or industry? Perhaps it’s calm in a crisis, strategic counsel, storytelling, stakeholder trust or something else. Where are you already showing hints of that today, and how can you amplify it in your current role?

6. Experiment with your evolution. Instead of overhauling your whole career, what is one low-risk experiment you could run in the next 90 days (a stretch project, speaking opportunity, committee role, or certification) that nudges you closer to your 2031 vision? Once it’s completed, explore how you grew, what you learned, what you’d do differently (if anything), and whether you’d like to continue to pursue it into the future. Then, choose another, and another. 

As for the aforementioned leadership team, they walked out of the workshop energized — not because the future was guaranteed, but because for the first time in a long time, they gave themselves permission to name what they really wanted. 

By setting aside the noise, the deadlines and the constant requests for “just one more thing,” the exercise alone shifted everything. But the real shift for this team wasn’t the plan, it was the mindset. They remembered they were allowed to imagine, to dream, to want something more.

My hope is that you’ll give yourself that same permission. The truth is, none of us stumble into a thriving or fulfilling career by accident. We build it. One intention, one decision and one small step at a time.

When you map out your next five years with clarity, you’re not indulging in wishful thinking, you’re laying the foundation for a career that feels meaningful, sustainable and uniquely yours.  And in a volatile economy, that kind of focus is more than motivating; it’s protective. It helps you future-proof your skills, your reputation and your resilience.

So take your five-year vision seriously. Treat it like a strategic plan for your own life and career. Let it challenge your assumptions, reignite your ambition and reconnect you with the parts of yourself you’ve set aside in the rush of doing more with less.

If you can imagine a bolder 2031, you can create a bolder 2026. So here’s your invitation: Dream without restraint. Then take one small step toward that future. The version of you five years from now will be grateful you started today.

Orginally published in PRSA’s Strategies & Tactics.