Focus on the tasks at hand

It's all right to focus your developmental plan on skills you will need down the road, but don't forget that your main job is just that—your main job. Focus on what you need to accomplish each day to move closer to achieving personal, team, and organizational goals. Bring jobs to a close. Tie up loose ends. Challenge and develop your direct reports.

• Don't forget to think strategically and link your daily work to organizational goals and mission.

• Don't allow yourself to become invisible to upper management by burying yourself in your daily work.

Excerpt from Keeping Your Career On Track: Twenty Success Strategies