Transitions: When Careers and Life Goals Adjust for the World Around Us
For most of us, there are very few constants in our lives. We often find ourselves in a fairly constant state of transition. No matter how much we try to plan for or manage our lives and our careers, things will change.
How we manage the transition from where we were to where we are going is best supported with some guardrails to keep us on a positive path.
Many transitions don’t surprise us. They are part of a plan, a logical next step, even a hoped-for next step. Some transitions may not be planned but we had prepared for them in some way or even left ourselves open to a transition. Some transitions surprise us. They were not part of a plan, not a logical next step, and certainly not a hoped-for next step.
When we are in transition, this is a great time to turn to our network for guidance and support. As you reach out to those people whose opinions you trust, who have a perspective which is different or additive to your own, who genuinely want what’s best for you and who will always invest a little time with you as you would with them, you should be organized to help them help you.
There are 4 approaches we should be prepared to discuss with our network of friends and allies as we face change and transition.
What Does Next Look Like?
- What Role(s) connects our head & heart
- Outline points which prove your accomplishments to date, & why you are successful
- What gets you to “Yes” & “No”
- Materials – Resume, Bio, Profiles
How Many Options Get Us There?
- Totally new Path
- Extend the most recent path
- Revisiting a previous path
- Combine paths in a unique way to create a totally new path
Narrow the Options to a Fork in the Road, not a Cloverleaf:
- We can often move in several directions but try to narrow down
- Two options are actionable
- Start with five, combine two, eliminate one & now you have two
Select Your Path and Focus:
- There is no right or wrong answer, there is just “your answer”
- Who do you leverage to validate your decision?
- Move Forward
It is OK to reflect on our choices. We can do that along our path because we invite our network to guide us and be our sounding board on all the additional choices and directions our transition can lead us to along our journey.
Transitions unfold and life happens. Transitions drive change and we adapt. We are still on a journey and yes, the path may be different either slightly or in major ways than the path we were on before, but the transition, the new path just becomes our path, our life.
We know things are going to change. Let’s identify what we want the other side of the transition to look like and move forward. The choices are ours, but who will we engage as our sounding board along the journey?
Author: Jay Syverson, CRO, Intuitive
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