Career transitions

Join me as we explore my latest coaching insights.

Today's post, Experience shapes leadership at every level, explains why growing as a leader requires on-the-job experiences that become progressively more challenging as you transition from one level to the next. Research – and my coaching work with hundreds of clients – show the most effective way to advance your career is through on-the-job experiences that develop your competencies and confidence as you move from one level to the next.

The title of this post Use unconventional strategies to reinvent yourself, refers to the fact that more and more people are seeking major changes in their lives and careers, i.e. to reinvent themselves. Whether it’s at the stage of the so-called mid-life crisis or later, when the conventional age of ‘retirement’ arrives, the prospect of this change engenders feelings of confusion, loss, fear, and worry.

At this time of year we need to remember William Bridges’ rule #2: “Every transition begins with an ending”. We have to let go of the old – the pain, baggage and disappointments of 2015 – before we can truly benefit from and enjoy the promise and plenty of the New Year. In the enduring wisdom of Transitions – Making Sense of Life’s Changes Bridges wrote about how to cope with ‘that difficult process of letting go of an old situation, suffering the confusion of nowhere in-betweenness, and launching forth in a new situation’. He helps us understand the underlying process of personal transition and gives us insights into how it affects us at work and in our personal relationships.

I'll call her Jess and through her story show how when one door closes you can open the next one. Jess was making her rise through the corporate ranks look easy. Her company promoted Jess ahead of her peers. Making her sales budget was a breeze for Jess who worked extraordinarily hard, often sacrificing her private life for the job. Overall, life felt good. Abruptly, all this changed.

For leaders, it is important to replace your musts and shoulds with wants and wishes. Every truly effective leader senses this, yet too few recognise that this simple formula empowers them to respond and act in an emotionally intelligent way to stressful situations. When you replace your musts and shoulds with wants and wishes you avoid the traps that create stress, sap your energy and distract you from the main game.

Break is the important part of breaking through when you make any significant life-career change. You need to leave aspects of your past behind to move on, out or up. And when you make the break you will find new energy and creativity emerge, enabling you to think and act differently. Here’s why and how to make your break.

The thought that ‘you will miss the road to your future’ is taken from Charles Handy’s great book The Empty Raincoat. Among the many gems in The Empty Raincoat, Handy explores one of the paradoxes of being successful. What helped you to get to where you are today is most unlikely to be what will keep you there in the future, let alone drive you to greater heights.

Seven shifts are necessary for you to step up from a technical or functional role into one of business unit or organisational leader for the first time. There is always a significant transition when a leader takes on a new role. And the transition is biggest when it’s into general management. This is the most challenging for any leader to make. Here’s why. And the seven shifts that assure success.

For many ‘being an Ex’ relates to having been divorced. But ‘becoming an Ex’ is used differently. It describes the process of exiting a career or life role, which are increasingly frequent occurrences in today’s world. Becoming an Ex is a well-established social phenomenon that refers to both disengaging from a life or career role that is central to your sense of self and the re-establishment of your new identity in a new role. Understanding what’s happening as you become an Ex prepares you for the pain–and the freedom­–that the process brings. It helps you cope with the reactions of those around you. And it reduces the traumatic impact becoming an Ex has on your life and career.

Do you make the mistake of jumping too quickly to conclusions about your life and career because you give too much emphasis to the information in front of you? Do you fail to search for new information that might change your views or disprove your beliefs? I am sure all too often, the answer is ‘yes’. There are consequences for your life and career. And you know all about them, don’t you?

Tom Stoppard, a British playwright, penned ‘Every exit is an entry to somewhere else’. Stoppard’s eloquence leads me to ask How well will you leave? whether you are about to step up or let go in a particular phase of your career. I am referring to the challenges, including the pain, of leaving precious people and things behind so you can move on whatever your next destination.

After a lifetime in the firm, Simon's career as a partner was over. He was not yet 60, and the firm didn't need him any more. The inexorable forces of de-equitising had arrived in one short, traumatic meeting with two of his colleagues, the bearers of the decision by the management committee. It wasn't personal. And it certainly wasn't anything to do with his competence and dedication. It was, well…"just the way things are in the firm we can't justify your position or points any more". He should have seen it coming. The signs were all too obvious. But he was not ready to go. He still felt energised, competent and able to add value to clients and the firm. Questions raced through his head. Could he afford not to work? How would he explain it to his wife and family? What would he do with the rest of his life? He had no particular interests or hobbies. His life was the firm–his firm after all. In the days that followed Simon experienced the gamut emotions ranging from of disbelief ('why me?'), resistance ('they can't do this!') and anger ('after all I have contributed’).

Every day many partners in their 50s and 60s in professional service firms ask themselves this taxing question, "What's next?". The question refers to 10, 20 or even 30 years ahead of them, the era some authors now call the 'Third Chapter'. Whether consciously or not, the question worries them because they- and their firm -  think in 20th century ways while facing 21st century reality. The new reality is much longer, more healthy life spans and the will to work for the individuals. And for their firms, it is the reservoir of talent and unique knowledge that resides in these individuals.