Taking the next step in your career evolution can be downright terrifying.
Even the most confident professional will have an inkling of the doubt when the moment is upon them.
Saying those words…”I quit,” or “I’m ready for something new,” or “I’m creating my own business” hold so much weight and power – and sometimes, that power can overtake us, causing us to freeze ourselves from the doubt.
Sustainable, long-term positive change is possible for you. And it happens in those very moments of stress or difficulty.
By focusing on your strengths and the root causes of the challenges you face, you can truly understand and rewire your brain, building new neural pathways that make you more flexible and agile in the process.
Below, read the stories of three late-stage career professionals who are courageously creating better lives for themselves by improving their resilience, decision-making, and wellbeing, all in the ‘messy middle’ of the challenge.
Weathering the Emotional Ups and Downs of a Career Transition
Meet Joanne.
Joanne is a late-career stage professional in a highly competitive field. She recently left her position of 15 years for a thrilling new role with more advancement and leadership opportunities. One year in, Joanne is finding the transition more challenging than she expected; given the brand-new responsibilities, company culture, and expectations, she is left wondering if she’s up to the task of the kind of leadership role she had imagined for herself.
Joanne’s top two identified Strengths: Command, Consistency
Joanne’s top two identified Saboteurs: Controller, Stickler
Riding the emotional roller coaster of a life-changing career transition might have been your choice, or it might have been the result of circumstances beyond your control.
For Joanne, the choice stemmed from all the right places: looking for advancement, honing her skills, and honoring her desire to make a greater impact in her leadership roles. The fact that it was her choice, though, doesn’t make the situation any less challenging.
Zeroing in on her Strengths and Saboteurs will offer Joanne solutions, insight, and a clear path forward. With her natural Strength of Command, Joanne knows that she has a leadership presence that can inspire action from her teams. She may notice, however, that the Controller and Stickler saboteurs sometimes take a front seat – leaving her teams frustrated while she experiences the stress of people not living up to her expectations.
Learning to leverage her Strength of Consistency allows Joanne to foster positive, reliable leadership strategies. She can notice when her Saboteurs take over, and take actions to mitigate their effects to stay mentally fit and positive, even in the most stressful moments.
Finding Motivation and Courage as an Entrepreneur
Meet Stefan.
After working for different tech companies in mid-level positions for over ten years, Stefan found himself with an inspiring idea, and decided to courageously take the leap into entrepreneurship. Stefan began bootstrapping his own tech solutions company, but the cadence has been slow. Faced with looming doubts, limited funding, and ever-decreasing time, Stefan is already considering throwing in the towel and finding yet another corporate job, the courage of his initial launch nothing but a distant memory.
Stefan’s top two identified Strengths: Ideation, Responsibility
Stefan’s top two identified Saboteurs: Avoider, Hyper-Vigilant
For every entrepreneur, there is a moment (sometimes followed by many, many more moments) of doubt.
- Who am I to be building and launching this project?
- What if I run out of capital?
- What will my partner or my family do if I can’t make it profitable fast enough?
- Should I just give up?
With his Strength of Responsibility, Stefan may be more susceptible than most to the cascade of doubts and fears that come with Saboteur, Hyper-Vigilance, the moment his new venture fails to meet his expectations. As someone with a strength in Ideation, Stefan is fascinated by ideas, able to make connections in new and unexpected ways.
When he focuses on building his business from his Strengths, Stefan can learn to withstand the moments of uncertainty, doubt, and fear that may be limiting the capacity of his business to take off. With the right training, Stefan can also reinforce his ability to face challenges head-on.
Finding inner courage and motivation as an entrepreneur isn’t always easy, but it IS possible. When venturing out on your own, it’s essential to surround yourself with a supportive team that will allow you to make mistakes, reflect with you, and help you grow. You never have to go it alone!
Creating Clarity in Your Next Career Move
Meet Sharon.
Sharon is ten years from her expected retirement date, having worked as a professional in the human resources field of for-profit corporations for her entire career. Ready to choose happiness, balance, and family in her personal life, Sharon is also considering a BIG career change into the nonprofit sphere that will allow her to align her work more closely with her values and experience. She feels as if she’s the only one her age considering this type of change and is surrounded by cautious naysayers. She also has little clarity on what type of role would best suit her.
Sharon’s top two identified Strengths: Empathy, Restorative
Sharon’s top two identified Saboteurs: Pleaser, Restless
When embarking on something new that still feels nascent or unclear, many people will stop just short of taking the big leap. It can feel daunting to be making decisions about change when it feels like your peers are perfectly content.
While Sharon can sometimes take on a Pleaser role and has experienced restlessness throughout her career, she has a real opportunity to use her skills and capabilities to find work that is more aligned with her own vision. With coaching, Sharon may realize that a role in a nonprofit may be the perfect fit for her Strengths of Empathy and Restorative. It’s truly never too late to try something new.
Surround yourself with like-minded professionals.
Get real about the Great Resignation.
Be open to change.
You’ll soon realize that it’s not worth another moment working in a way that doesn’t match who you are and who you want to be for the world.
Conclusion
Embarking on a new career path, navigating a new role, or launching a new business may all seem too-good-to-be-true – until you’re in the weeds of doubt, stress, and challenge.
When you choose to place the strength of a supportive team around you, the results are truly remarkable. Those moments of challenge? Feeling like you might give up entirely? They all but disappear- replaced with courage, confidence, and hope.
Stay tuned for the latest news about our new Strengths & Saboteurs program, From Doubt to Confidence, launching late-Spring of 2022! This 8-week course will initiate sustainable change in your life through personalized small-group coaching and coursework, equipping you to face your next career transition with empowered resilience!
