Now What?® Coaching
from Laura Berman Fortgang
In the wonderful world of podcasts, there are some great ones that might spark a dream in you, open up a possibility you hadn’t yet imagined, or peak a new interest. So, next time you’re going for a walk or a run or have a little extra time in the car, give a listen and see what’s here for you.
5 Podcasts That Will Help You Think Differently About Your Career
This was the situation a coaching client found himself in recently – an employed manager presented with a new job opportunity. He’d been looking for a new job since the summer of 2017 after completing the Now What? 90 Days to a New Life Direction work with me.
In hand was the current job (which will end in a couple of months) where bitterness and backstabbing palpably taint the atmosphere. In the other hand was a new job, carefully vetted to be a good cultural fit. However, he was not totally thrilled with the product the company produced.So, he can stay put and keep searching amidst the looming black plague while holding out for the perfect job. Or, he can take the new job which checks many boxes, but not all. What would you do?
Do you know your criteria for happiness? My client and I worked on uncovering his, and the new job met a lot of the criteria.
Are you clear on what you ultimately want to be known for? Can it come from the new position? If so, there’s a chance of having the impact you want to have. It might take time and trust-building, but in a culture that values connectivity and ideas, it is possible.
I don’t know yet what this client will decide, but I can tell you what struck me. If you’ve read my work, you know I believe in the ideal. I believe in full expression of your capabilities and desires. With that said, I also understand that searching for a job while unemployed can be very isolating. It’s easy to get derailed.
In this instance, a place where the culture is a fit and the atmosphere is light and collegial, the likelihood of having a healthier mindset, geared for creativity and good work is strong. Staying put in a toxic environment while holding out for the ideal, which could take many months to find, could be stifling.
What I know to be true is that when our nerves are no longer frayed and our mornings are energetic because we look forward to seeing the people we work with, we are a different kind of human. We are someone who can contribute with greater connection and creativity. From this space, we can step into an unknown worth exploring.
The new job could become the ideal as your influence grows, or it can be exactly what shows you the next better opportunity. It may not be possible to see that NOW without this next experience.
Nothing is ever a waste. I’d choose good energy over stagnation and bitterness every time. The answer will come if we give it a fertile place to germinate and to grow.
In hand, in the other hand, in the sky … which would you choose?
Now is a great time, whether you are employed or unemployed, entrepreneur or employee, to give yourself a little something special by giving your career a boost. Take a few moments between now and the end of the year to set yourself up for a stronger 2018!
If you are job seeking, January is a great time to apply for a job, so now is the time to prepare to present your best self to your next employer.
YOU ARE BEING SEDUCED!I work with people who are hatching their next career and many, many times the old/current job comes calling. It’s an easy way out of the hard work of finding the next gig, but should you go back?
How do you know if you’re being falsely seduced or if it’s a true opportunity?
Check Your Ego – Some flattery is obvious, but not all. You have to be honest with yourself and be aware of how the seducer is playing into your insecurities and needs. If part of your reason for leaving was feeling unappreciated and all of a sudden that need is getting stroked, you have to realize that it may not last once you go back.
Check Your Gut – Your Ego and Your Gut (intuition) are not the same animal. Your gut is more truthful and sensitive. However, when your ego is being courted and promised a panacea, the gut can be harder to hear. If the offer feels ‘icky’ (a very scientific term) in any way, take pause. What are your fears? What do you know wholeheartedly to be true despite what is being promised?
Make Your Demands – Even if it’s just as an exercise to decide whether to go back, if you’re considering it at all, make a list of what you need to feel good about it. Is it more money? Is it certain changes to your job description? Is it particular treatment, access to a certain person, or communication from a certain person?
Looking at these answers may bring to light why you wanted to leave in the first place; then you can ask whether you can get what you clearly know you need.
Run or Suit Up – I’m working with a female executive right now who agreed to go back and together, we made the list of her demands. She is “suited up” and prepared to put firm boundaries in place so that her new requirements stick. It is dangerously easy for you or others to slip into old patterns because everyone is used to the precedents that were set in the past.
Retraining people on what you will and will not do and what they can expect is hard and takes discipline and consistency. It can be done, and this executive will give it some time and see if a positive change is possible.
If you know it just won’t work or be worth it, then RUN. Get away from that seduction like an antelope would run from a hungry lion.
If it’s a fight you can’t win, save yourself now. There’s no point delaying the inevitable. Know you will find the next thing and it WILL BE better.
Ah, the elevator pitch … sure, we’ve got it down for what we already do.
But, how to succinctly integrate your past, present, and future into one brief introduction might not be so easy.
Until now …
You may think you have to stay with what you studied in college or what you’ve invested yourself in for a decade or more. You may think you’re too old to make a change. And, none of this is true.
If something else is calling to you, give it a go! You may just discover things within you just bursting to come out as Ina Garten, AKA The Barefoot Contessa, found when she took a leap into the unknown.
Ina Garten’s Proof That It’s Never Too Late to Change Careers