Taking the next step
My approach to deciding on ‘my next right thing’
I’m starting to wonder if shifting out of my career break could be as unsettling as shifting into it? It’s now Week 7 and I’m over the half-way point. That means I’ve had some down time and some family time. Time to reflect and get my CV up-to-date (not an easy task when the last version was 10 years ago!). And lots of coffee dates, talking and tyre-kicking. Now it’s time to get serious about the next step.
You might recall (from an earlier blog) that I expected my next career step would be a differently shaped role in a differently shaped organisation. Instead of deciding on a particular job title or job description, I wanted a role that would give me the chance to use my superpowers (or strengths) at work every day.
When it comes to the crunch - those ideas are nice in theory, but how do they translate into action?
“What I would like is a Next Right Life Plan with a clearly marked path...what I usually get instead is enough clarity to see one step ahead.”
The value of talking
My tyre-kicking coffees and conversations with people helped me get more clarity on what I’d like to be doing in my work, so I could narrow down the options and focus on a couple of areas. Those conversations also helped me uncover some interesting options for my next role:
Go back in time - Opportunities #1 and #2 were essentially travelling back in time by 10 years. These were jobs that I was confident I could do well, and both would be the chance to work with a talented team of good people. But, the nature of the work didn’t energise me, the organisations were more of the same, and there was limited scope to grow.
Jump the fence (from agency to client-side) - Opportunity #3 was a different type of role in a different type of organisation (but one I was familiar with). If you’re thinking in terms of a ladder, this role would be a step back in seniority. But I’ve done that before, and it’s ok if creates an opportunity to learn and grow, or to make a meaningful contribution. In this case, the scope to grow was there but not necessarily heading in a direction that interested me.
Something totally new - Opportunity #4 was insanely exciting! A different type of role, a new organisation in a sector that I was personally very interested in, and great money … soooooo tempting. As it turned out, this one didn’t go ahead and maybe that was a blessing in disguise. I later heard stories of a toxic culture and an organisation in disarray. (I’m up for a challenge, but I’m not a masochist).
Room to grow - That brings us to opportunities #5 and #6. Both are interesting. Both offer scope to learn and grow albeit in slightly different directions. Both would be working with smart, talented, good people. But one, in particular, is a chance to combine my work ambition a little bit more with my personal purpose.
Making the decision
My career journey has taught me that we’re more likely to feel happy and fulfilled in our work when there is a connection between who we are and what we do. These days, I’m at a stage in my life where I’m looking for more connection between those two things. Not so I can define myself as a Teacher or a Lawyer or whatever, but so I can spend more time being a coach, collaborator and connector at work.
When it comes down to it, we can only make decisions about real things. Here I am weighing up two real opportunities, so I’ve landed on some criteria to help make a decision. It’s important to note that these are important for me right now in my career, based on my personal and family circumstances. Your criteria could be entirely different -
Good people - This is a central theme for me - who I’m working with has always been important. Who will I be working with? Are they good humans who are talented at what they do? Would I like to work with them? Can I imagine myself as part of their team?
Aligned values - What do they believe in - as individuals and as a business? Does that align with my own values of empathy, optimism and collaboration? I’ve learned the hard way that it’s impossible to work in an organisation if there’s a values misalignment.
Interesting work - Am I interested in the work? Can I imagine myself doing it every day? Will it inspire and energise me? Will it leverage my strengths? Will it be fun?
Scope to grow - Can I learn and grow in this role and organisation? Will it challenge me - in a good way?
Meaningful impact - Does this role give me an opportunity to make a meaningful impact? Is it an opportunity to connect the dots and bring who I am closer to what I do? (I’m being aspirational yet pragmatic with this one - after all, I do have two teenagers to feed).
The deciding factor
It always feels important to choose well when we’re deciding on our next role. There’s pressure (intended or not) to ‘get it right’. Maybe because it feels like a long term commitment? In reality, it’s just a decision about my next right thing, and there’s possibly no wrong decision. Right now, if the parallel universe was a thing, I’d probably take both opportunities. But there needs to be a deciding factor.
In their book Designing your Life, Bill Burnett and Dave Evans talk about the idea of ‘narrative resonance’ - that feeling you get when someone is telling a story and it really sparks something inside of you. That ‘felt experience’ is your gut telling you that something is resonating on a deeper level.
“Follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become.”
My gut is drawing me to one particular option. There’s something about the people and the story that is drawing me in. Curiously, that means I’m overlooking some of my earlier ‘rules’ - because you could argue that this role is at a similar organisation, with a similar job title. However, that’s about where the similarities end. The team, organisational structure and offering are different. Most importantly, the nature of the work means there’s a growth opportunity for me personally and professionally, and an exciting chance to bring more of who I am to what I do.
With that in mind, I’m going to choose well, let go and move on with this next step on my career journey.
I’ll keep you posted,
J. xx
“Choose well. Let go and move on.”
Image credit: Photo by Christopher Sardegna on Unsplash