Enough has happened to make many of us keenly aware of what we no longer want. But the problem is this: the more typical pattern after we receive some kind of wake-up call is simply to revert back to form once things return to “normal.” There is a real danger of getting sucked back into our former jobs and ways of working and not putting into action any of the learnings we gathered over the past year. How can those of us who want to effect a real career change avoid that? This useful piece by Herminia Ibarra in Harvard Business Review gives you some ideas.
Benefits of separation: When removed from the people and place that trigger old habits and patterns, change is likelier to happen. Maintaining some degree of separation from familiar networks and exploring new connections can be vital to our reinvention.
Experimentation: Taking time to experiment and do new and different things that pique your curiosity affords us rare opportunities to learn about ourselves. At some point through the process, we cull learning from our experiments and use it to take some informed next steps in our transition.
Reintegration: The hybrid working environments which many organisations are currently offering represent a possible new window of opportunity for many people hoping to make a career change, one in which the absence of old cues and the need to make conscious choices provides an opportunity to implement new goals and intentions.