The Professional Pivot - Buckle up!
My career, as I had known it for the first half of my working life, came to an unexpected end in January of 2020, when the organization I worked for sadly closed. Even though I knew I was going to have to reinvent myself professionally before COVID hit, I am now one of tens of millions of Americans who find themselves in a professional pivot. In addition to being anxious about my future financial health, I also found myself grieving and afraid. It was scary not to have an answer to the question ‘So what do you do?’ As much as we might protest that our job is not ‘who we are’, when that job is lost, it seriously and painfully calls our identity into question.
To be truly in (career) transition means two things: First, it means accepting the loss of identity, influence, power, position, income, routine and sense of worth that comes with having your work life as you have known it end. It also means allowing yourself to feel the feelings associated with that loss. Second, it means recognizing at the same time that stepping forward boldly into the messy process of transition is a prelude to taking charge of your professional life so that you can become more of who you want to be. (Beverly Ryle)
It’s been 8 months since I had a ‘job’. I am still struggling with answering the question, ‘What do you do?’ On a low day, I might answer, ‘I’m out of work right now.’ On a good day, I am excited to say, ‘I am a coach and consultant specializing in supporting people and organizations who are in transition.’
To help me navigate this inflection point in my working life, I took a few actionable steps:
I reconnected with a former coach and mentor . I started working with him a couple of months prior to my job ending; it was obviously a stressful time for those I worked with, and a stressful time for me personally. We met every Friday for the better part of 10 months. The stability of our work together helped me to manage a roller coaster of emotions and experiences.
I re-read a book I would recommend to anyone who finds themselves in a professional reset or pivot; Ground of your own Choosing, by Beverly Ryle. I found her words of deep comfort and inspiration. Ryle’s book is a process-based, and at times methodical approach to figuring out your next professional chapter. It’s not about listing your skills, past-experience, attributes, and training, it’s the harder, and more rewarding process of discovering your authentic self and your core values, so that you are in a position to choose or create opportunities that align with those values.
I also re-read William Bridges’ Transitions for the fourth time. His belief that ‘every new beginning starts with an ending,’ was invaluable to me in letting go of elements of my professional identity that were no longer true, or serving me. He acknowledges the messiness of the pivot process and in fact, recommends it. He warned me not to rush, hit rewind or fast-forward. It’s going to take as long as it takes. Bridges also wrote a book specifically about work transitions Creating you & Co which opens by providing some context around the current work climate. Most helpful to me was his suggestion to stop thinking about finding a ‘job’ and to start thinking about creating ‘work.’ This book is particularly helpful if you are considering launching your own business.
I finally got around to reading What color is your parachute by Richard N. Bolles. The star of this work-seeker classic, for me at least, is the prioritization grid. This tool really forces you to surface your preferences in a revealing way. For example, I’d prefer flexibility about when I work, over flexibility as to where I work. Also, when prioritizing my preferable working conditions, it turns out that I’d rather share an office that was clean, than have my own dirty office. As someone who really enjoys solitude, this surprised me!
I need to manage disappointment. Regularly.
I need to be kind to myself. Period.
It’s taken a lot of letting go, soul searching, and daring greatly (thanks Brene Brown) for ‘what I want’ to start coming into focus. An amazing friend and mentor who is also self-employed reminded me recently, “Girlfriend, you’re just at the beginning.’ That was hard to hear, but true, and ultimately helpful.
I’ve come a long way in the 8 months in figuring out what I want, and who I want to be professionally. Peter Drucker, the management consultant titan, said in his direct and simple way, “If you don’t know what you want, it’s not surprising you aren’t getting it.” Ouch. Again, hard to hear, but true.
Buckle up. Be kind to yourself. Consider a coach. It’s worth the ride.