How can you help leaders maintain focus and motivation during a career transition?

Assisting leaders in maintaining their focus and motivation during a career transition can be a formidable task. However, there are several strategies you can employ to support them through this process: 1. Set Clear Goals 2. Create a Comprehensive Transition Strategy 3. Support to Manage their Priority. 4. Address Emotional Well-Being: 5. Attention Management 6. Blueprint to Handle Conflicts 7. Optimize Energy Levels These strategies can be instrumental in helping leaders successfully navigate a career transition while staying motivated and focused.

I would start with the quintessential question- "What do you want"?. The response informs values and beliefs an individual has about the new role/responsibilty. As a coach I will challenge some of those beliefs and assess how will they react to unmet values. I will explore what can derail the leader (what can go wrong) and dive deeper into advantages and disadvantages of the transition. In addition it is important to call out that values are ever changing therefore a key 'Value' to have is adaptability; Visualising scenarios could be very helpful too. Being aware of what causes distress and share powerful techniques to de-stress is important

Ask questions to clarify their motivations behind the career transition: 1. What influenced your decision to transition to this new career? 2. What personal growth and desired outcomes are you pursuing in this new role? 3. What do you think would have occurred if you had chosen not to transition? 4. What significance does this new role hold for you? These questions assist leaders in gaining deeper insights into their identity, contributions, aspirations, and the meaningfulness of their new role.

Set Clear Goals: Define specific and achievable goals for the transition period, breaking them down into manageable steps. Provide Support: Offer ongoing encouragement and guidance to navigate challenges and setbacks. Foster Accountability: Establish accountability mechanisms to track progress and keep leaders accountable to their goals. Celebrate Milestones: Recognize and celebrate achievements along the way to boost morale and motivation. Offer Perspective: Help leaders maintain a positive outlook by reframing obstacles as opportunities for growth and learning. Encourage Self-Care: Emphasize the importance of self-care practices to manage stress and maintain overall well-being during the transition.

First thing first. Are they ready? Do they want it? Or conveniently handed over by the management? Once they have identified this, we move to the next step. Otherwise, nothing much can be done. The other to consider, if my promotion or career transition coming with salary increase. I have coached people who, after accepting, they found out that salary wise, no gain. Here’s the thing? The role of the management.

Before discussing emotion management, it’s essential to identify and understand these emotions. Often, we overlook others’ emotions without allowing space for exploration. I encourage clients to consider the exact causes of their emotions, promoting the idea that every emotion serves a purpose. After establishing an understanding, we can proceed to explore strategies for effectively managing emotions.

Two things I have found extremely helpful for clients, once they have identified these stressors and when those are triggered, is to find a way to 'pause' (i.e. the strategies that allow them not to enter into the reaction immediately) and to first reflect on what outcomes they would like to achieve. From this point, they can consciously decide on what reactions and emotions would be most appropriate to have for the situation. Secondly, look at the impact. With these specific emotions, what's the impact for them, those around them, the task/project, and the chances of success then. Next they explore what they want to happen instead and again, what is the impact on them, on those around etc... and what are the chances of success now.

One thing I found helpful is building collaboration among team members and ensuring all they need to do is done so my task as a leader is easier, thereby avoiding stressful situations and running emotions.