The Art of Navigating Career Transitions (Part 1: Growth Mindset)

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My passion is to help mid-career leaders navigate transitions and love their careers. I aim to help you do that each week with something you can read in 5 minutes or less. To ensure you never miss an issue, click the?Subscribe?button in the upper right corner above.

Career transitions come in many shapes and forms.?There are times when we may feel:

• Stagnated -?We’ve been stuck in our role for too long.?Maybe we’ve been passed up for promotion.?Or perhaps we’ve climbed the ladder as far as we want and don’t feel like our strengths are being utilized.
• Spent - We are burned out from going too hard for too long.?Maybe we’ve realized that we’ve been climbing the wrong ladder.?Or perhaps we need to learn how to change our work/life boundaries.
• Shifting - Where Stagnated and Spent are the symptoms that lead us to transition, we find ourselves Shifting when we’ve already decided to take action.?Maybe we’re asking what’s next??Or perhaps we’ve already made a change (career pivot, promotion, or lateral move), and we need help navigating everything that comes with that transition.

The reality is that the ground is constantly shifting around us.?Even when we feel stable in our careers, we’re all one new manager, reorganization, or cost-cutting initiative away from change that is thrust upon us.?So the question is not whether we’re in transition but how can we embrace change?

As a leadership and transition coach, I am committed to empowering readers like you to thrive through change and unlock your fullest potential.?With that in mind, I would like to explore in this “Art of Navigating Career Transitions” series three thoughts (one each week) on navigating transitions:

1. Embrace a Growth Mindset
2. Don't Go It Alone - Seek a Guiding Hand
3. Embrace the Unconventional: The Power of Micro-Experiments

“Becoming is better than being” – Carol Dweck

In her book “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success,” Stanford professor Carol Dweck contrasts two different types of mindsets. A fixed mindset is the belief that your innate qualities (intelligence, personality, etc.) are unchangeable.?If you believe that you simply get the hand you’re dealt with, then you will want to prove yourself correct over and over rather than learn from your mistakes.

Dweck writes, “I’ve seen so many people with this one consuming goal of proving themselves— in the classroom, in their careers, and in their relationships. Every situation calls for a confirmation of their intelligence, personality, or character. Every situation is evaluated: Will I succeed or fail? Will I look smart or dumb? Will I be accepted or rejected? Will I feel like a winner or a loser?”

By contrast, Dweck describes a growth mindset, “There’s another mindset in which these traits are not simply a hand you’re dealt and have to live with, always trying to convince yourself and others that you have a royal flush when you’re secretly worried it’s a pair of tens. In this mindset, the hand you’re dealt is just the starting point for development. This growth mindset is based on the belief that your basic qualities are things you can cultivate through your efforts.”

This last sentence highlights an important distinction: a growth mindset isn't simply thinking more positively - it is something that is cultivated over time. I think a growth mindset can be like self-care in that we all know we’re better off with it. Yet, for some of us, it’s not a habit and not a priority to cultivate.?Honest confession: I used to see people with a growth mindset and think to myself, “It must be nice to be born with such natural resiliency and flexibility.”?That’s right... I was actually having a fixed mindset about a growth mindset.

So how can we grow into a growth mindset??I love these five strategies, complements of InnerDrive:

• Don’t rush to “I Can’t” - When embarking on a meaningful transition, it can be easy for us to think, "This is beyond me" or "I'm not skilled enough." At the heart of impostor syndrome is the lingering doubt of “I Can’t.”?But as Dweck said, a growth mindset is about “things you can cultivate through your efforts.”?By investing deliberate energy and perseverance, you may end up astonishing yourself with your proficiency and find genuine satisfaction in the process.
• The Power of “Yet” - The power held within a single word should not be underestimated.?The contrast between stating “I’m not skilled enough” and “I’m not skilled enough yet” is substantial.?The inclusion of the word “yet” implies that through dedicated effort and perseverance, you have the potential to conquer the challenge ahead.
• Ask Yourself, “What would I do better next time?” - This is a powerful question to ask after experiencing a setback. It steers our focus away from dwelling on the past and prompts us to reflect on specific, actionable areas for improvement in the future.
• Failing Better – We will all encounter failures in life.?Every one of them offers us the opportunity to glean extensive insights.?A great way to fail better is to seek – and incorporate - feedback from others.?Accepting feedback can be very difficult and is worthy of its own newsletter edition.??However, few tools can provide more valuable insights for improvement.
• Try New Things – Embracing a sense of curiosity and the courage to put that curiosity into action can give you a significant advantage in your development. Admittedly, trying new things can feel unsettling - like venturing into the unknown. But it doesn’t have to be this way, and reframing this perspective can yield your most enriching and thrilling opportunities.

By fostering a growth mindset, you can approach your next career transition enthusiastically, continuously push your boundaries, and embark on a journey of lifelong learning and loving your work.?Next week, I look forward to exploring why we can be prone to going it alone and the importance of seeking a guiding hand.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this week’s edition of "Craft Your Path to Career Joy."

My passion is to help mid-career leaders navigate transitions and love their careers.?If you would like to explore this further, I’d love to talk with you!??Schedule time with me here.?