Changing Careers? You Will Need to Develop These Two Behaviors

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Career Change Must Haves

Are your considering a career change or want to evolve into a new role within your current organization?

There are two behaviors present in individuals who often pass the accomplishments of the booksmart leader in the workplace. Reliable responses in the face of failure and adversity moves minds in the business landscape and advances the careers of those who develop the companion behaviors of persistence and resilience.

These partner behaviors are summarized by the following sentiments: never give up, and bounce back from adversity.

Persistence and Resilience in the Face of Fear, Cold, and Loss

When Washington crossed the Delaware on December 25, 1776 into New Jersey, his men were exhausted and freezing cold. Outnumbered and outmaneuvered for months, Washington knew another loss would make it tough to keep his soldiers enlisted.

A blizzard pounded on the troops. The soldiers had not been paid in months, and looked like a rag tag army of the suffering poor. The men were wearing their summer clothes and many of them lacked shoes. Ouch!

Not only did his weary group of men make it across the river in the dark of night, they won the battle in New Jersey in a surprise attack against the British. This decisive victory was a turning point for the America's quest for independence.

The Difference Between Persistence and Resilience

Because these characteristics are implied in the agility model, these mindsets combine to conquer seemingly impossible feats. Like the career journey! Persistence finds its footing with the people who never give up and move forward in the face of resistance. Resilience is the ability to get back up quickly after you’ve failed or fallen down. These complementary attributes combine to accomplish more together than alone.. 

Jack Canfield, author of the famed Chicken Soup Series was rejected by 144 publishers for his book Chicken Soup for the Soul before he found a publisher. He stresses the importance of pushing through rejection.

If you have an appetite for more stories, here are 21 famous failures who refused to give up.

Makes me proud to be in good company, working on my 100 Rejections project this year.

When I finally acknowledged lack of consistent business development efforts were holding me back from a full calendar of business opportunities, I launched the project. The goal is to move past rejections into the success territory for sales. My wins include speaking engagements, paid workshops, and article submissions. 

How to Nurture Career Resilience 

You might wonder if this complex, complicated path is normal when managing your career.

As Jody Michael wrote in the foreword to my book Activate Your Agile Career.

Most people will suffer in this [career change] pursuit. Almost all will find the journey arduous and confusing over time, many will come to know hopelessness and depression. They will feel defeated and stuck.

—Jody Michael

Making the decision to stay or go is not an easy one. The road is full of warnings and potholes. Yet, as you navigate your chosen path you can gather your positive experiences like good luck charms so you can tap into them when encouragement and drive are needed. 

Here are some strategies for building your resilience muscle:

1. Build and nurture a network of people in your life who care about you and cheer for your success. As Jody Michael states, the career navigation process can be exhilarating, but also lonely. Surrounding yourself with a combination of mentors, friends, colleagues, and advisors will ensure you won’t be alone.
2. Hire a coach to help you balance your personal and professional life. Some coaches function more like consultants and focus on tactical things like job search, resume writing, and interview skills. Others help you uncover who you are, what might be holding you back and use a question and deep listening approach to help you see your next steps.
3. Make friends with the idea of constant change and uncertainty. Adapt to change, rather than resisting the inevitable. Figure out what you have control over, notice the trends, and adapt to the movement around you. Make a plan that works for you. An example is to learn more about things like technology change by studying it and preparing for it, rather than getting frustrated.
4. Experiment with setting goals of what you would want to accomplish, starting with small steps. Breaking a big goal down into small steps will fortify your confidence and give you satisfaction of moving forward.

The American Psychological Association has a number of suggestions for how to build resilience on multiple levels.

Persistence: How To Stay the Course  

When I was first starting my career, I uncovered this quote:

Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. 

—Calvin Coolidge

The arc of persistence diagram illustrates the career journey, as a series of discovery points, learning efforts, failures, detours, and pivots. There are numerous decision points.

The non-linear path also includes your reactions to the ups and downs like your attitude or decisions to reinvent or evolve your current role. The route looks more like an obstacle course than a well-paved road.

Melinda Gates presented some wise advice to those in the workplace.

Get comfortable being uncomfortable

—Melinda Gates

It’s OK to be uncomfortable when you are making an important decision or moving toward a goal. Or you may be frustrated by management decisions being made about your future, when your input did not play a role in the process.

Let’s review a couple concrete examples.

• That guy down the hall was promoted over you, even though your programs and contributions felt like they exceeded his level of effort. 
• Your role is no longer challenging. You find yourself scrolling through social media, rather than using your brain power for working on something you actually care about.

Whether you choose a career change or it chooses you, one thing is certain. You will switch from a more predictable work situation to an unpredictable future and state of mind.

When Career Change Gets Personal

My job progression was riddled with change. My career evolution included artist, designer, marketer, author, trainer and career agility researcher. Currently, I help organizations and individuals conquer stagnation in their lives and workplaces through agility workshops and presentations.

The personal growth required to evolve into each of the roles was rigorous and constant.

Like that evening MBA program, while working full-time. In order to shift from the position of creative services design to marketing professional, it was necessary to earn another credential. What I did not anticipate was a manager's behavior who attempted to sabotage my career due to my part-time efforts toward my degree and ambition to move on to another role.

Or the time I owned a marketing communications business for nine years (physical location, staff, etc.) before leaving the business and earning a position as a technology executive. The nine-year odyssey included negotiating contracts, taking out business loans, signing long-term leases, staff recruitment, staff management (and firing), and the sales to keep the business viable.

Eventually landing in the technology marketing space as a tech executive, I flourished while adding to my growing portfolio of skills. During this time I noticed the agile trends in the software development world.

After conducting interview and survey research, I created the Career Agility Model, applying relevant concepts to individual career management.

Yearning to make a difference in the future of work, I wanted to increase positive work experiences and reduce stagnation in the workplace.

My journey highlights challenging events. Yet, my personal career path continues to evolve as I learn what it takes to succeed in the terrain of leadership development and agility. The mountain climb from marketing exec to author, career growth researcher, consultant, and trainer hovers at 10,000 feet, ready for the next ascent.

Resilient Leaders who Persisted

Business leaders like like Meg Whitman, Chris Gardner, and Carly Fiorina were fired from their jobs, yet continue to move mountains through their work and support of good causes.

It may surprise you that Albert Einstein was fired from some of his jobs, one of them as an insurance salesman! And as hard as it is to admit, I was fired from a design job at an advertising agency early in my career.

In conclusion, persistence and resilience are a smart pair of behaviors to cultivate as you consider changes in your career.

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Looking for a keynote, workshop, or training on the topics of agility, personal branding, or future of work for your organization? Send me an email at [email protected] and we will schedule a call. Check out the topic for speaking and training. For more information on the Happy Profitable Employees Project, visit martikonstant.com.

?Konstant Change, 2020