My Big Fat Career Move - - 7 tips to manage your lateral career move

For many years, I have designed career frameworks for companies in different industries. Always conscious that it had to be aligned with business strategy, culture and values. I have also coached numerous people on how, what, why and to whom to speak to for furthering their career path while building a good reputation doing so. Some still call me occasionally, if only to have a reality check. Yes, I am known for my “tough love, no non-sense” approach and it is true, not everyone can take it! One of my mantras was, and still is, “if you want to go high, slide to the right”. Most people think about their career in a linear, stepping up kind of way. In these days of rough competition on the talent market, who would want to be like “most people”? Move your talents laterally before trying to move up, it will increase your chances when competing for the big job. It’s a way to differentiate you profile, show the breadth and depth of your skills and richness of your experiences, build resilience and demonstrate your versatility; all good skills for senior leadership roles. Sounds good no? Well, a few years ago, circumstances that I won’t reveal now, gave me an opportunity to make a dramatic career move and …. take some of my own medicine! At the end of this post I am sharing how I’m doing if you’re interested.  In the meantime, here are 7 tips that I’ve learned along the way. 1.      It’s about the journey, not the destination: It is going to take a while for you to enjoy the ride. Give yourself, and people around you, the time to understand what you are trying to achieve. You are going to feel awkward, behave erratically and make weird moves. It’s normal, don’t worry about it, you are a little scared. Find the physical and mental space to occasionally retreat and hide in shelter. This is how lobsters grow! They are soft, mushy animals that live inside a rigid shell that does not expand and therefore become very confined and uncomfortable. So, the lobster goes under a rock to protect itself from predatory fish, cast off the shell and produce a new one. The stimulus to grow is that it feels uncomfortable. You are casting your shell and must repeat it often, it’s the only way to grow. Having said that, and to avoid you becoming someone’s dinner, note the next tips!   

2.      Never burn bridges and often look back: First, simply because you might need it to actually go back! Transitioning into a new role is an adventure and the likelihood for failure is high. So, that bridge can quickly become a lifeline for you. Be practical about this and whatever happened make sure you are always able to return “home”. Secondly, and this was a big learning for me, don’t try to be someone you are not. Own your identity! It can be very disturbing to evolve into a world where everything, or close to it, is new. As you are discovering your own boundaries of ignorance, the excitement of expanding your knowledge might result into overlooking what it is that you are bringing to the table. Keep a good anchorage in your “old world” through your friends and network. Don’t hesitate to look back at what you had and go back and forth on this bridge. It will test your commitment to change.    

3.      Carefully choose your champions: It doesn’t matter whether there is a career framework, policies and talent management programs. At the end of the day, people are making decisions and for that, leadership is important. Of course, HR rules can help and facilitate the process, but managers need to be convinced it serves the greater good. This presents a challenge for highly hierarchical organizations, where self-preservation and strict delineation of authority are the rules. As you are moving laterally, unconsciously you are breaking the absolute nature of hierarchy. Hence you need Champions who will be ready to take a chance on you and have your back. As soon as you found her, seek the next one for every little step you take throughout the journey. Show allegiance, reward their leadership by delivering for them and limit your demands in scope and time. Managers only take calculated and time bounded risks.     

4.      Be an early bird: You’ll increase your chances for success if you start planning for your transition early in your career. Two things to remember: 1. you need to have the intellectual flexibility to adapt to new environments and this usually happens when you feel confident enough about what you know (see next tip) and before you’ve become cynical about what you don’t. 2. you can’t disrupt the order of promotions in the unit you’ll join, otherwise you become a threat. The grade at which you move matters. Join as a professional to be respected for what you know, but before you become a leader in your area of expertise.

5.      Be humble but stay confident: It’s an art not a science. In general terms, confidence will serve you better when you are trying to persuade while humility will allow you to learn more. The trick is to know when to display one or the other behavior and to practice them. More importantly, you’ll learn to dose in such a way that your audience doesn’t think you are an irritating whiner or an arrogant jerk. As you enter the interaction, ask yourself what you are trying to get out of it and start dosing.    

6.      Create your own lexicon: Using “local language” whether it is to learn or persuade is critical. This should probably be ranked as your first priority. Your ability to know how to talk in the vernacular of the profession and engaging well with your peers matters more than having the required skills for the job. In a world where acronyms and buzz words are overwhelmingly present, create your own dictionary of terms. It will also help ask good questions as you attend meetings and trainings. Get any required accreditation so you will be able to compete for assignments.

7.      Embrace failure as a learning moment: This one is easier said than done. We are not culturally wired for this and, as much as leaders try, somehow when they share their “failures” it never really feels that way. I don’t believe in the need for public humiliation to grow. I also firmly believe that stumbling and falling is part of succeeding. Come on, by now everybody knows that. No need to carry your failures like a chip on your shoulder. Make it private, reflect, learn and get on with it. Just try not to repeat the same ones over again.

Think Uber. It epitomized the way we think about grabbing a ride, incorporating technology we took for granted to manage their clients, ignoring all traditional business rules and constantly innovating and adapting to its environment. One of the fastest growing companies in the world. Everywhere the resistance to this disruptive player has been an indication of its success. You will find resistance as you’re going through your own journey. Decide where and when it ends, when you reach the destination you’ve chosen.

So far I’m stubbornly transitioning and feel grateful for all I have. It very much feels like a “Big Fat Career Move”: trials and tribulations when I changed jobs and struggles to get others to accept my choices while myself coming to terms with my professional identity. Every now and then, I have a panic attack, followed by a silent retreat where I measure my will to continue by comparing to what I gain every day. More importantly, I allow myself to go back on that bridge should I decide I have reached my destination.