Career Sustainability & Anti-Fragility

Career Sustainability & Anti-Fragility - Achieving Career Anti-Fragility

– Building career capabilities necessary to thrive in disruption

– from fragile to resilient to anti-fragile.   

Jack Welsh:

‘when the rate of change inside an institution becomes slower than the rate of change outside, the end is in sight. The only question is when’.

So how does this statement apply to a career?

Career Analogy:

‘when the rate of change in a career becomes slower than the rate of change outside, the end is in sight. The only question is when.’

Using the analogy of an anti-fragile organisation, what then would characterize

an anti-fragile career?

An anti-fragile career:

·        always has a trajectory that enables it to learn fast from its environment and

·        to adapt quickly so that

·        it takes advantage of volatility and stress and

·        so, thrives even more.

 The term anti-fragile is used glibly these days and could have an esoteric connotation for some, but let’s try to unpack it:

Anti-Fragile means:

·        the ability to survive stress and

·        flourish despite the stress and

·        in fact, become better than ever before.

 In essence, we are differentiating between fragile and resilient and anti-fragile, within the context of career.

·        A Fragile Career is one which falters and potentially ultimately fails under stress.

·        A Resilient Career is one which bears the stress, deals with the crises, emerges bruised and battered, but still viable in a way.

·        An Anti-Fragile Career is one which doesn’t only survive the crises and the stress, but flourishes and becomes better and even more viable than before.

 An anti-fragile career doesn’t just come about as a result of luck or opportunity – you have to

·        strategise it,

·         engineer it,

·        establish career end goal objectives,

·        define the trajectory and the milestones toward achieving end goal objectives,

·        define and execute the actions and interventions toward achievement,

·        continuously review and evaluate and re-evaluate and redefine career goals within the context of the prevailing economy,

·        implement new and additional actions and interventions to ensure viability and anti-fragility.

The prevailing global economy and the so-called new normal, more so than ever before, requires a cogent career strategy in the world of work that we now encounter.

We commenced the conversation alluding to corporate anti-fragility. Within the career context:

·        Engaging in career strategy and planning should be an integral component of corporate talent management – my sense is that this component of talent management is more often than not neglected.

·        However, it is also incumbent upon every career professional to strategise and manage his or her own career, toward achieving anti-fragility.

Career strategy is not rocket-science, but there is ‘science’ to it!

And it is an imperative for a successful and resilient and anti-fragile career!

 W Brian Wasmuth.

The Human Capital Group.

June 2024.

A South African Organisation And Leadership And Management Consulting Company With A Global Reach. (Since 2003) Executive Search Specialist Talent Sourcing Executive Coaching Career Coaching Career Transition & Outplacement Leadership & Management Development Talent Management Organisation Development Change Management & Transformation.

www.thehumancapitalgroup.co.za.

info@thehumancapitalgroup.co.za

contact@thehumancapitalgroup.co.za

+27118815430. (Johannesburg, South Africa.)

+27219766304. (Cape Town, South Africa.)