Leaning In: Career Uncertainty

As a working professional, I've come to understand and (begrudgingly) accept that the career landscape today is becoming more and more uncertain. How will I get that job? how will I get a promotion? Should I relocate my family or not? What sacrifices are acceptable to make without too much personal sacrifice? Does working remotely suit my style? These are just a few of the questions and career uncertainties that many of us grapple with throughout our careers, not even accounting for outside factors such as: Job markets, spouse/partners career, health, family, a bad boss (said nobody ever), political landscapes and more.

Here is the secret sauce that you won't learn in school, and likely most people will not tell you. Uncertainty is OKAY. Uncertainty is our minds way of alerting to us that we care about our outcomes and self-regulate when it's time to pay attention. Why is this important to acknowledge and accept? Glad you asked.

Aside from the fact that change and uncertainty are a part of everyday life and unavoidable, when we acknowledge and accept our current state, this means we are paying attention in the moment and ready to take back control of what we can — feeling down yet? Don't because I'll share straightforward, effective steps you can take to lean in and answer some of those lingering questions from within and, more importantly, set a path to take action.

Step 1: As mentioned above, take a mental inventory (write it down) of what your uncertainties are in two columns: Column one should be what's within your control, and column two should be what's out of your control.

Example: If you're the CEO of a multinational company, what's in your control at work is quite expansive versus someone in a less senior role. The point is that it's equally important to both individuals and their personal experience.

Step 2: Seek to identify what level of importance this uncertainty has to you and also what will change if clarity is realized.

Example: If the uncertainty that haunts you is whether or not you are ready for a promotion or if you should change careers, this is much different than uncertainty of what company you will be in, in 15 years. Think in the now and be honest with yourself; the rest will take care of itself in due time.

Step 3: Once you have identified the singular uncertainty or even a list of uncertainties, you then need to put an action plan in place. How will you get from point A (current state) to point B (whatever that is for you)? This plan should be broken down into simple, achievable actions and milestones to ease the possibility of being overwhelmed. Also, remember that point B is not meant to be a destination or means to an end, it's simply the next chapter.

Example: If you want to move from one company to another (reasons aside), you likely want to polish up your resume, update your LinkedIn profile, get caught up on what companies are doing in the market, etc. Also, do some networking, identify a shortlist of industries and/or companies to approach; you may even enlist a search firm or trusted advisor for assistance. Whatever that looks like for you, it is most important to get started. Most successful individuals were willing to get started in the face of uncertainty.

Step 4: Set regular check-ins with yourself and those who are helping you along your journey. This is key to keeping yourself honest, ensuring you are accountable, and not skipping ahead for the sake of speed or getting to the end.

Example: If you are making a career change from Sales to Product Management, it's not likely you will get from point A to point B in a month or less. It will take time networking, studying PM fundamentals, getting a mentor (or several), possibly taking a course or two, etc. Skipping any one or all of these steps to try and get done faster is not likely to lead to short or long term success.

Step 5: Use these steps to stay on track and put in the work. I hate to break it to anyone who thought no work would be involved, but there is good news. We always get what we put in as long as we accept the work and delay gratification. It's important to remember that we as individuals are our main asset, and there is no better place to put in the time and work to realize returns on our investment. Besides, if we don't believe in or work on ourselves, why would someone else?

Tip: Take 30 to 60 minutes 3-4 times a week or even 60 minutes a week if that's all you have and dedicate it to writing out your goals, progress toward them, steps ahead, and doing mental inventory. No matter how busy we are, there is always time to dedicate ourselves to our well-being and goals, but we must be honest and disciplined with ourselves. By doing this, you will clear your mind and be able to see tangibly over time how things are trending positively or negatively.

Step 6: It goes without saying, but I will say it anyway. What we want to achieve, we will, and there is comfort in knowing that. We also must realize our limitations and be ruthless about how we address those shortcomings (if you'll call it that) and use those to our advantage. The more senior I've become in my career, the more I've been taught and also taught those around me is that saying 'no' is as powerful (if not more so) and necessary to saying 'yes'. Personal note: Having two small children at home has accelerated my ability to say no in recent years :)

Example: If you are at the midpoint of your uncertainty to clarity journey and have decided you want to be a social media influencer or public speaker. Yet, you have no social network to speak of and have never stood on a stage and spoke to anyone other than your pet staring back at you blankly, well then, you have some limitations that will hinder you landing at point B. It's not to say you can't overcome some or all of those limitations. Still, you must know what they are and put together a plan of how to overcome them, whether that be following other influencers, taking a public speaking course, attending seminars on social media, etc. If in the end you fall short, that doesn't mean you failed, it just means the journey continues, so saying no along the way to certain things can sometimes act as an accelerator to achieving our true goal.

Final Thought: If you want to learn more, do more, or become more, you're thinking the wrong way. You are already all that you'll ever be, and there is no 'more' of you. What you need to change is moving from inaction to action. Go forth and prosper!

How to Connect:

Twitter: @Marshin10

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/loganmarsh

Email: Marshlm10@gmail.com