At Coleman Search Group, we enjoy sharing our perspectives on the future of talent, leadership, and change in our industry. This article, originally posted on LinkedIn by Matthew Nickens, explores how summertime can create the space for honest career self-reflection, helping professionals assess what they want from their work, identify what may be missing in their current role, and decide whether the next step is growth within their organization or a new opportunity elsewhere.
Summertime brings hot weather and much-needed time away from your desk. There’s something powerful about the clear-mindedness and perspective garnered from a mind unburdened by phone calls, emails, and meetings. While you can start a vacation still exhausted and in need of a reprieve from work, it’s also a time to connect with your partner or family on important decisions that impact the rest of the year and beyond.
These valuable conversations often start simply enough: “So, how’s work going for you?” This is all it takes for the floodgates to open and soon you’re sharing what’s going wrong at work and the challenges you’re facing. But all too often the discussion stops there, not leading to any material change in your situation. Meaningful progress doesn’t happen on its own; instead, thoughtful self-reflection combined with strategic action can be the next big decision you make on vacation.
Self-reflection takes time and space, two qualities that are hard to come by when you’re working non-stop. I get it – it’s so difficult to find time to contemplate something as important as your future with work piling up around you. It also requires honesty and asking pointed questions about yourself and your career. It’s a big topic, and it’s not about simply making a list of pros and cons. It’s about identifying what feels right to you. It goes beyond venting to leveraging a thoughtful self-assessment to call out what the core issues are. Start by asking yourself these open-ended questions and think of what comes to mind first:
Am I fulfilled with my current professional role?
What are my goals and aspirations – where am I in terms of achieving them?
Am I excited to start the workweek, or am I constantly facing the Sunday Scaries?
Is my work life getting in the way of time with my family?
These are bound to invoke an emotional response and that’s OK. I’ve found that talking about what fulfills you has to resonate. Saying your answers aloud with someone you trust will enable you to talk through what’s at the heart of your answers. From there, pick the top two to three qualities by importance and use them to assess what is currently missing. Are you looking for career growth? Do you feel your compensation doesn’t match your contributions? Do you want reduced responsibility to free up time with your family? Or have you simply outgrown your current role and are ready for a new challenge? Identifying what’s important to you is critical and also empowering. It enables you to combine knowledge intelligently with the next step: strategic action.
Now that you have the knowledge, assess your current work situation. It’s important to not immediately presume your solution lies with another company. Your current company may already be the right fit, but the role may not be. For example, if you’re currently an individual contributor primed for a supervisorial role, instead of immediately looking at job boards elsewhere, craft a plan to move you toward that goal within your current company. Consider managing up, establish continual conversations with a mentor or organizational leader to gain buy-in, or ask for increased responsibilities to develop and demonstrate leadership qualities. Or you may come to the conclusion that you want to explore a completely different part of the organization and climb the ladder there. Being open to constructive dialogue with a trusted mentor or manager will help clarify whether what you seek is available to you in your current organization.
If after having exhausted your options within your current organization, you may come to the conclusion that your path forward leads elsewhere. Starting this process in this market can be worrisome and uncertain, so the decision to do so is understandably not a light one. But with an open mind, it can be beneficial in the long run.
A sound approach includes networking with industry colleagues, especially those at organizations you’re interested in. Additionally, engaging a recruiter will enable you to gain insights as to what others are seeing in the marketplace, and you may well realize aspects that you hadn’t yet considered.
This summer, pause and reflect on your current situation. Answer the questions posed in this article, but don’t stop there. Identify what’s important to you and honestly question whether you’re getting what you need in your current role. Leverage what you learn from your self-reflection and craft a strategy to guide your exploration. This will aid in determining whether your next opportunity lies within your current organization or outside of it. Depending on your findings, develop an actionable plan to achieve your goals and begin working toward your ideal outcome. We are here to assist, support, and guide if you need additional insight and perspective. Make this exercise a practice you conduct annually and watch how it can make the difference in your career and life.
By Matt Nickens, Partner, Coleman Search Group
