… it starts with a “gut tug”…
The major challenge in transitions is to balance thoughtful, scientific based career planning with the deeper issues of our spiritual life. We know it’s important to do “the work” of identifying and articulating how we bring value to a new employer. But we also feel the “gut tug” of wanting to do something beyond the work we have or had. God is in that tug, and yet we often struggle to find the language to describe it. The work of career planning provides us that language.
Engaged time with a good coach/counselor, effective use of skill or value inventories and the mandatory research about jobs, employers, fields and industries bring new insights to us. And with insights, new language comes–language to first, know our self in new ways, and then language to present this “new self” to others.
Herminia Ibarra, Professor of Organizational Development at INSEAD Graduate Management School encourages us to do “the work” especially as it relates to researching and networking in unexplored career fields. This quote best expresses a core belief of mine from 30 years of working with people in transition.
“We learn who we have been and who we might become –in practice, not in theory–by testing fantasy and reality, through exploration and examination, not just by looking inside.” (paraphrased)
Starting with the “gut tug” and then working through career planning, we begin the journey toward new and more meaningful work.
TODAY…
Consider how you will engage both career planning and spiritual resources in considering a new career direction or work situation? Who can help you?
Thomas Bachhuber, Ed.D.
President of the Board and Executive Director for The Center for Life Transitions. Tom is responsible for overall Center leadership and strategy. His individual coaching/counseling as well as workshops and retreats focus on integrating leading career development ideas with spiritual exploration. Read more.