Change only begins when we acknowledge our shortcomings, it is never easy, but we change because it costs us too much not too. When I look back over my last 12 months, I have made two significant changes, the first was to move from self-employed to employed and the second was to change employer in a middle of a crisis, the driver for the first was supporting the family, the driver for the second has been more selfish, to support my career aspirations. Strangely enough, I have remained working in the same office for most of this time, something that would have been very hard to accept in the middle of 2019.
Making a personal change such as moving employers during a crisis could be seen as high-risk, especially when many businesses globally have been letting go of staff or even collapsing during the COVID-19 fallout, but I found this pandemic as an invitation to reflect on what is and isn’t in alignment for my career aspirations, if truth be told, I have found the whole experience to be empowering.
Whether we are looking to make a personal or a business-related change, there are three main elements to consider:
- Why do I want to change?
- What is holding me back from change?
- How can I make a change?
We must remember that when we make a change, we are aiming for fundamental improvements, we are certainly not looking to make things worse, I am not saying that cannot happen, but it is not the motivation for doing so. Look at where you want to be in the next 5 years, are you hitting your goals in your current state, are you happy with what you have today, if the answer is no to any of these questions, then its undoubtedly time for a change.
For businesses, we must understand that every crisis that occurs invites an opportunity for change, now is the time to move forward those projects that weren’t progressing, develop new ideas, products, services and review processes and make those improvements, stop complaining about a lack of time, act now.
Finally, doing the same things repeatedly, will not lead to a significant change, we need to recognize that we need to stop, think, and act. Failing to do anything ensures that nothing will change at all. Acting differently always provides different outcomes – not always perfect outcomes, but better ones for sure.