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Transcript

Quick Lift: How to Navigate a Messy Career Pivot · Loud & Lifted

• 0:00
  Career pivots always sound better after they
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  work out. You hear the story after someone left
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  the job, started the business, changed industries,
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  or finally went after the thing they've been
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  thinking about for years. But then it sounds
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  confident and intentional, like they knew exactly
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  what they were doing the whole time. But when
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  you're actually in the middle of it, it usually
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  does not feel that clear. It feels messy. It
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  feels uncertain. Sometimes it feels exciting,
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  and sometimes it makes you question every decision
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  you've ever made. I know because I have lived
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  it and actually I'm still living it. When I left
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  my CEO role, I knew I was ready for something
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  different. I was excited about building my own
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  business, speaking more, coaching women and helping
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  companies in a different way. But that did not
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  mean I had every piece figured out. I did not
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  leave with a perfect five -year plan, a guaranteed
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  pipeline of clients and total confidence every
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  single day. There were days when I thought this
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  is exactly what I'm supposed to be doing. And
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  there were days when I thought maybe I should
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  just go get another corporate job. I still think
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  that sometimes. And this is the part we don't
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  talk enough about. In my conversation with Trish
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  Barber, author of Women Who Pivot, we talked
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  about what a career pivot really looks like for
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  women, whether the change is your choice or something
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  that was forced on you. It's not one brave decision,
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  and then suddenly everything falls into place.
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  It's a process. You are learning, adjusting,
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  talking to people, trying new things, and sometimes
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  changing your mind along the way. So if you're
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  thinking about making a change or you're already
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  in the middle of one, here are a few things I
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  want you to take away from this conversation.
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  Let's get into it. The first is to pay attention
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  to what is draining you. Now, not every bad week
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  means you need to quit your job. We all have
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  hard seasons. We have demanding projects or frustrating
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  coworkers, difficult bosses, and times when work
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  and life are both asking just way too much from
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  us. But there is a difference between a rough
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  season and a situation that no longer is right
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  for you. Maybe you're no longer learning. Maybe
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  your health is affected. Maybe you are missing
• 1:59
  too much of your life. Maybe you keep waiting
• 2:02
  for an opportunity that is clearly not coming.
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  Or maybe you just know deep down that you are
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  no longer supposed to be there. Usually we know
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  before we're really ready to admit it. So here's
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  something simple you can do. For the next two
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  weeks, pay attention to your energy. At the end
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  of the day, write down what energized you and
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  what drained you. Don't make it complicated.
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  Just look for patterns. Because sometimes the
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  question is not, do I hate my job? The better
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  question is, is this still the right fit for
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  the person I'm becoming? The second thing is
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  to separate your identity from your title. This
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  one was hard for me. When you spend years building
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  a career, earning promotions, and becoming known
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  for a certain role, it's easy to start believing
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  that title is the value. When I left a visible
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  CEO role, I definitely had moments of wondering
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  who I was without the company and without the
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  title attached to my name. Would people still
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  take my calls? Would they still see me in the
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  same way? Was all of my credibility tied to that
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  position? But your title is not the full story.
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  Your experience is still yours. Your judgment
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  is still yours. Relationships, leadership ability,
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  instincts, and problem -solving skills do not
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  disappear because the business card changes.
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  So instead of focusing only on the title you
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  had, think about what people actually rely on
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  you for. What do people always ask your help
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  with? What do you do well that may feel natural
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  to you but is incredibly valuable to someone
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  else? What compliments have you heard throughout
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  your entire career? Maybe you make complicated
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  things simple. Maybe you organize chaos or build
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  trust quickly. Maybe you see the strategy before
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  everyone else does. This is the value you carry
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  into whatever comes next. The third takeaway
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  is to stop treating your pivot like a final exam
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  where you are supposed to know every answer before
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  you begin. This is where I had to learn some
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  patience, which is not exactly my favorite thing.
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  I wanted to decide what I was doing and then
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  immediately have the business model, the clients,
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  the messaging, and the revenue all lined up.
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  And guess what? That's not how it worked. There
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  was trial and error. Some things gained traction.
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  Some things did not. Some ideas sounded great,
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  but they actually were not a fit. Other opportunities
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  showed up that I had not expected or planned
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  for. That does not mean the pivot is failing.
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  It means you were learning. Trish talked about
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  this like customer discovery. You have to understand
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  what people need, what problems they are trying
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  to solve, and where your experience can actually
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  help. So get out of your own head and go talk
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  to people. Talk to someone who works in the industry
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  you're considering. Talk to someone who's already
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  made a similar move. Or maybe someone who knows
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  your strengths well. And do not just ask, do
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  you think I should quit? Ask better questions.
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  What problems are companies in this space trying
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  to solve? What skills are most valuable? What
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  do people misunderstand about this kind of work?
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  And where do you see my experience transferring?
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  You are not asking them to make the decision
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  for you. You are gathering information so you
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  can make a better decision for yourself. The
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  fourth takeaway is to own your story before other
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  people write it for you. This matters whether
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  you chose to leave or whether the decision was
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  made for you. If you were laid off, reorganized
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  out of a role or pushed into a change you didn't
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  want, you're allowed to feel hurt, frustrated
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  or angry. This is real. But when you start talking
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  about what comes next, You need a story that
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  is confident and forward -looking. Trish made
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  a great point in our conversation. Your pivot
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  story should not sound wounded. This does not
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  mean you have to pretend everything is perfect.
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  It means you do not have to lead with the most
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  painful part. Instead of saying, I lost my job,
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  but I have no idea what I'm doing, you could
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  say, after several years in marketing, I'm exploring
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  opportunities where I can use my experience in
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  community engagement, partnerships, and relationship
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  building. Same person. Same situation, completely
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  different energy. Your story should answer two
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  things. What experiences are you bringing with
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  you and what are you moving toward? And that
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  story can evolve. Mine definitely has. But you
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  need language that helps people understand where
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  you're going and how they may be able to help.
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  The last takeaway is one of my favorites from
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  the episode. Build a personal advisory board.
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  I usually call this your circle, but I love Trish's
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  language because it makes it feel even more intentional.
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  You should not try to navigate a major career
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  change alone, and you do not need one perfect
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  mentor who can give you all the answers. You
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  need different people for different reasons.
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  You need someone who will tell you the truth,
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  even when it's what you don't want to hear. You
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  need someone who reminds you what you are capable
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  of, even when your confidence takes a hit. And
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  you need someone who can connect you to people
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  or opportunities you may not know about. You
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  also need people with different perspectives,
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  different ages, industries, and experiences.
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  The person who gives you the best advice may
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  not even have more experience than you. They
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  may simply have different experience. So think
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  about three people. Who will challenge you? Who
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  will encourage you? Who will expand your thinking
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  or your network? Then reach out. And be specific.
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  Do not send the vague, I would love to pick your
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  brain message. Tell them what you're considering
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  and why you would value their perspective. People
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  are often willing to help, but they need to know
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  what you actually need. Here's the bottom line.
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  You do not have to know exactly how your pivot
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  will end before you begin. You need enough of
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  clarity to take the next step. Pay attention
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  to what's draining you. Get clear on the value
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  you bring beyond your title. Talk to people.
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  Own your story and build the circle that will
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  help you move forward. A pivot does not have
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  to be perfectly planned or every right move,
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  but you cannot just leave something behind and
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  hope the next thing figures itself out. You have
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  to actively build what comes next. If you have
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  not listened to Trisha's full episode, I strongly
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  encourage you to do so. And until next time,
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  stay loud and stay lifted.