Dr. Herminia Ibarra, a professor of Organizational Behavior with London Business School and expert on leadership & transition, has researched the state of stuck in one’s career. When it comes to common habits and patterns of where one turns for career guidance, her advice goes against the grain.
Sounds like a Ladderburner to me.
Here’s a sneak-peek excerpt from Chapter 4, The State of Stuck, from the soon-to-be-released Burn Ladder. Build Bridges. Pursuing Work with Meaning + Purpose.
Dr. Herminia Ibarra has researched the state of stuck, and her advice goes against the grain of talking only to family, friends, and trusted advisors about the future. She suggests that “the conventional, reasonable-sounding career change methods will lead to the most disastrous of results, which is to say no result.” She sees family as being too close to give you candid advice. Co-workers and mentors may unwittingly encourage you to stay within the current space they’re in. Career counselors may advise you to “leverage past experience in a new setting.”
Ibarra also describes why she sees self-assessment as limited:
We learn who we become—in practice, not in theory—by testing fantasy and reality, not by “looking inside.” Knowing oneself is crucial, but it is the outcome of—not the first input to—the reinvention process.
Ibarra’s recommends to “test and learn,” crafting experiments for different working activities, searching for new opportunities by making new connections in different circles, and considering new “work identifies” to make sense of new experiences. My interpretation—you can’t think your way out of stuck.
So, where the heck do you turn?
“From Stuck to Unstuck” follows. If you can’t think your way out of stuck, you need to do something. In the rest of the chapter, we explore what that something might look like … and specifically discuss how a wrong turn might not be so bad after all.
It all comes down to you, Ladderburner. Your mindset and your actions.
Grab a shovel. Dig in!
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