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Winter-proof your career
Career Coach
By
Barbara Poole
Southerners are spoiled when it comes to preparing for the onset of winter. While I was out in short sleeves, enjoying picture-perfect weather this weekend, my friend Dave, who lives in New England, was busy readying his home for the brutal months ahead.
Winter is a season of dormancy. Even if you are a ski nut or a snowmobiling addict, the essence of the season is about things slowing down, ceasing to grow and weathering the harsh elements.
For most of us, regardless of where we live, our careers go through distinct seasons just like the weather.
When we are fortunate enough to be starting a new job or developing a new professional specialty, we enjoy a spring-like energy and renewal.
Our career summers occur when we have amassed a comfortable level of expertise and find the time to coast a bit, creating time for play and rest.
Autumn signals the bittersweet period when we feel the career stage we are in coming to a close and a sense that we have squeezed the juice out of that particular phase.
And finally, there is winter; those periods when we are in the deep freeze, cocooning within and anticipating the seeds that we want to plant when the mercury thankfully starts to rise.
As you go about the business of winter-proofing your career, there are some specific measures that are important to make this a productive, well-protected season in your professional life.
Consider these steps:
Clean out the gutters. Now is the time to consider what is weighing you down in your career. What are the ineffective patterns, habits and practices that are getting in your way, preventing you from leveraging your best strengths and skills? Take inventory of what needs to be cleared out.
Remove the screens and wash the windows. What is in the way of you seeing the true state of your career clearly? What stories have you made up for yourself about how things are going that you have bought into as being the truth? What would happen if you shifted your perspective on what you see as possible?
Clear out the chimney. If you want to light a fire under your career, you must have a clean passage for the smoke to rise. Then you have to stock in a supply of dry wood and kindling, and stuff the space under the grate with the right amount of newsprint for the flame to catch and take.
What materials do you need to gather to light the flame of your career? Are there new areas of knowledge you need to master, skills to update or tools to expand your repertoire? Use this time to layer them on carefully so they will create a robust fire in your professional hearth.
Drain the hoses and wrap the pipes. Sometimes you need an extra layer of insulation to protect your career during the hard times. Often the best insulation is a healthy and nurturing network of colleagues and friends who can shore you up and help bolster your spirit. Use this time to expand your arena of professional connections.
Settle in for a long winter’s nap. Once you have secured your career home and made it safe for the winter, your final job is to use this time wisely to rest and reflect. A dormant period in your career can be a wonderful time to spend on introspection and making sense of where you have been and what you have learned. Give yourself the gift of the downtime. You’ve earned it, and you will need it to prepare for the professional spring planting season that lies ahead.
Take the steps necessary to winter-proof your career now, and you will be able to look forward to a healthy and productive spring.
Barbara Poole is a leadership and career development coach with Success Builders Inc. E-mail her at CoachBarbara@SuccessBuildersInc.com.
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