Working with tops, more and more often we are confronted with a request: “Here I have reached the position of General / Commercial / HR Director, settled into that role and completed all the tasks – and that’s all, ceiling. I don’t understand what to do next.”
And they start asking questions: “Who am I? Why am I doing this? Am I in the right company? Maybe it’s time to change jobs? If so, where to go? And how not to lose or to regain a foothold? “.
Make a stop. The first piece of advice: stop and think about what your apathy and anxiety are really related to. What drove you to burnout, and is this really the maximum you are experiencing?
Professional coaches often help to get out of this state. Through dialogue, they can expand your picture of the world and look at your condition and problems in a different way (it may turn out that there is a great influence of your life outside the working path). Today, many successful top managers start working with coaches and career consultants long before the moment of burnout or the question of changing jobs comes. They work out their goals, dreams, write down their track and move along it in stages.
What is the next point?
Learn and learn again. Not so long ago, we conducted a study among owners and CEOs, who at one time decided to restart their careers and chose a new path of development. And we once again confirmed the assumption that those who do not stand still and are not afraid to sacrifice comfort for the sake of development, achieve success. You have to learn a lot to make a career change. Therefore, those top managers who support the lifelong learning trend, reveal their educational potential, study new approaches and technologies, achieve significant results and make the “reset” easier.
Top success factors from Owners and CEOs who restarted careers
34% Education, business schools
33% Network of colleagues and executive search companies
21% Support from loved ones
19% Financial cushion
14% Communication with a mentor / coach
Prioritize. Our survey confirmed that top managers often have to sacrifice certain things – comfort, income level, status, but in the end, no one regrets the choice they made, rather than the decision was not made in a timely manner.
42% of CEOs make a decision to leave within more than 2 years
So, think about what is more important to you now? Often, when leaving the CEO position (especially with a good income at the current place) into a new direction or own business, income decreases, and it can be restored only after 4-5 years. But at the same time, other important things of value are achieved: self-realization in a new business, recognition, drive from new tasks and disclosure of one’s potential.
So, ask yourself the question: Am I wasting my time? Maybe it’s time to make up your mind now and not put off until tomorrow?
Choose a further track for yourself. The experience of top managers who have gone through a career restart makes it clear that it is not enough to be open to new opportunities, you need to actively look for them and not be afraid to make decisions about changes.
This can be, for example, a transition to a larger company (and most top managers choose this path), or a vertical transition in the current company, or a transition to another industry. You can try yourself in interim projects or take part in the Board of Directors, which will also provide an opportunity to develop strategic skills, enrich your knowledge and experience, and draw new ideas. Another option is to start your own business. Risk? Yes. But when to try, if not now? After all, a crisis is the moment when the market is being rebuilt and there is an opportunity to come out with a new product that will satisfy new needs.
Most believe that now, during the pandemic and crisis, is not the best time to change jobs. But there are segments that continue to actively develop, for example, food retail, e-commerce, medicine, hi-tech and fintech, and it is normal practice to move from segment to segment, as well as to attract people with entrepreneurial experience to the team.
And remember: no matter where you are, only an engaged leader who is doing something that gives him energy and drive, can motivate the team and move the company to new achievements!
By Daria Tulubenskaya, Partner at Kontakt InterSearch Russia, Board director of InterSearch Worldwide
Argentina
