Plans Change: How will you handle the twists and turns?

I was driving a few weeks ago to a town about 2 hours away to speak at a conference. It was foggy, but not much traffic on the road. I was driving along, thinking about my presentation when suddenly I heard a loud pop, which startled me, as I was I was passing a truck on the interstate.

I then looked at my windshield on the passenger side and saw there was now a crack on the windshield due to a rock, I suppose, hitting the windshield. Well, I thought- no problem. I'll just call the insurance company and they will send out the mobile windshield folks and fill the small crack. I'll deal with it later. No big deal.

Well by the time I reach my destination, that little pebble spot that was less than the size of a dime emerged as a crack that was about 4 inches long. I sighed, but still thought- I got this. Not a big deal. So, in between my presentations, I called my insurance company and like I thought- they said 'No problem. We'll take care of it.' They were delightful in fact which I appreciated SO much!

Fast forward four hours later, to about 5pm. I come out and the crack is now about 18 inches - halfway across my windshield. Still no problem they’re going to come fix it and they did.

Why did I share this story? Well, so much of our careers and what happens throughout a day requires agility. There are MANY twists and turns in our jobs and our careers- daily, weekly, monthly that can be unanticipated and out of our control.

Life happens. Jobs change. New leaders come in. Strategic plans pivot. We never know what’s going to happen even with the best laid plans.

So what does a crack in my windshield have to do with your career development? What it says is even the best laid plans- me leaving early, planning for the fog, being practiced and rehearsed for my sessions- still something unexpected happened.

Are you ready for when something unexpected happens in your career?

Because trust me - it will. It's just a matter of when.

You better have your tools ready because you do not know the day or the hour when things may change or become unbearable. Strategies plans; quarterly results come out; business decisions are made.

Blind organizational loyalty is a thing of the past. So, unless your name is on the door- we are all employed at will (except for those in the state of Montana).

I have the honor of coaching people all week long in a variety of roles and levels all over the US and internationally: from VP to Coordinators to Sales to Retail to Healthcare Leaders and Physicians to Entrepreneurs to Education to Government roles and on and on. But the one thing most people have in common- they are restless. They are ready for a change, and want to be intentional.

If you are ready to be intentional and do your job search the correct way, we can help.

But, the question is: are you ready to be agile, to adapt and adjust your expectations?

To re-share a wonderful sentiment from a client this week. She said, 'Julie- sometimes life throws you curve balls. But, you have to push forward.'

Are you ready to push forward? Will you dedicate the required time to build the right tools, strategize the conversations you need to have to land the next opportunity that aligns with your values? If all you are doing is scrolling through job boards a night- you are COMPLETELY wasting your precious time and energy.

Here is a link to schedule your complimentary career strategy session.

Who do you want to serve next? And how do you plan to get there?