17 Tips For Dealing With Volcanos, Change and Uncertainty

"Uncertainty is the only certainty there is, and knowing how to live with insecurity is the only security."

- John Allen Paulos

Ever-changing technology, globalisation and hyper-competition have conspired to make most of our professional lives an ever-changing landscape. Add to that a changeable economic climate, political uncertainty and a sprinkling of volcanic ash and voila - you have the makings of constant change and unpredictability.

While your ability to create and execute detailed plans may have served you well in the past, in today's economy and work place, it's your ability to operate in a much more fluid environment that determines your progress.

Regardless of whether you're currently trying to lead a team through change or attempting to navigate your own career through a turbulence, here are 17 tips which may help.

1. Focus on clear outcomes instead of detailed plans

In an ever-changing environment, you need to stay focused on your goals whilst still being light on your feet. So be clear about your broad business objectives, career goals, financial requirements and lifestyle needs - but be flexible about the precise 'plan' you'll use to get there.

2. Stop over-planning

When the goal posts and environment are constantly shifting, it's futile trying to create detailed step-by-step plans (Just ask those people travelling back home from Europe how important it is to be agile)

3. Stop over-thinking

Listen to your gut instincts and intuition much more than your head and detailed plans. When you're operating in the dark, your inner compass is much more valuable than a logical mind.

4. Embrace the uncertainty

Many people have seen amazing sites and places across Europe over the last week because they chose to embrace and enjoy the uncertainty brought on by the volcano and frozen air space - instead of seeing it as the end of the world. They got to drive through the Swiss Alps, the Italian Lakes and the vineyards of the Southern France because of the volcanic ash and the ban on air travel.

So rather than viewing uncertainty as negative, start viewing it as something interesting, exciting and a bit of an adventure. Once you do that, you'll start seeing the possibilities and opportunities brought on by change instead of simply seeing the road blocks.

5. Be open to more than one possibility

Keep yourself flexible and open. The current changes you're facing may take you onto bigger and better things - within your current role, firm or career - or indeed elsewhere. But you won't know unless you keep an open mind.

6. Focus on the present

When you're in travelling in the dark, all you can do is focus on the road in front of you and keep moving forward.

So if you're in an uncertain place right now, stop focussing on the past or the future. Just stay focussed on the present and the road that's opening up in front of you.

7. Break things down and focus on next steps

Is there an idea or opportunity you're drawn towards? Take the first step......then the next step...you never know where it will lead to.

8. Give yourself permission to be a little 'flaky'

When experiencing any kind of change it's natural to think and reflect about what you want from your career (and indeed life). It's also perfectly natural to change your mind about what it is you want.

9. Give yourself permission to be a little 'down'

Constant change often puts on you on an emotional roller coaster. It's okay, there's nothing wrong with you. Whilst people around you might seem to be handling things better than you - they're probably not. It's just a 'front' they're putting on for the outside world.

10. Only focus on those things which you can control and influence

Spending your time thinking about things you can't control or influence is, (like complaining about the weather, volcanos or airlines), a complete waste of time and mental energy.

11. Surround yourself with supportive people to lean on

It doesn't matter how positive a person you are, when dealing with change you will have bad days and will need people to lean on.

12. Experiment more, not less

Try new ways of doing things, test out new roles and new opportunities. What have you got to lose?

13. Be bold. Forget small steps

Major change will often lock you into a corner. And when you're in a corner, baby steps are often no good to you - so start taking bold steps and measured risks.

14. Be committed to taking forward steps

(even when it feels uncomfortable and scary)

15. Be okay with screwing up and making a few mistakes

You'll progress much faster.

16. Get comfortable being uncomfortable

The faster you get comfortable with change, the more successful your career will be.

17. Count your blessings

You know where your next meal is coming from. You know where you're sleeping tonight. So you probably have much more certainty than people less fortunate than yourself. So keep a perspective on things...

Uncertainty really is the only certainty there is - so don't let the clouds of doom (or ash) get to you. If you're open minded, flexible and learn to roll with the punches - you're much more likely to come out a winner - regardless of which trail you find yourself on.

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Quack Like a Duck and Other Secrets of Successful Career Change

Nicholas Lore, founder of the Rockport Institute, is a career development pioneer.

He single-handedly transformed the career coaching field, he’s been commended for excellence by 2 US Presidents, and his book “The Pathfinder’ is one of the best selling career books in US history. Over the last 29 years he’s helped over 14,000 people to make a change.

I was fortunate to spend an hour on the phone with Nick recently, and I picked his brain about the career change process. Here are the key things I learned:

Take a holistic approach to the decision

When Nick started out, career counselors all followed the same model – using very basic interest and personality tests to identify and suggest jobs that might suit you.

It was a flawed model and even now, Nick believes many career change ‘experts’ are misguided, focusing solely on one aspect such as ‘following your passion’ or ‘identifying your life purpose.’ Instead, he says, career change decision-making must be a holistic process. He points out that a passion for animals won’t necessarily translate into happiness if you take a job in an animal protection agency. You may find you don’t like your tasks, or the people, or the salary, or the hours. And what started out as a passion can quickly feel like a millstone around your neck.

That’s why Nick guides his clients through a holistic decision-making process. He likens it to detective work – identifying and interpreting clues in order to guide each person towards the right decision.

Go beyond the dream

You may think you know exactly what you want do, but Nick encourages his clients to “expand what’s possible.” He believes we tend to base our dreams about the future on what we have known in the past, and he encourages his clients to think beyond what they know and consider completely new possibilities. In the process, many find joy and self-expression in work they had not previously considered.

Be realistic

According to Nick, there are two different tracks to consider when working through a career change decision.

The first is reality: We all have constraints on what changes we can make. Perhaps you have to pay for two kids in college. Perhaps you need to stay in a certain regional location. Your talents and skills are another reality constraint – if you can’t draw, you can’t become a video game artist.

The second is what Nick calls ‘the invented world.’ By this he means the world you decide that you want to create for yourself (within the limitations of reality of course). To help people create their invented world, Nick and his staff coach them through a series of exercises designed to help them explore, research, and understand all of the many possibilities.
He also encourages people making a career change to research the reality of the positions they are considering. It’s easy to imagine only the good things about your desired role without considering the down sides. It’s also common for people to succumb to “yeah-but” thoughts that keep them from making a change.

Don’t focus on random options

Nick says one of the biggest mistakes career changers make is that they start by thinking through random options. (“Maybe I could be a psychologist” … “Perhaps I could learn to style hair” … “I wonder if I should become an accountant.”)

While this approach might result in success, it’s more likely to lead to a dead end. Instead Nick recommends developing definite clear, written statement of your specifications for happiness before you start to consider options.

This list should include both your reality constraints and your ideal “invented world.”
And as you make your choice, ask yourself ‘what will it take to get there?’ to be sure you’re willing (and able) to do what is necessary.

For example, one 40 year-old client of Nick’s decided she wanted to be a doctor, gave up her job, and went to medical school in order to make the change. That kind of commitment is only possible when you have fully thought through your decision from all possible angles.

A resume isn’t going to do the trick

A good resume is important but it can’t get you where you need to be without a creative approach.

In general, employers are looking for someone with experience in the specified field or industry. They are not looking to take a chance on someone new and untested.

This means that you can’t just apply to advertised positions and wait for the phone to ring. Instead, you need a more creative approach. Nick puts it this way: “if you want to be a duck, you need to walk, talk and fly like a duck.”

He gives the example of one client, a successful economist who realized she had an amazing gift for product design. But as a middle-aged professional, she wasn’t enthusiastic about returning to school to learn an entirely new skill set. Seeking other ways to break into her chosen field, she devised a creative solution – she set up, planned, organized and moderated a symposium on breakthrough design, held at the Smithsonian. In this way, she placed herself right into the middle of the product design field with the key players. Or as Nick put it “she beamed her way up rather than battling her way up.”

This strategy has become easier than ever with the advent of social media. Sites like LinkedIn allow you to reach out and connect with people from any industry. Services Like Twitter allow you to initiate conversation with anyone you choose. For no cost at all, you can set up a blog about your target profession and very quickly build a strong reputation.
Remember, if you want to be a duck, you have to act like one.

My conversation with Nick was inspiring. He told me that what keeps him going after 29 years is his commitment to helping people love their lives. What a great mission!

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