Jeff Saperstein

Many of us face difficult situations in our work either with what we are doing, which may be unfulfilling, and with whom we are working with, who we believe may be bringing us down. If you feel disengaged or outright hostile at work, you are not alone. Employee under-employment and under-engagement is a major challenge. In a recent Gallup Global Workplace Report, only 13% of workers were engaged in their jobs, working with passion and feeling a profound connection to the company.  Of the remaining 87%, 63% were “not engaged,” lacking motivation. Outnumbering engaged workers, 24% were “actively disengaged,” openly showing unhappiness with work.[1]

If you not engaged or actively disengaged, you may likely be thinking in a binary choice: should I stay or should I go?

Oftentimes, becoming more aware of how we show up and understand how we interpret the intentions and actions of others may be the best way to achieve better relationships, handle stress, and adversity so we can attain equilibrium. Coaches can provide and guide you through energy leadership tools and processes that can address your leadership and group collaborative potential.

There are also times when we feel we need to move on and are often stuck in how to proceed.  Transitions are scary. Choices are daunting; it is normal to feel anxious and uncertain as to whether and how to move forward. If you can be in touch with your own values, can understand both the emotional and logical stages you may go through, then you can see transitions as the opening to opportunity and increased happiness, better engagement, with lower stress. A Career Transition Coach can help you through this process.

Here is one model developed by the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (IPEC) that can provide insight and a plan for transitions.

Imagine four stages in a card game as the cycle for change (graphic attached)

• Shuffle: This is period of detachment from what was not working in life. Deal with the pain from the last cycle that has ended. Take stock of your life, evaluate core values and feelings, and review what is really important and decide which way to turn. At the end of this cycle you have a plan to grow, inner renewal of energy, a new feeling of purpose and hope, and begin a new dream. Your energy will be the prism to see opportunity. For example, you may wish to move from a sales position to becoming a mentor or educator, because you have the desire to help people as your aspiration.

• Deal: Action time—experimenting, training, and networking, all of which would be an implementation of the plan developed in the Shuffle stage. You are more confident and look at life as opportunity that awaits you. You can eliminate the binary trap of stay/go or just do what is easy and likely, but may be unsatisfying. So if you decided to go into the education field and learned that using augmented intelligence systems and Apps for training enable a new viable career path, you could check out LinkedIn Learning for the best training programs that prepare you for the most in demand job opportunities. You can also join special interest groups on LinkedIn to network and learn where opportunities best fit your own aspirations and have others help you to apply for promising positions.

• Play the game: Use your strength of vision with what you want to do. Seek to live your dreams and reach a level of success and well-being. It is also the time to face your limited beliefs, interpretations, attitudes, and gremlins holding you back. Understand how you show up and you can adjust your default ways of handling stress or limiting yourself. In our education example you may presume that going to a university for a matriculated higher education degree is the only route to becoming a qualified teacher. However, with so many training and certification programs now available, you may be able to learn a platform system that provides online training or gamification that qualifies you for an augmented intelligence assisted education career.

• Toss in: Some things end with a “failure” and other times with “success”. This is a grieving time. Whether it is the end of a job or a relationship. This can create inertia, because we often feel victimized and immobilized by situations and forces beyond our control. Getting a sense for how you fit into the great range of opportunities now available may help give you confidence and direction.

One App you may wish to begin your process for transition is Knack.it powered by IBM Watson. With gamification, comparing your skills and proficiencies with thousands of others, Knack.it can help you see how you best fit into groups, what your natural skills sets are and can broadcast to employers your profile. It is a promising way to begin to see your values, skills, and ways of being that will best fit and add value for your transition.

So combining structured self-reflection with diagnostic tools, recognizing stages in transition, and using Apps and Platforms like Knack.it and LinkedIn are a good way to begin.

---

[1] State of the Global Workplace Report 2013, Gallup. http://www.gallup.com/poll/165269/worldwide-employees-engaged-work.aspx