In this fourth part of our five-week series on navigating transitions I’m calling Be a Taker, I’m offering a series of tools to help you Take Action. Action is motivating, and when we are feeling untethered by change, having a few simple things to try doing can be really helpful. Here you go!
Continue reading “Take Action”Take Charge
In this third installment of Be a Taker, it’s time to “Take Charge” — which in this context of navigating transitions means sorting out your non-negotiables so you know where your firm edges are.
Here are some tools at your disposal:
Continue reading “Take Charge”Take Stock
If Adam Grant were here, he’d tell us it’s better to be a giver than a taker, and I’d agree — except I’m going to spend the next five blog entries encouraging you to take. Stay tuned for five detailed prompts that will help you navigate transition and reimagine your next chapter, organizationally and/or personally.
The first is “Take Stock.” Be honest about where you find yourself.
Continue reading “Take Stock”Hard Good News
One of the things that can make a transition difficult is when it wasn’t chosen—even more so when it follows a disappointment or perceived failure. It’s not hard to imagine that adjusting to the death of a loved one or an unexpected job loss is deeply challenging.
Which is why it can be surprising to people when a change that is voluntary, or at least comes as the result of a healthy evolution, is often very jarring too. When I was navigating the ‘emptying nest’ stage of our family (which lasted almost a decade for us—who knew??!), I remember saying to a friend, “I feel ridiculous struggling with this. It’s all good news! My kids are launching exactly as we all hoped they would—this is a happy story, not a tragic one. So why am I such a mess?”
Continue reading “Hard Good News”Adapt or Adopt?
Last week I had a quick turnaround between arriving home from Costa Rica and departing again to deliver a keynote and two workshops on adaptability in Calgary, Alberta. I won’t bore you with the details, but I can assure you that a series of travel glitches put my own adaptability skills to the test. I arrived to deliver the keynote with 15 minutes to spare (rather than 24 hours ahead as originally scheduled), wearing an airline-issued men’s XL white T-shirt and working on two hours of sleep. I told the group that it’s reassuring to know the speaker has experience in that of which she speaks!
Continue reading “Adapt or Adopt?”