Accelerate in your career... and actually enjoy it.
You want to thrive in your career. However, there is often an asterisk.
*But… I don’t want to lose my work / life balance.
*But… I don’t know how to get to the next level.
*But… I feel stuck and don’t know where I want to go next.
*But… I have a well-paying job, even though I’m miserable.
*But… I don’t know exactly what I want.
Now for the curve (ball):
Mid-career is one of the most stressful times in our lifespans, which causes happiness to decrease dramatically. There have been many articles on findings from Dartmouth Professor David Blanchflower that focus on the “U shaped curve” of happiness. In this summary by Jeff Haden in Inc., he states:
"Starting at age 18, your happiness level begins to decrease, reaching peak unhappiness at 47.2 in developed countries and 48.2 in developing countries".
I know this curve below looks like a smile, but it’s actually showing the sad, sad happiness decline of a mid-career professionals at the bottom of this curve. :(
In the mid-career world, work and life worlds combine to create a coffee-infused, sleep-deprived, over-booked, stressful time. Ugh.
If this is you, I’m sorry to break it to you... but something tells me you might already know it. You are not alone, and help is on the way.
But first…what’s happening here?!
It’s not coincidental that stress increases as happiness decreases during mid-career. Your career starts to take-off, you are given more responsibility at work, bigger projects with more visibility, managing others, or figuring out where you want to specialize.
Combine that with personal lives.
These years are some of the most popular to travel the world (ugh, COVID), find a partner, raise a family, buy a house, have more bills and financial pressures - while also being met with the all important question, “what is my purpose here?". Whoa.
It’s a pivotal time when work and life collide together. You are left feeling defeated in work or settling for something that you don’t really want to do… IF you don’t take action. If you take action in this pivotal time, it’s absolutely possible to have a career where you can thrive.
It’s possible to align what you want with what you actually care about and drive meaningful, OMG-this-is-awesome, work. The U-Shaped Curve is the average, but you don’t have to settle for average.
A plan + action will provide a better outcome than just waiting for it to happen to you. I work with mid-career professionals to accelerate their performance, and actually enjoy it.
To do so, we utilize a 5-phase plan for Career Acceleration.
5-Phase Plan for Career Acceleration
Learn more about the Career Acceleration Package HERE
Using this framework, you bring the goals you actually care about to life. This system allows you to perform like a star, crystallize what means the most to you, and dare I say… makes you happier.
The five phases of the program include:
Clarity
Superpowers
Perspective
Leadership Profile
Action Plan
Each are important foundations that give clarity to what you want, what you truly shine at, how you are seen, along with kick-butt action plans, tools, resources and 1:1 coaching to turn what you want in your career into reality.
1. Clarity:
I hate to tell you, but it is critically important to get clear on what you actually want. Do you want to get a promotion? Figure out where to go next? Are you thinking about starting your own business? Are you rocking away but bored to tears? Let’s get clear on what you want and make sure it's what you actually care about.
If we focus only on the achievement and not on what you actually care about, we achieve short term wins and long term misery, leading to burnout. Clarity on what lights you up allows you to be the Michaelangelo to your own life masterpiece.
(Bringing fingertips to lips to make kissing sound) voila!
2. Superpower:
“What is your Superpower?” I was asked this question once and it blew me away... how simple the question, how difficult the answer. When is the last time you thought not just about your strengths, but about what truly makes you extraordinary and unique?! Flexing your superpowers opens up a whole new world of possibilities.
Shifting your focus away from things you do not excel at and doubling-down on where you are mind-blowingly-phenomenal, allows you to flourish. The world will thank you for it and you will have to try not to smile in your bliss. Alas, it’s also important to understand your blindspots, and we'll work together to identify them and unpack their force.
3. Perspective:
Feedback is the number one tool to grow… and one of the absolute hardest to get. I’m not talking about how many likes you get on your Instagram post or two bullets on your performance review, but true developmental feedback on what specifically makes you shine verses holds you back.
Feedback is the number tool successful individuals use to grow and thrive in their careers and in their lives. Feedback is THE foundation of growth and I help you ingest it, analyze it, and create meaningful action around it.
4. Leadership Profile:
You’ll use all you’ve learned from your Superpower and Perspective sessions to build your leadership profile: how you show up and showcase yourself as a leader.
Building your personal brand and developing executive presence allows you talk the talk and walk the walk to that next promotion or career climb, or even to land that new job.
5. Action:
I love it when a plan comes together. All good plans have goals. All good goals have direct action. We will build upon all the work we’ve done so far and mix short term planning with long term visioning to build a plan that will last and is in line with what you actually care about.
This, my friend, is the roadmap to building a career and enjoying the heck out of it.
This program includes private sessions, dedicated 1:1 executive coaching, guides and worksheets to align content, and accountability to form and execute your customized career acceleration plan.
This is your life. Taking action to be in the driver's seat instead of the passenger seat of the U-Shaped Curve allows you to not only take control of your future, but to flip this curve where it belongs. ;)
Wishing you much career happiness,
JB
Jenni Burton
Founder, ASPIRE Consulting & Coaching, LLC
Want to learn more?
Learn about the Career Acceleration Package
Book a free Coaching Consultation
Subscribe to the email list to get more insights, freebies, and some fun. ;)
Sources:
Haden, J. (2020). Research Shows People Become Increasingly Unhappy Until Age 47.2. Inc.com; Retrieved from:
Comments