27 September 2023

Coping with curve balls in a time of disruption

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Many of us have reached the middle of the year in a very different situation from when we began it. May Busch* has some advice on how to turn the disruption to our advantage.


My husband had the weekend off during a basketball tournament in Macedonia (he’s a coach) and agreed to join some friends for dinner.

Partway there an accident blocked off the main road. Luckily there was a Sat Nav in the rental car.

It was getting dark by the time the Sat Nav directed him to make a left turn onto a single lane dirt road leading to a vineyard.

Clearly off-track and with only half a tank of petrol left, he was getting worried.

With no room to turn the car around, he retraced steps driving in reverse until he reached the wider paved road and was able to start driving forward again.

It took patience (and rebooting the Sat Nav), but he finally did get to his friends in time for dessert.

Just as my husband found his way back after an unanticipated detour, you too can get back on track in your career when life throws disruptions your way.

Here are three steps to help you get back on track when life has disrupted your plans.

Take stock; go for small wins, and focus where it matters.

We’ve had an unexpected start to the year, and at the mid-year point it’s hard to be sure of what’s yet to come.

Maybe you didn’t get to do what you wanted; maybe you need to head in a new direction.

Whatever the situation, you want to get on with life and keep moving toward your goals.

Mid-year is a good time to step back and consider the ways you are off track and what would make you feel on track.

Sometimes the feeling of being off track is worse than the situation you’re actually in.

Like the project I told the team we would take on over the summer which no longer made sense when we looked at it in early June.

At first it felt like a failure, but then I realised that not doing that project left us more time to focus on more important priorities.

When you’re behind on your goals, it’s tempting to make bi, sweeping changes to catch up and make up for lost ground.

In times of uncertainty and instability, that can be risky.

Organisations that are struggling will be more successful in turning things around by taking small steps that improve their processes and stabilise their operations rather than making big, risky bets.

When you’re in an uncertain environment, the same holds true for your career.

Taking lots of small steps leads to creating many small wins.

This helps build confidence and set up a stronger foundation from which to then go after those bigger goals.

For example, this may not be the moment to quit the job you’re bored with if your savings are depleted, but it could be the time to start training for the work you’d like to be doing in the future.

As you look for small wins, focus on where it will matter most.

There are three areas you need to be regularly developing when it comes to being successful in your career.

How you work with people, including your relationships with stakeholders, the way you lead your team, and how you communicate with impact.

How you work on the business, where business refers to whatever work you are doing, whether it’s in higher education, non-profit, government, or corporate.

How you work on yourself so that you’re self-aware and grounded with a well-developed presence and profile, and resilient.

If it’s about people, perhaps it’s the small win of reaching out to one person each day.

They could be people you know but haven’t spoken to in a while, in which case it’s to reconnect and get back in touch.

Or senior mentors to ask for advice. Or people you’ve mentored to see how they’re doing. Or all of the above.

Don’t worry if they don’t get back to you.

Some of them will, so just keep up your end of the bargain and keep reaching out.

If it’s about working on the business, it could be developing a new skill.

A former colleague was pushed out of his prestigious management role to help a struggling unit with its personnel issues.

While he regroups to get back on track in his career, he’s using this situation as an opportunity to develop new skills by training as a coach.

If it’s about working on yourself, that could be to reprioritise your health and wellness.

Another colleague has decided to use this time to bring back his goal of getting in shape now that he’s hit middle age.

Just a few weeks into the training and nutrition regimen, he’s already seeing the difference in the mirror and feeling the difference energy-wise.

It has also made him more productive at work.

Never underestimate the ripple effect that small wins in one area of your life can have on everything else.

Get your ripple effect started by deciding where to focus your efforts initially. Then focus on one thing at a time.

*May Busch works with entrepreneurs and top managements to build their businesses. She can be contacted at [email protected].

This article first appeared at maybusch.com.

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