At VIM Executive Coaching we are always intrigued by executives who have a long history of not only job-hopping, but location hopping. Their resumes often read like passports.
While leisure travel is “somewhat” suppressed due to the challenges of the pandemic, those who seize on the opportunity to uproot themselves to a new city, state or even country at the drop of a ticket is stronger than we might imagine. Now, no one, especially VIM Executive Coaching, is discouraging logical career moves. A well-focused career plan might very well smile upon a move from Detroit to Dubai. However, some movement can be so capricious so as to make anyone of us to shake our heads.
There is an old expression of: “You know who’s going to meet you when you step off the plane, don’t you?” The refrain is, “You will.” And it’s true of course. The same baggage (good or bad) we carry around with us in Denver, will be picked up at the carousel in Cleveland or Los Angeles. And another given: even a career move from the 16th floor of an office building to another company on the 23rd floor of the same building offers the same risks, rewards and opportunities as a distant move.
One Step Further
For many executive leaders who come to our organization seeking coaching, the challenge isn’t one of “I already know who will meet me at the passenger pick-up.” The more serious problem is: “I don’t know who will be there at all,” or every bit as problematic, “I don’t think I recognize that person any longer.”
For some executive leaders who talk of fresh starts or clean slates or career re-sets, what they are really seeking are answers to who they are in a career sense. An executive who “no longer recognizes themselves,” is really seeking a mindful path. Unless they are gently brought to a point of understanding themselves in the context of their careers, the frequent moves, both geographically and nonsensically, will continue.
Executives who have never been mentored or guided toward greater mindfulness, authenticity and responding to the world around them, are typically headed for failure. Surprisingly, once executives are shown what greater mindfulness “looks like,” they can more effectively reflect on prior career moves and often ask themselves “why in the world did I ever go to that organization?”
First Steps are the Easiest
While we have all grown up with images of the executive who confidently strides out of the office building and flings the briefcase in the air over the joy of leaving a “bad company,” reality is far different. In fact, what we never see is the executive sheepishly returning to the company begging for another chance.
While the turnaround just posed is a bit dramatic, the point is that on the path to mindfulness, many executives have to first “learn to breathe,” then to learn to respond rather than react, then to be more authentic within themselves.
The first steps toward mindfulness are not difficult but they are essential. VIM Executive Coaching cannot tell you if your present situation is right for you. It is important you first know if you are being mindful and authentic within the situation itself. We can guide you to that point.
What happens to the executive who says “I don’t think I recognize myself as that person any longer?” We strive to bring that executive back to a point of understanding.
Breathe, just breathe. Become aware of the fact that you are not “lost,” only that you may have taken the wrong flight to a city where you never welcomed yourself.