Self-Actualization is the Key to a Successful Career Change

It almost goes without saying that many people, including successful heart-centered leaders, are finding themselves searching the job listings these days. With pandemic-related job loss at near-record levels, making a successful career change when you had not planned to do so can be intimidating, if not downright frightening. The good news is your efforts at self-actualization will help you make that transition more seamlessly and with far less stress.

Before we get to that though, let’s make a couple of things clear. Though we used it above, the phrase “pandemic-related job loss” is something of a misnomer. As mentioned in a recent article at PBS.org, and according to the International Labor Organization, the true culprit is “the restrictions on businesses and public life [which have] destroyed 8.8% of all work hours around the world last year. That is equivalent to 255 million full-time jobs – quadruple the impact of the financial crisis over a decade ago”. (emphasis added)

While we have been through almost one year of trying times and uncertainty, this experience will also help lead you toward a more efficient perception of reality, increased autonomy, with improved problem and task centering. These are a few of the important keys to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs for continued self-actualization. (You can read more about these points in previous posts, here and here.) In fact, a lot of my clients this year used this crisis as a helpful push towards daring to make some necessary steps they have delayed for quite some time. These include considering a career transition, clarifying their goals and vision, and starting their businesses, to name a few.

Career Transition Mistakes to Avoid

While I go into these mistakes in greater depth in my latest YouTube video, Get Your Dream Job in 2021, I’d like to at least start the conversation here.

First, heart-centered leaders are always fully invested in their work. They take it close to heart, which can be one of their superpowers! However, that kind of commitment can backfire when they get overly concentrated on their work, lose a sense of balance, and then lose a sense of purpose.

This is when you can become cynical about where you are and what you’re doing, which can lead you toward entertaining the idea that “any job will do”. You’ll start doubting whether the sense of purpose and meaning that you used to attach to your craft is worth the effort. After all, others just work to make a living, detached from their job emotionally. Why can’t you do the same – and protect yourself not just from disappointment but even potential heartbreak?

That’s when it’s time to realize you’ve become burned out because, for most heart-centered leaders, having meaning in their work is crucial. As a self-actualized individual, you’re oriented toward making the world a better place and, if your efforts aren’t aligned with your purpose and values, it’s difficult for you to be your best self.

Self-Actualization and Emotional Intelligence

Next, from the emotional intelligence standpoint, heart-centered leaders need self-actualization. They need to pursue meaning. The organization they work for must have a Big Vision – and that vision, mission, and values listed on the company’s website must permeate the organization. This statement shouldn’t be an afterthought but, rather, must be a conscious, daily practice.

What does all of this mean for you as a heart-centered, self-actualized leader?

Obviously, taking just any job will not do for you. Doing so would be more than merely inappropriate, it would literally be emotionally (not to mention spiritually) damaging. Your self-regard will suffer. Your self-esteem would plummet. The long hard work you’ve done to become a self-actualized human being will begin to teeter and, eventually, fall.

So, instead, I suggest slowing down. Reconnect with who you are. Re-examine and reinforce your values and determine how your work fits into that. Finding the right match is easier the clearer you can articulate who you are, what you stand for, what you want for yourself, and what impact you want to make – as well as where you want to make it.

When you do this, you’ll be surprised how opportunities start to find you. You can choose to either pursue your own vision and build your own team as an entrepreneur, join someone else’s vision, or both.

The critical thing to remember is your need for self-actualization. Don’t allow cynicism and hopelessness to get into the driver’s seat and take you on a detour. Self-actualization is about finding meaning and joy in your work while performing to your fullest potential. These are imperative for your next adventure.

Yes, Your Next Career Move Should be an Adventure

Again, there is a great deal more to say about these things, and I do so in my latest video episode for heart-centered leaders. However, I’d like to leave you with one last valuable tip here: Don’t torture yourself.

Avoid comparisons with other candidates by looking for faults in your experience, education, personality, etc. Own your strengths and make a conscious effort to present them the best you can in your documents, including your CV, cover letter, and LinkedIn profile. Wanna know the most common mistake my clients make? While they want to explore other possibilities, they’ve been out of the job market for a while. They finally decide to check out LinkedIn but discover all these awesome profiles of their potential competition that make them think, “I’d better not even try.”

That’s a Huge Mistake! Believe me, if all leaders were as good as their LinkedIn profiles, we’d be living in a different world.

You need to master basic marketing and branding skills; that is, self-marketing and self-branding. Go ahead and become your own champion, and feel free to express yourself authentically. Manage unrealistic expectations by practicing a balanced self-regard, knowing your strengths and your worth. Articulate it clearly. (That includes articulating it to yourself first!)

Remember, as a self-actualized and heart-centered leader in your own right, your natural gifts may not be obvious (or even apparent) to you. (You can thank your natural sense of humility for that, by the way!)

High empathy, the rare ability to listen and understand other perspectives, having a vision, kindness, compassion – these are, without doubt, the very characteristics that the world needs most in leaders now. You can certainly outsource professional services to help you develop your personal brand, but no professional service has your authentic voice. You have to find that yourself.

What’s Your Next Step?

Find a new job! Search for an organization and teams that value your strengths or, create your own. Whatever you choose, take it one step at a time, stay true to yourself, and never, ever give up.

To learn more about the qualities needed to succeed as a heart-centered leader, sign up for my free, 1-hour training: How to succeed as an overgiver without becoming resentful or losing the passion for our work. Go to executivecraft.com and join the webinar.

If you’re in a leadership position and ready for a powerful launch of the new you in 2021 – I invite you to connect and book a free 1:1 Discovery call with me. Let’s talk about the specifics of your situation and figure out what are the next steps that you can take to get closer to your vision and goals.

To apply for the call, go to www.executivecraft.com/apply and choose the time that works for you!

Have you subscribed to my YouTube channel yet? Please do that by clicking here. I’ve produced more than 20 episodes, so I’m sure you’ll find something informative and helpful among them.