We had a well-attended webinar last week on navigating transitions. We went through the three stages of transitions: endings, neutral zone (or place of nothingness as I prefer to call it) and beginnings. Every time I have these conversations I learn something new. The risk we face at this point on the journey is short-circuiting the stages of endings and neutral zones because they are uncomfortable and unpredictable. When we crash land into a beginning then we just prolong the transition process.
Halftime is messy on its own, now just imagine being stuck in halftime or the transition. We may live in a fast world but transitions are not microwavable. Each season must simmer and cook until it’s time for the next. The longer we hold our breath underwater the further ahead we will pop up. Proper transitions are not time-sensitive so it’s better to focus on the process and not the time it takes.
Change is situational while transitions are psychological. When the wind blows it either brings things our way or takes things away. The same applies to transitions. In his book – From Success to Significance, Lloyd Reeb describes halftime as punting into the wind. He goes on to describe the various winds we encounter as we seek to transition into a life of significance. A few stood out for me that I wrestled with in my 40s mostly. They almost blew me away from attempting a life of meaning and significance.
Lloyd says (more like warns) that once we begin to turn our sights toward significance, there is no telling what the implications might be. He begins with the wind of career risk. I haven’t been employed so I may not speak much about this upepo (wind). Closing down my business was the equivalent of ending my 20-year-old career in the events industry. I was determined to close shop but wasn’t sure how I’d pick up the pieces thereafter. I have coached folks who are unsettled with their jobs and desire to create more time to do stuff they love.
One halftime client discovered he could impact people more directly by changing jobs but in the same organization. He took the risk to move from finance to HR by going back to school and approaching his boss to change roles. It was unsettling because the role he wanted wasn’t guaranteed yet his finance job was his to lose. He took the jump nonetheless and the wind carried him across safely into the role he desired. He went on to impact many of his colleagues positively. Consider taking calculated risks folks as far as your career goes. And start early before it gets obvious that your job is a drag. And remember you may not need to move out of your current place of work to transition into your next meaningful occupation. You may just need to shift the furniture a little.
The wind of financial risk is probably the strongest and most common one. It feels more like a hurricane to many. Financial worry or exposure keeps many in a job they can’t stand. We convince ourselves that this boring job is our destiny because we feel trapped and lack the courage or plan to attempt a prison break. I do agree that bills have no halftime. They keep coming fast and furious. But maybe the question to ask here is, how much is enough? What small steps do I need to start taking to free myself? Is it saving more, downsizing, upskilling or what?
The wind of influence is another force. This one seems to carry men more than women. Our egos and craving to be the biggest dog in the pound sell us out. I remember a prominent former civil servant speaking of how his phone stopped ringing after he lost his job in government. People don’t need you they are in the need of you. We quickly forget that people flock around us when we are in influential positions, not because they like us but because of what they can get from us while in the position we occupy. We need to disentangle from titles and positions for they do not define us. Easier said than done but it’s necessary if we are to move from success to significance. A lot of transition work is internal and that’s how we get approved, in private.
The wind of influence is related to the wind of opinion. These two can cause a small hurricane as far as our identity goes. What will people think or say if I leave this job? when my business shut down, people stopped seeking my opinion about events. I caught feelings for a while but realized with time that I was out of the game so there was no opinion to give. It’s important to check ourselves and be realistic. If we have moved on then let’s allow others to also move on without us. You’ll find your new tribe hapo mbele (further ahead). My dad once told me that if people don’t talk about you then you probably didn’t do a good job at your previous station in life. So let opinions be folks. Just work on the opinion you have of yourself. That’s the most important one.
Lastly, the wind of being ordinary is another one I see especially with folks who have been in prominent positions. I meet former politicians and government wakubwas (big wigs) at the golf club looking out of place. They are used to people approaching them eagerly to greet them. Now that the job is gone hardly anyone notices them. They are ordinary but not in their mind yet. Being ordinary is a good thing because you can do your stuff without people being on your case. The limelight isn’t always positive for we will hold you to a higher standard and criticize your every move. That’s not a pressure id want.
Even the Good Book admonishes us to make it our ambition to live a quiet life, work with our hands, mind our business and be at peace with others as much as we possibly can. That’s a good mind mindset irrespective of the wind that’s carrying us. May you land in pleasant places folks.