While some see being between roles as problematic, times of change are great opportunities for repositioning to do the great work of your life.
Is it just me, or is there an unspoken stigma attached to being “in transition”? Could it be that “in transition” is linked to “not working a traditional job”? And that people in that situation are perceived as “less than” those working a traditional job—under the misguided logic that if a person were good, they’d be working? I’d like to change the conversation and the discourse on this subject via executive personal branding.
After almost two decades of working with executives in transition, I can tell you with conviction that being in transition does not signify a person has lesser worth. Instead, it reflects that the person is poised to pause and consider what’s next, to choose the right path for themselves, even to use executive personal branding to help discern what they do best in the world—and then go do the great work of their life.
Let’s look at this stigma more deeply, talk about how executive personal branding can help mitigate it and, finally, discuss how leaders can support other leaders on this journey.
The Stigma of Transition That’s Eased by Executive Personal Branding
Leaders have been experiencing this stigma for a long time. While managing the “in-betweens” is not currently part of the larger business conversation, we specialize in it at Revealing Genius, so we think about it a lot.
Leaders can be in transition for lots of good reasons (actual clients):
- They’re retiring
- They’re changing industries
- They’re choosing to shift from being “busy” to being “engaged”
- They’re writing a book
- They’re ready to choose and pursue their life’s work
- They were downsized even though they were the top producer
- They’re positioning themselves to pursue their audacious vision for how the world could be a better place
The fact that making such a significant change sometimes means not having a traditional job for a time may trigger the same stigma associated with unemployment. It’s well known that employers typically prefer candidates who currently have a job over those who don’t. And the stigma doesn’t stop there.
According to a recent article in Time magazine about the stigma around not having a traditional job, even temporarily: “It’s not only employers who stigmatize.”
“As the unemployed workers I’ve interviewed in the course of my research repeatedly emphasized,” writes Ofer Sharone, associate professor of sociology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and author of The Stigma Trap: College-Educated, Experienced, and Long-Term Unemployed, “they experienced the unemployment stigma in every realm of their life, including when trying to network with former colleagues, or even when turning to their spouses or close friends for support.
“The way out of this trap is to confront it head-on and shine a bright light on the assumption that unemployment necessarily reflects anything about the unemployed person,” Sharone continues, when, in the case of economic and corporate shifts outside of anyone’s control, even top talent gets let go.
Transition Better Using Executive Personal Branding
In a recent New York Times article, Bruce Feiler offers five tools for making whatever life transition you’re experiencing go more efficiently.
The top tip offered by Feiler, a New York Times columnist and author of the bestseller Life Is in the Transitions: Mastering Change at Any Age? “Start with your transition superpower.”
“Once you enter a transition, you often feel either chaotic and out of control or sluggish and stuck in place,” Feiler writes. “But my conversations suggest there is surprising order to these times.”
“For starters, transitions have three phases. I call them ‘the long goodbye,’ in which you mourn the old you; ‘the messy middle,’ in which you shed habits and create new ones; and ‘the new beginning,’ in which you unveil your fresh self. These phases need not happen in order. Each person tends to gravitate to the phase they’re best at (their transition superpower).”
Interestingly, the “excavate” step of the time-proven Excavate–Tell–Affirm™ executive personal branding process from Revealing Genius also leverages the idea of people having a superpower. Participate in the process and you’ll be asked, “At what are you best in the world?” The answer, you’ll learn, speaks volumes about your executive personal brand—and what you most want to do next.
The “tell” step helps you effectively share your unique reason to serve with others, while the “affirm” step helps build so much conviction about your brand that you can feel it in your bones.
“Transitions … are a time for us to think about who we want to become as part of our lives change,” says this article in Psychology Today. “Being in transition offers us an opportunity to reflect on our values (and the ways they may have changed), our goals and our identities in the different areas of our lives.”
Executive personal branding can help you do this effectively.
Mitigating the Stigma of Transition
In my long experience working with leaders in transition, “between times” are often important periods of learning and growth. It’s high time we remove the stigma about transitions and step up to help the people around us—and ourselves—with these key times in life.
One way to do that is to proactively reach out to someone searching for their next job or reaching for a career milestone and offer to spend an hour assisting them in their efforts. During your meetup, perhaps you can help them more clearly articulate what they’re searching for, give them solid feedback on their resume or LinkedIn profile, connect them with a great lead or even make a key introduction. (Download our white paper about the value of personal introductions.)
You might also refer them to us at Revealing Genius for help excavating what they stand for and who they most want to serve, plus support in believing in their brand and talking about it effectively with others. They (and you) can get instant access to the free Revealing Genius 10-minute webinar, sign up for our Excavate-Tell-Affirm™ Brand Leadership Summit or take our online course. We are honored to work with leaders 1:1 or to help build a brand manifesto.
