I read a post recently titled “What if it Works Out? The Science of Strategic Success”.
While I long to have that as my default mental frame, that’s not the case (yet).
Instead, I usually fret about the opposite when I think about making bold career moves. A bold move here doesn’t mean small, reversible experiments, but career changes or work-related initiatives that would require sustained effort and have no guarantee they’ll pay off.
Executing on ideas in your career
I love ideas and I generate a steady stream of them (anything from new coaching offerings to alternative ways to live my life) but I follow through on only a small number of them. I get excited and inspired, but then stall when I think about committing the time to something that may not work out (yet… if I had assurance it would work, I wouldn’t mind the time investment).
I’m not saying this to put myself down, but as a reflection of the fact that I tend to execute on my ideas only/mostly when I feel secure in the outcome.
Obviously, that isn’t an ideal way to proceed. It leads to playing small (I want to play big more often) and is counter to the person I aspire to be.
Willingness to “fail” at work
There’s a lot of encouragement “out there” about the willingness to fail in one’s (work) life. I’m sure I’ve written about it too. And I believe in it conceptually. But, putting that into practice is more challenging.
That’s because I like to do things well (for example, although I can speak French I don’t attempt to write in French because I write poorly in that language), I easily see the “next best” version in all my work and want to implement that version (which, of course is much more complex and demands more of my time and skills I may not have), and I like to refine, elaborate, tweak.
More importantly, I also notice that, despite everything I know, I still have an aversion to the word fail.
So, to encourage myself to “fail”, I reframe it to mean:
- Do something out and it doesn’t work out “perfectly”
- Do something and it works differently than what you expected
- Do something and you don’t end up enjoying it
- Do something and nobody cares/appreciates/responds
On most days, I can handle the above. Especially when I am well resourced; that is, when I have support in place, and reach for that support.
Closing thought
If you’re considering a bold work career move, you’re likely weighing dozens of factors. I won’t pretend to have definitive advice. However, what I’ve noticed–for myself, and in conversations with others–is that staying lodged in “what if it doesn’t work out?” keeps me in hesitation. It doesn’t actually make me more discerning. The question feels wise (and responsible?) but it can crowd out more useful ones.
