Building an agile career, rooted in your unique personal essence, is crucial for a long, fulfilling professional life.
The world is constantly changing. And, if you don’t adapt – or even better, find new opportunities to grow and express your talents–you will be left behind, wondering, “Why the hell didn’t I start sooner?”
So what is the secret to confidently building an agile career? One where you can pivot from work to home-schooling, and back to work?
Where you are staying in a high-vibration of your best self while strengthening your skillset and future connections?
I interviewed Marti Konstant, a workplace futurist and best-selling author of Activate Your Agile Career, to find out. Marti brought her Silicon-valley smarts to my series of live Coffee + Coaching sessions, where we dove into her best career advice.
When it comes to your career and livelihood, without an agile mindset, it becomes difficult to be in flow with your highest and best self. You throw up a lot of resistance when it comes to change, which decreases your effectiveness and energy. If this year taught us anything, it’s that we can be with the unknown in a way we never thought possible.
And now, here you are! You’ve been practicing an agile mindset, and you refining it every day. So, this raises the question, now that you are here, how can you increase your energy, awareness, and agility to grow your career and livelihood?
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Here are the Top 3 Agility Skills for massive career longevity, no matter what life throws at you:
1. Personal Awareness
It all begins with being attuned to the environment and yourself. Really observe what is going on in your industry or the industry that you hope to become a part of. What do you need to work on to remain current and be thought of as a leader? Align that with your personal essence for a sustainable and fulfilling career.
Or, if you don’t like what you’re currently doing and want to pivot your career, make it your biggest priority to understand who you are, and conduct a personal branding project on yourself. When you do, take ownership of your learning and set a focused vision, so you can carve out a leadership position rooted in your passion and strengths.
Long story short: Find out who you are and what lights you up, you will shine a bright light on what matters most to you and people will notice.
2. Micro-Manage You — no, really!
Micro-management is an integral part of growth and agility, as it will allow you to become more aware of your interests, capabilities, and limits. With self-awareness and intention, you can begin to make career micro-adjustments guided by your personal essence.
Think of micro-management as a regular practice that will help you greatly over time and allow you to pivot more effortlessly when the time comes. And, even if you are inspired by a big vision, remember that being agile means keeping the steps small … and accepting that your dream will probably have many iterations.
Short story shorter: Try something today that is going to move you forward in your career, call that person you have been thinking of. Send that friendly reminder email to the person you reached out to last week. People love gentle reminders.
3. Strengthen Who You Are
Strengthen and consider the full breadth of what you want to explore in your career by trying something on the side, your own version of A/B testing. A/B test the way you do when you try on two different tops to see what looks best with your outfit. You check the qualities of both and go with what looks best on you and matches how you want to look and feel that day.
You can A/B test things all the time–from different sauces to different places to volunteer or places to work. It’s a great way to see if you should make a change, or apply a new way of thinking to your current situation and expand your energy…go ahead and try something new.
- Try a new a hobby
- Earn a challenging certificate
- Take on a new workout regimen
- Change the headline on your LinkedIn Page
- Stand instead of sitting all-day
- Ask that person to hire you
- Increase your expectations
- Eat vegan for a week
- Join a Mastermind
- Hire a transformational leadership coach
Are you ready to create a new way of being? Or strengthen the agility muscle you already have?
I want to thank Marti Konstant for joining me for the Coffee + Coaching session and if you are interested in learning more from a thought leader in the career-building industry, pop over here to check her out.
READY TO SPARK CHANGE IN YOUR LIFE AND LEADERSHIP?
Being a magnetic and intuitive leader has its challenges, but here’s the truth: your potential is bigger than what you currently believe. This is your one-time invitation to transform your mindset of what’s possible for you. Book your introductory coaching session with Lisa today.