When things don’t go as planned, there’s a tendency to back off and let opportunities fade away, or let others handle things while you stand on the sideline.  While a sharing of expertise on projects can be worthwhile, other times not stepping up and leaving things to others can become a negative pattern.  Are you feeling reluctant to try new things because you don’t want to fail or you feel you’re in uncharted territory? 

In our careers we’re often confronted with new challenges and it’s this reluctance to sail ahead that makes the difference between successful business people and those less successful.

“He’ll get the offer, so there’s no sense positioning myself for it.”  “No matter how much I market, it won’t change my client return ratio.”  “There are so many others that do what I do, regardless of my speciality or branding, the client can’t tell us apart and I probably won’t get the business.”  “I can do it, but if they can’t see that, I’m not going to bother asking.”  If any of this sounds like you – or some similar version of career reluctance - then it’s time to revamp your career commitment and relook your strategies to turn your results around.

The first step will be to make a new commitment to your work.  Without that willingness and belief in the possibility of new results and your deserving of them, along with your belief in your capabilities, then this list below won’t apply.  (Hint:  If you weren’t willing to revamp things or work towards improving your career outlook, then you probably wouldn’t be reading this).

1.  Make a list of successes you’ve caused within the last 6 months to a year. 
2.  Examine the list and circle any similarities (noting dissimilarities) in how those came about.
3.  Recognize specific actions you took that led to positive results to decide if you’re willing and able to replicate them.
4.  Make a list of anyone who was your ambassador or a beneficial contact then to retap them if needed.
5.  Decide your most important current objectives for your business or projects now and what resources you’ll need.
6.  Let go of any projects you honestly don’t feel ready or able to head up and don’t fault your decision to do so.
7.  Notice if your reluctance has to do with stronger personalities that surround you and practice being assertive, while never exhibiting any feelings of distrust or jealousy in what they do.
8.  You can delegate by empowering others and demonstrating appreciation, while remaining in control of a project.

There are a myriad of reasons you might feel reluctant to put yourself out again in your work.  Get to the source of what’s causing this.  If you feel what you’ve done or are doing isn’t making a difference, then talk to experts who are doing what you want to do.  Ask yourself if you’re honestly pursuing it in the same way with the same commitment and if not, are you willing to put your comfort zone on the side and go for it.

It could be that it appears as if your client, your boss, your husband or boyfriend is causing you aggravation, but 9 times out of 10, it’s YOU and how you’re relating with them.  That’s a good thing, because it means you can turn things around if you’re willing to do that.  Be sure you have supporters and evidence of your capabilities in relation to the goal if you’re trying something new.  Now be an excellent detective and not only find out the cause of the problem, but commit to resolve it and regain your career commitment.

Tags: career reluctance, confronting fears, returning to work, uncharted career territory

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 4th, 2010 at 12:41 am and is filed under Career Tips, Personal and Professional Growth, Women Returning to the Workforce, Re Careering. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.