RIDE THE WAVES OF UNCERTAINTY 

The phrase “secure future” need not be a contradiction in terms, if you take charge of your career 

By Daniel Theyagu 

In the last segment I spoke about setting short-term, mid-term and long term career plan.  This is important as since the on set of the 21^st Century, the world has undergone drastic and unpredictable changes.  We have been afflicted with natural and man-made calamities.  New medical technology is allowing us to live longer and have better health.  We have more empowerment to take control of what we do and what we can do.

 

 Yet that is the irony of the situation.  With such overwhelming choices that are available to us we sometimes feel a sense of frustration and distortion in our perception of Life. 

 

There has been a constant shift in the paradigm when it comes to employing people.  Gone are the good old days where the employee is taken care of till his/her retiring days.  Pension payment is slowly becoming extinct.  What you hear now are short-term contract, performance appraisal, multi-tasking and more job responsibility for lesser pay.  The world that once looked familiar, predictable and rational is metamorphosing into a complex web where everything seems to be appearing illogical, irrational and totally chaotic.  If you want to take charge of your career you need to make concrete plans taking into consideration the frenzy whirlpool of change that is swirling before you eyes. 

 

Even if you wish to continue your career in your intended path the success formula that you derived will not work again in this whirlpool of sudden and catastrophic change.  What you need to do is to learn to ride the waves of uncertainty.

 

 How?

 

Here are  three pointers!

 

1.  Create a Sturdy Floating Platform

You cannot be like a tall building standing on a firm foundation.  Not any more.  The foundation might keep the building intact, but it’s still no match for a Tsunami or an Earthquake.  You need to liken yourself as a very study floating platform in a wide uncharted ocean.  The ocean represents the uncertainties in your life.  If your platform is sturdy it might falter but will not break.  It will carry you through these uncertainties and allow you adapt with the changes. 

 

You can be the floating platform by keeping your senses open to the changes that is occurring around you.  Be wary and learn to adapt quickly when the need arises.  Always assess the situation that you are facing so that you can control the situation rather then succumbing to the situation.  You need to learn to paddle your own canoe so to speak. 
Hollywood actress Katharine Hepburn said: “As you go through life, you learn that if you don’t paddle your own canoe you don’t move.” 

 

 

2.  Don’t be Afraid to Open the Pandora’s Box

In Greek mythology the Pandora’s box represents all the human frailties that Prometheus took from Man and stashed it away in a box which he sealed and gave his wife, Pandora.  He told her never to open the box without explaining why.  Pandora’s curiosity got the better of her and she opened the box and released many of the hidden frailties of man.  Today when we say, ‘don’t open the Pandora’s box’ it is meant that it is best not to go into areas where angels fear to tread. 

 

However this is only part of the legend.  Out of fear when Pandora closed back the box, she heard a little voice telling her, “let me out!”  When Pandora asks who the voice was the answer she got was “I am Hope!”

 

Pandora let everything out but kept HOPE in the box.  This parable suggests that not everything is bad about opening the Pandora’s box.  Because when everything else fails, perhaps there is still hope.

 

In the career sense, note that the uncertainty that you face might really be an opportunity for you to tap into your latent potentials that you never thought you have.  Sometimes you need such uncertainties to strive effectively in your life.  However you don’t need to wait for a calamity to open you own Pandora’s box.  See how you can maximize your potential by tapping in those weak areas that you thought you possess in your life.

 

 

 

3.  Don’t become the Educated Crook

As a lecturer in the University, I had a professor who oversaw my course module performance.  This professor asked me once: “What do you think is worst than a crook?”  I had to think for a long time not knowing the answer he wanted. Looking at my blank expression he said slowly: “An educated crook!” 

 

A crook is a person who does something wrong.  He may be driven by circumstances and misled into a life of crooked behaviour.  It is possible to reform a crook by pointing out his mistakes.  What is worst is an educated crook who being fully aware of what he is doing justifies his crooked activity.  The educated crook feels that ethics and integrity are for other people and not him. 

 

As you go through your career in life, you need to ensure that you do not become the educated crook.  This is an easy trap to fall in especially if you are desperate or in a dilemma. This is the time you need to keep your wits about you.  You can get many new jobs you want until finding one that suits you, but don’t compromise you ethics and above all keep your integrity intact. 

 

GET INTO THE DRIVER SEAT  

Before your career hits a plateau, take charge of it and steer it in the direction you want 

 

By Dr Daniel Theyagu 

 

You want the job!

 

You feel that this is the career path for you! 

 

You go for the interview and impress your interviewer. 

Next you got the job!  You are now at the top of the world. 

 

Then when the natural ‘high’ of getting the job is over you fall into a rut of things.  Your career seems mundane.  You feel that there is no more challenge in what you are doing.  You feel that perhaps it’s time to change your career. 

 

But wait!  Can you guarantee that the next career will be an interesting one?  Or is history going to repeat itself all over again?

 

There is no success formula for your career.  You are your career. Period! It is what you make out of it.  Your career succumbs to the natural law of selection in that if you do not want your career to become extinct than you need to nurture it.  To do that you need to adapt to change.  As naturalist Charles Darwin puts it: “It is not the strongest nor the most intelligent of the species that survive; it is the one most adaptable to change.”  To prevent such a catastrophic extinction of your career you need to create your own personal vision and as management ‘guru’ Stephen R Covey mentions as one of the habits of highly effective people to “begin with the end in mind.” 

 

 Once you got the career you want you need to create a short-term, mid-term and a long-term career plan.

 

Short-term Career Plan

A short-term career plan can be from six months to two years.  Here you can maximize your potential by learning everything about your trade, networking and understanding your roles, responsibilities and function in your career.  This is also a volatile period in your career as others might intend to topple you or the challenges you face might seem overwhelming and impossible. 

 

There is a saying which goes: “Just when you see the light at the end of the tunnel it turns out to be an on-coming train.”  This means that you need to be very clear and focus on what you really want if you are going to come out of the ‘tunnel’.  Otherwise you are going to get run over by the ‘on-coming train’ which represents all the resistance and oppositions that you will face in your career.

 

Mid-Term Career Plan

Your mid-term career plan can be three to five years.  By now you should be professionally competent in your job.   You might be highly efficient in what you are doing but the question is whether you are highly effective as well. 

 

Efficiency is basically about doing things right.  Being effective is doing the right things right.  This means that you need to continuously analyse your original career goals to see whether they are still relevant in your industry. Staying relevant and able to respond effectively to the changing environment is crucial to your career success.  Mr Lee Kwan Yew succinctly said: “It’s the ability of a people to respond quickly to the unexpected that decides whether they survive, or they are swept aside by events.” 

This is the period where boredom begins setting in as you start enveloping yourself in a comfort zone.  The original sweet taste of success starts to wither away and you feel that you are in the rut.  Just like an aging car, your need to do a complete overhaul if need be to make sure that your performance is still intact.

 

Long Term Career Plan 

Your long-term career plan is anything from five years and beyond.  There’s the danger that you might get entrenched in your comfort zone such that it will become difficult to manage your career.  Further you may find yourself having the fear of redundancy.  If you are unable to make the changes necessary and take charge of your career you may very well be writing your own career epitaph.

 

This is the time you need to “rewire” yourself. Throw out the old school of thoughts if you have to and embrace the new work philosophy.   Accept and adopt new ways of doing things, attend relevant training courses, learn a new skill and keep identifying new business avenues to exploit. 

 

This might all sound exceedingly insurmountable; however it is easier to make small changes in gradual steps then making one giant leap.  Dutch painter, Vincent Van Gogh said: “Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.”

 

This is the time when you can be an inspiration to others. Engage yourself in a transfer of your knowledge.  When you teach you learn.  And most importantly remain teachable.  When you’ve come this far you might be fearful of failure and this kills your entrepreneurial spirit.

 

Be receptive in trying new things in every aspect of your life. Do not be afraid of failure.  You may not succeed at first but as Lloyd Jones said: “The men who try to do something and fail are infinitely better than those who try nothing and succeed.” 

In the next segment some tips on how you can take charge of your career.

 

Article contributed by:D Theyagu is a keynote speaker and seminar leader for many conferences and training program.  He runs Lateral Solutions Consultancy which designs and conduct competency based training for organizations.   To engage his services please contact:dtheyagu@singnet.com.sg; www.lateralsolutionsconsult.com; Fax: 67522160