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Making Successful Transitions
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Making Sucessful Transitions
Transitions are difficult times
for everyone. If we can learn to make changes with more awareness,
attention, and reflection, we gain perspective and enjoy the change
process instead of resisting it. Clarifying our purpose, becoming
clear about our core incompetence, learning to manage our energy,
and creating an alarm system to warn us of unnecessary energy drains
will make a significant difference to our enjoyment, success, and
effectiveness.
The key to making successful
career and life transitions is developing clarity about what one
really wants in work and in life. Often, intelligent people know
what others should or should not aspire for, but they experience
formidable difficulties making decisions in their own lives. When
it comes to practicing what we preach, it seems that the more intelligent
we are, the more difficult it becomes. Self-mastery is less about
preaching and more about practicing-it is at the core of making
successful changes in life.
In this short article, I focus on specific ideas on self-mastery
that, with practice, could help you make successful transitions.
Four basic principles are covered: Awareness, Attention, Action,
and Reflection. As part of Awareness, I also introduce four additional
components under the section Personal DNA (which will be explained
later): North Star, Core Incompetence, Energy Trigger, and Alarm
System. In the end, I will introduce you to a process that puts
all this into practice.
Awareness
The more intelligent we are, the more often we operate on "autopilot."
This is the state in which we are not consciously making choices
but are responding in a mechanical fashion. We get comfortable with
a set of mental models that have made us successful in the past,
and those mental models become part of our unconscious patterns.
These "autopilot patterns" act as filters that prevent
any information from entering our minds that is contrary to our
established patterns. In other words, we doubt, suspect, or outright
reject new information that does not fit into our models. Moreover,
when we don't become aware of these patterns, we develop chronic
incompetencies and get stuck in ways that drain our energy and vitality.
Dramatic improvements in effectiveness can be achieved when we are
able to make concrete connections between our unconscious thought
patterns and our behaviors. Making such connections requires listening
to people who care about us, especially when they give us "unpleasant"
feedback. Becoming more open and soliciting information that confronts
or contradicts our point of view is thus highly recommended. Then,
once we encounter contradictory opinions, it helps to dispassionately
examine our autopilot behaviors and see whether they are appropriate
in the current context. Developing such a perspective requires constant
awareness, careful attention, the willingness to engage in new and
unaccustomed actions, and regular reflection-all of which is easier
said than done! These actions often need support structures, such
as coaches, as well as self-control and regular practice.
Think about the unique competencies that you bring to any job that
you do. Are you aware of your own unique contributions? What makes
you special? When I ask this question, people often describe their
last employer, their past job, the size of the budget that they
managed, the number of people who worked for them, the school that
they graduated from, or their years of professional experience.
Suppose that you are attending a job interview in Silicon Valley:
Is it possible that there are others who have comparable background,
work experience, and academic qualifications? How are you going
to distinguish yourself from those people? You must delve into your
unique approach, your passion, and the gifts that you alone bring
to any project that you work on, right? Now you are approaching
your unique essence-sometimes called your personal DNA. Just like
you have genetic DNA, you can think of personal DNA as the building
block of your personality. Undeniably, there is nobody like you
in the world. You are unique. But, you must discover your distinguishing
characteristics, and, when you become aware of those, you will easily
find the unique qualifications and advantages that you hold over
hundreds of other applicants with similar characteristics.
In summary, awareness concerns making concrete connections between
our unconscious thoughts, behavior patterns, and conscious actions.
The "knowing-doing" gap occurs when we mistake "knowing"
something for our ability to act on it, or not knowing what we routinely
do in our day-to-day life. Then, we keep doing those same things
over and over, expecting different results in an "unthinking
way." Awareness is about discovering your hidden skills, talents
and passion so that it is easy to "brand" yourself. The
knowing-doing gap narrows when we become more aware of our own feelings
and automatic thought patterns and pay attention to the roles that
they play in our lives.
Before we move onto attention and action, let us understand more
about our personal DNA.
Personal DNA
At SelfCorp, we believe that it is possible to create conscious
DNA maps that represent their unique personalities (and cultures)
for individuals (and corporations). Although the words "Personal
DNA" and "Cultural DNA" are metaphoric with respect
to the actual meaning of a genetic code, they still have the potential
to affect the generative capabilities that activate hidden codes
in our biological DNA. It is known that we have many more codes
that lay inactive in our genetic code (often called "junk DNA"),
and certain emotions and actions can trigger those codes, allowing
us to tap into a latent, previously unknown inner genius. We work
with our clients to create individualized, three-dimensional maps
that are about 8 inches in size and constructed from plastic and
cardboard. We call them Personal DNA maps (or cultural DNA maps),
and they are very useful in helping people determine their unique
strengths and potential fit with specific jobs in certain companies.
Cultural DNA maps are excellent for cultural integration work, for
identifying the best candidates for certain senior positions, and
for branding products and companies. Consider Hewlett-Packard (HP).
We know that HP has a unique culture that has been mapped and evolved
in different parts of the world. When conflicts arise regarding
the "HP Way" (like they did with during the potential
merger with Compaq), the root of dissension lies with people who
believe that inappropriate mergers and acquisitions will dilute
the DNA and the culture. A similar phenomenon happens when we engage
in a job that is inconsistent with the purposes that we have defined
for ourselves, either consciously or unconsciously. Thus, the purpose
of these DNA maps, or essence maps, is that they help shape our
future when we use them to actively participate in visualizing our
future and clarifying our purpose.
We identify four base pairs of our personal DNA, just like base
pairs of genetic DNA.
North Star: We all have work
on finding our purpose in life sometime or another. We call that
purpose as North Star because it represents something up in the
sky that beckons us, challenges us and inspires us. Some of us are
clear about our North Star, while others try to find it by rejecting
everything that is not their purpose. If we methodically identify
our North Star and visualize it, it helps us to stretch beyond our
usual autopilot patterns and co-create a future that is more exciting.
But, when we are in transition, our purpose becomes hazy, and, when
we are in our fear-based or survival-based modes, even suggesting
that we have a choice in co-creating our future is often not heard,
let alone accepted. The key to breaking out of our fear-based patterns
is to discover our larger purpose.
Clarify your North Star.
Visualize what you would like to be doing and where you would
like to be far into the future (in 5-10 years or 20 years if you
are young). When you visualize and clearly identify and articulate
your purpose, it becomes easier for you to clarify where you are
right now, set priorities, and see where you want to go. Then, during
a transition period, you can take time to identify the kind of job
and company that would best help you move towards your North Star.
Because you will be intrinsically motivated to work in that job,
you will certainly be much more passionate, productive, and effective.
Moreover, goal setting becomes more meaningful when you understand
larger purpose behind those goals, and it will be easier for you
to backtrack from the desired future to the current reality. Don't
worry about finding ways to reach that larger purpose. Nature is
not so capricious that it lets you visualize a future and then denies
you the tools to reach that future. Rather, once you are clear about
your North Star, you automatically begin to explore ways to attain
that future. In other words, when you identify your unique aspirations
and ambitions, they begin to pull you toward materializing them.
Purpose is one of four core components of your personal DNA.
The conventional goal-setting process starts from the present and
extends into the future. People extrapolate what they want now into
the future, wishing for a better or faster version of what they
currently have. It is no wonder that such a goal setting process
is depressing, because it reminds people that whatever they have
now is not good enough and they will have to wait for something
better.
To prevent falling into that trap, ask yourself the following questions
when you are clarifying your North Star:
· Does my North Star inspire me (especially when I am down)?
· Does my North Star challenge me (when I feel smug)?
· Does my North Star give me direction (when I am lost)?
When you identify your unique North Star, you will notice that it
inspires you, challenges you, and gives you direction.
Core Incompetence: Often, North
Star alone is sufficient. But there may be times when you have the
nagging feeling that despite having identified a motivating purpose,
you are not making fast enough progress towards it. To resolve this,
you must understand that each of us has ingrained behaviors that
hold us back. I am sure that you are familiar with the notion of
the "core competence" of an organization or an individual.
However, I have identified another characteristic that is unique
to each of us, which I call the core incompetence (CI). The core
incompetence is a behavior that prevents us from moving towards
our purpose. When the core incompetence has taken over, your capacity
to think and act rationally is seriously impaired. Instead, you
react from past memories and dysfunctional patterns. You can probably
identify your strengths, but do you really know your debilitating
weaknesses?
Consider tennis. Your ability to win a game of tennis does not depend
just on your strong volleys or formidable returns. You must also
have a good serve. But, if your serve is your weakest competency,
then, unless you improve it, your capability to win will be seriously
impaired. A similar effect applies to your work and your life. For
example, until individuals can control volatile tempers, learn to
deal distractibility, or eliminate chronic tardiness, they won't
be able to advance vigorously toward success.
How do you discover your core incompetence? Look at where you get
repeatedly stuck and where your "foot is nailed to the floor."
What behaviors or attitudes do you have that other people keep complaining
about? What is one thing that you want to justify or hide from others?
If you begin to list those things and seek the root cause behind
them, you have arrived at your core incompetence. Once you identify
your CIs, you can get a coach or partner with peers who have strengths
in the area of your incompetence.
CI is like a hook: it's an unconscious,
addictive pattern. Once you become conscious of it and have a larger
purpose that inspires you, your CI begins to lose its grip on you.
Purpose and Core Incompetence are like opposite sides of the same
coin. You can only be present to one of them at a given time. When
you consciously shift your attention to a larger purpose, and explore
why you are doing what you are doing, you can learn to unhook yourself
from your CIs. This is the beginning of the personal mastery journey.
Energy Trigger: Have you ever
wondered why you are full of energy one day and completely down
the next? Do you know what activities excite you, rejuvenate you,
and energize you every time you engage in them? Take a minute and
think about it. Is it being in nature? Is it music? Is it reading?
Tennis? Making love? Good food? Many of us are blind to what triggers
us or drains our energy. If you are unaware of your energy trigger,
you are dependent on weather, food, unexpected surprises to cheer
you up and energize you. As you become more aware and pay more attention
to what activities energize you, you begin to see an increase in
your energy on a daily basis. Emotional energy and passion are two
factors that distinguish successful people.
For the next week, pay attention to what activities and practices
rejuvenate you reliably and repeatedly and what activities and practices
drain you. By identifying activities or practices that reliably
rejuvenate you, you will reduce chances of burnout. By the way,
when I mention energy trigger, I really am looking for triggering
mechanism. For example, when my laptop battery is drained, I plug
the ac adapter into a wall socket. Once I plug it in, the battery
starts charging and continues to charge till it is full. My role
is to plug it in. Just like that, in your life, what activities
do you need to initiate, start up so that you trigger your rejuvenation
process?
Alarm System: How do you identify
when you are draining your energy faster than usual? We all do get
exhausted over time during the day and that is understandable. Weather,
work, thinking, stress - all of them could drain our energy. But
some times, we lose our energy at a faster pace and if we don't
catch ourselves, we might do things like getting upset with others,
snapping at people, becoming impatient with oneself and making stupid
decisions. These are preventable energy drains and we have to learn
to identify signals that our body sends to let us know that we are
getting into a danger zone. Pay attention to your breath patterns,
body signals like tension in your neck or shoulders, and sensations
like sudden heat, cold, dryness of mouth. When your energy drain
kicks into high gear-these could be alarm signals warning you and
if you pay attention you might identify the cause of the drain.
When these signals are consciously identified and addressed appropriately,
you can really stop energy from draining out of your system. The
end result is more self-control, more self-awareness and sensitivity
to what is going on inside your body and outside in the room. When
you can come up with a reliable alarm system and pay attention to
it regularly, you will notice significant shift in your communication,
effectiveness in working with others and overall sense of accomplishment.
The more you learn to manage your drains, the better you will be
in making meaningful decisions regarding your future and that is
critical during transition period.
Attention
William James said, "Our acts of voluntary attending, as brief
and fitful as they are, are nevertheless momentous and critical,
determining us, as they do, to higher or lower destinies."
Attention makes a difference when everything else is equal. When
people focus their attention, superior performance results regardless
of their capabilities. In his book Inner Game of Work, Tim Gallwey
says:
The simple fact is that we do our best when we are focused, whether
we are riding a bicycle, drawing a plan for suspension bridge, conceiving
a global strategy for multinational company, negotiating a contract,
selling a product, cutting sushi, tasting a glass of wine, appreciating
a sunset, throwing a ball, or writing a book. And when focus is
lost, we simply do not perform at our best.
Attention is critical to all learning, skill development, clarity,
achievement, and ultimately enjoyment. Attention is especially important
to areas where one is aware of one's core incompetence. Here is
a comment from a resigned executive about his ability to get things
done on time. "I know that I have to manage my tendency to
procrastinate of every thing to the 'last minute.' I am aware that
the stress is building up not only in me but also in others who
support me and of course my clients. The problem is that I do not
pay enough attention to this issue. So the problem continues and
every time I curse myself saying that I will pay attention the next
time. But the next time never seems to come." Can you relate
to his dilemma? Are you aware of things that you keep putting off
until the last minute? Can you take a few minutes and list all of
the things that you know of which would improve your chances of
getting to your goal if only you could pay enough attention to them?
Paying attention entails allowing yourself to compensate for your
core incompetence without judgment. Also, it means focusing on something
in a relaxed way and allowing that focus to shape your awareness.
For example, can you close your eyes and pay attention to your breath
for a minute? I would like you to say out loud whether you are breathing
in using the right nostril or the left nostril or both right now.
Keep your attention on your breath and notice whether you breathe
in and out using one nostril or both nostrils. When you really do
this exercise, you might be in for a surprise. Your awareness of
your own breath increases significantly. The purpose of paying attention
is to increase your awareness and concentration. Whenever you pay
attention, confusion lifts and clarity increases.
When you learn to pay attention and develop your focus, it becomes
the master skill that can induce a state of timeless enjoyment in
whatever you are doing. This is often called "playing in the
zone," and playing in the zone is responsible for the magical
performances and effortless excellence that we observe. One recent
example of such focused performance was Sarah Hughes' figure skating
during the ladies' long program of the 2002 Winter Olympics. She
seemed to have performed just magically, without any expectations,
and was pleasantly surprised to receive a gold medal. On the other
hand, Michelle Kwan seemed to focus on the medal so powerfully that
she became too tense and subsequently could only attain a bronze
medal. The example shows that trying too hard produces constrained
focus and wavering attention. If you can learn to develop full attention,
yet remain relaxed, you will be able to perform much better in whatever
you undertake (including job interviews), as well as learn faster
and more fully while enjoying yourself in the process.
Where in your life are you able to focus and pay total attention?
What kinds of activities can you attend to without distraction and
which easily distracted you? Discovering the nature of full attention
will allow you to manage your energy well and help you move effortlessly
towards your purpose.
Awareness is what you develop by reading this article. It is like
a light that shines and brings objects into your field of view.
Read it again and discuss it with your spouse or friends until you
begin to identify the four cornerstones of your personal DNA. Select
one of the four DNA components and focus your attention on it. Which
one you choose does not matter; you can pick the one that interests
you the most. Over time, you will begin to notice that your attention
is creating a significant difference to that component, and the
results that you produce will begin to shift dramatically in a positive
direction. While awareness is like a light, attention and focus
enable you to see with greater clarity and definition.
Action
You have a choose to use your attention or not-it won't happen automatically
to you. When you first learn to focus and pay attention, you will
notice how many distractions you have. Your worries, expectations,
doubts, and fears all seek to distract your focused attention. But,
when you begin to trust yourself, break out of your autopilot patterns,
choose to focus on your North Star, reduce your core incompetence,
and manage your energy triggers and alarm systems well, magic begins
to happen. Nonetheless, keep practicing because magic is to be generated
continuously and will not become another autopilot pattern.
In India, we call it sadhana, or regular practice, that builds your
capacity to pay full attention. You cannot force it. Becoming good
at developing attention and concentration requires you to be interested,
accepting of yourself, and gentle with self-criticism. When you
take action with full attention, you begin to develop a "presence"
that is hard to ignore. Did you ever meet the Dalai Lama? He can
look at you and pay attention to you in a group of 10 or 10,000
persons and completely make you feel that he only has eyes for you.
When he listens, he listens with no interruptions and apparently
with no internal noise. That kind of "presence" is a rare
gift, but each of us can develop it with practice. In how many activities
do you pay total attention? Do you really listen to people when
you are in a meeting or when you go to a lecture? You may not be
aware of it, but each of us makes many unconscious judgments about
another's attention, listening skills and their interest based on
how they "show up." Do you pay attention to how you "show
up" to others?
Actions are not just activities. When you are in-action, not just
reacting or pro-actively planning, your presence shows-up differently.
Pay attention to your attitudes and moods while you communicate
and decide what is going to happen, before you speak or shake the
other person's hand. Your actions and attitudes go together with
your attention and awareness. The more that your actions are congruent
with your attitudes and awareness, the more magic you attract in
your daily life.
Attention and awareness can be practiced in everyday activities.
Pick any one of the actions that you want to improve and pay attention
to it. Just become aware of what you are doing without judging or
evaluating. Find a variable that you can observe without difficulty.
For example, you could pay attention to phenomena such as the other
person's tone, brevity in communication, interest level, or your
feeling of respect. When you are driving a car, you can pay attention
to distractions, your comfort level, or the gap between your car
and the one in front. Similarly, you can select other variables
for practice.
Pick one action that would impact your personal DNA, and see what
happens to your energy, effectiveness, and behavior over one week.
Then, reflect on what benefits you gained and how your behavior
has changed. Ask others around you to share what they noticed. Through
this process, you will develop greater awareness of what has happened,
and you will begin to make others more curious and aware too.
Reflection
This is the key to personal development. Pick a suitable time to
reflect on the day's events. If you are comfortable, keep a journal
and explore what you felt during a particular event, including how
you feel at the time of reflection. Notice your judgments, assessments,
and expectations about that event, yourself, and others. Examine
whether those feelings and thoughts have surfaced before in the
same way and, if so, identify the pattern. Reflect on the triggers
that evoke those patterns. Become aware of the positive patterns
that attract you and create an attachment to them and the patterns
that create negative energies and aversion in you. Both of them
will lead you down the garden path as they both create autopilot
patterns and reduce your awareness. Each time you become aware,
every time you pay attention, the more freedom you gain from your
patterns and more choices you find in your action. Reflection is
an extremely powerful way to recharge and recommit to your North
Star. As you learn to separate yourself from what occurs and observe
events without attachment, you begin to gain balance, perspective,
and equanimity.
If you can follow the process of identifying your personal DNA and
developing a daily practice of being aware of what is going on around
and inside you, paying attention to what is happening in the moment,
taking action without attachment and with awareness, reflecting
regularly, and identifying patterns that limit you, you begin to
notice an internal shift. Your presence, listening abilities, focus,
performance, and results will be very different as you progress
in your practice.
It is possible to unleash your leadership abilities, ignite your
passion and commitment, harvest your creativity, and clarify your
purpose by working on and strengthening all your personal DNA components.
I highly recommend that you invest the time to learn more about
your personal DNA. This will help you to
· Surface your autopilot patterns to the level of awareness/
consciousness,
· Structure the patterns in ways that dramatize their effects,
· Identify behavior triggers that short circuit autopilot
patterns, thus allowing conscious, effective intervention (action),
· Manage your energy while not letting your Core Incompetence
ruin your life, and
· Move toward and reach your long-term purpose.
At SelfCorp, we consult with executives in the areas of creativity
& innovation, strategic thinking, cultural integration (based
on mapping cultural DNA of the organization) offer coaching and
mentoring services (using custom assessment and after helping you
create your own personal DNA map). You are welcome to contact me,
come to free Practical Spirituality sessions that are held on Wednesday
evenings in my office, or attend one of my personal/leadership development
workshops. You can even sign up for a year-long program that helps
you accomplish one significant project at work and home and ignite
your natural genius.
Summary
Transitions are difficult times for everyone. Making changes with
more awareness, attention, and reflection, allows us to can learn
enormously, gain perspective, and enjoy the change process instead
of resisting it. Clarifying our purpose, becoming clear about our
core incompetence, learning to manage our energy, and creating an
alarm system to warn us of unnecessary energy drains will make a
significant difference to our enjoyment, success, and effectiveness.
What we enjoy sticks with us and becomes a stimulus for deeper and
longer lasting changes! That is the trigger that ignites your natural
genius!
Acknowledgements
I appreciated conversations with Tom Milus, Giridhar Tirumalai,
Ed Haskell, Doug Walton, Art Lerner, Rain Blockley and David Hicks.
They helped me shape and edit this article. Thank you.
Prasad Kaipa is currently the CEO of SelfCorp (a web-assisted executive
development company) and has worked with executives from Ford, Boeing,
Cisco, HP, British Aerospace, and Mastek in the areas of executive
coaching, strategic thinking, passion and energy, human capital,
and innovation. His book "An Executive Guide to Discontinuous
Learning" is due to be out in 2002 through Vinayaka Publishing.
Prasad teaches through Saybrook Graduate School and directs a research
institute called the Mithya Institute for Learning. He can be reached
at (408) 871-0462 or at pkaipa@selfcorp.com.
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