This approach to developing your career potential, creativity and competencies are based on the work of Herminia Ibarra, Professor of Organisational Behaviour at the London Business School. 

In her 2002 article for Harvard Business Review entitled ‘How to Stay Stuck in the Wrong Career’, Herminia Ibarra criticises the traditional wisdom on career planning, in which you are advised to reflect in order to establish what you want and then make concrete plans to achieve your goals. In many situations, especially when you are changing careers, this pre-knowledge may not be possible. The way you discover what you want for the future is by acting in new ways and exploring new situations.

She proposes an alternative to the ‘plan-and-implement’ approach which involves exploring possible future selves. This ‘test-and-learn’ approach has three main elements:

  • Crafting experiments — trying new activities and taking on new roles on a small scale to reveal undiscovered parts of yourself and explore new paths before you make a major commitment to a new direction
  • Shifting connections — developing new contacts in order to explore new worlds, to discover new perspectives on yourself, to find new role models and to expose yourself to new opportunities
  • Making sense — creating new stories about yourself and reinterpreting your previous experiences to uncover new meanings and trigger transformation

We would like you to think about how you could apply this approach to your own career and professional competency development.

Crafting experiments
Think about the following questions and then write down ideas for possible experiments you could conduct. Don’t just think about your education situation; consider your leisure, community and family activities too.

  • Are there activities you have thought about trying but have never got around to doing?
  • How could you introduce variety into some of the activities you do regularly?
  • Do people you know to get involved in activities that you don’t know much about?
  • What opportunities exist around you for getting involved in new activities that you have overlooked so far?
  • Are there new activities that you could take on for a short period of time, or on a voluntary basis?

Shifting connections
Think about the following questions and then write down ideas for new connections you could form.

  • Have you met interesting new people but never followed up on the encounter?
  • Are there activities you could undertake that will bring you into contact with people from very different backgrounds?
  • Do you know people who are already connected to a wide variety of other people?
  • Are there people you admire but you’ve never summoned up the courage to talk to them?
  • Who seems to be doing things in their life that you are envious of?

Making sense
Once you have begun to craft experiments and shift connections, make sure you get into the habit of reflecting on the experiences so that you gain a better understanding of who your future self might be and you might develop your future-facing competencies. Below are some questions which might prompt your reflection.

  • What new things did you learn about yourself from that experience?
  • What has inspired you?
  • What did you enjoy about it and what was more challenging?
  • How far did you stretch yourself and step outside your comfort zone? How could you stretch yourself further?
  • Can you imagine yourself doing it again and enjoying more next time?
  • If you were going to do more of this, what kind of person would you have to become?
  • Have you found new ways to use existing skills, knowledge or experience?
  • If you had started this activity or met this person several years ago, how might your life have been different?
  • If you could swap places with the person you have just met, what would feel comfortable and what would take some getting used to?
  • What have your new connections found interesting about you that your existing connections take for granted?
  • What stories do you currently tell about yourself when you meet new people and how do they respond?
  • What stories could you tell from your past that might be more compatible with the future opportunities you are becoming aware of?
  • How might you describe this period in your life to someone you meet in the future?
  • Where could this lead in the future?
  • Has this experience revealed any limitations you have been placing on yourself?
  • Could these new experience challenge any assumptions you might have been making about what is important to you?

References

Ibarra, H. (2002) How to stay stuck in the wrong career. Harvard Business Review, December, 40-47
Ibarra, H. (2003) Working Identity: Unconventional Strategies for Reinventing Your Career. Boston, Massachusetts, Harvard Business Press

Last modified: Tuesday, 1 December 2020, 5:42 PM