Jo Cutler, who delivers the Aurora workshop on career development, asks if you are ‘stuck’ or ‘moving’ at work and what can you do to shift your professional mindset to develop in your career.
Successful careers owe much to positive mindsets. When we feel positive, we can take on more stressors and deal with them calmly and productively. We make far better use of our time if we are feeling focused and constructive than if we feel negative and hopeless.
It is a sad fact, however, that many people do feel negative and hopeless at certain points in their career.
Psychologist Rosabeth Kanter identified two types of people at work – Stuck and Moving – it’s a concept that resonates strongly with me.
Stuck or Moving?
When we feel ‘stuck’, we can’t see any development opportunities or a career path. We may feel trapped in a role and feel disengaged and demotivated. We resent our work and the challenges it poses.
However, when we feel that we are ‘moving’ in our career, we can clearly see a career path and understand our development options and opportunities. We can be flexible and dynamic in our role as we feel motivated and engaged. We relish new challenges as an opportunity to grow and progress.
It’s important to remember that we all feel stuck at some points – maybe just for a few hours; maybe even weeks or a few months. On the other hand, you could be in the same role for years and feel that you are constantly moving if you have the appropriate level of challenge and enjoyment.
Mindset
It is so important to be aware of our mindset and whether we feel stuck or moving, and shift this if necessary! The only certain thing that is in our control is how we respond to the situation.
Are you currently feeling ‘stuck’ or are you ‘moving’ in your career? If you are moving, are you making the most of this (both in your career and in life generally!)?
And if you feel stuck at work or in your career, how can you get yourself moving?
Jo Cutler is an experienced Organisational Development specialist with a solid background in talent and leadership development. Find out more about Jo.
