You CAN come back from
a career catastrophe!
Everybody encounters bad days on the job. And sometimes even a modest career stumble can feel like the end of the world. But you can come back from professional disasters. I know that not only from my own life, but also from watching how my executive coaching clients often rebound.
Let’s look at one example I’ll call “Holly.” She was a confident star during college and then sailed through business school. From there she was recruited by the marketing department of a major consumer goods company, where her goal was to move quickly into a management role.
Holly has a knack for coming up with clever ideas, and she knows how to execute them. So her colleagues weren’t surprised when, after just a few years on the job, she was named the team leader for the launch of a high priority product. Holly was thrilled by the opportunity, she was sure the project would be a success, and she saw it as her ticket to an early promotion.
But things didn’t work out as Holly expected. The product was bogged down by production issues. Her team members couldn’t agree about how to shape the campaign. And her young digital marketing experts had trouble relating to a product designed to appeal to an older, affluent consumer.
Eventually the launch team was disbanded, the product was put on a back burner, and Holly was reassigned to work on routine messaging for one of the company’s longtime brands. To Holly this felt like a career-killing disaster. In some moments she blamed the situation on her team, but often she berated herself for being weak and stupid. Her sense of failure sometimes made her feel sick.
When I met Holly, I suspected that she had breezed through school with what renowned psychologist Carol Dweck has called a “fixed mindset.” Holly believed her parents when they said she was destined for business success. She felt special, and she thought her talent would always keep her on track. And then when she couldn’t complete this key assignment, her humiliation was overwhelming.
In her influential book “Mindset,”Dr. Dweck used the term “mindset”to describe the attitude you adopt regarding your abilities. Her research suggests that your perception of your strengths and intelligence can profoundly impact the way you live your life. And people with a fixed mindset tend to believe that their personal traits are carved into stone. When a person with a fixed attitude, like Holly, fails to achieve, it can make her feel like her personal characteristics aren’t good enough, and the resulting pain can be as debilitating as a physical blow.
On the other hand, Dr. Dweck says that people with a “growth mindset”understand that the idea of a fixed IQ and set of skills is dated. They know that humans can cultivate their basic abilities through learning, experience and help from others. And when people with a growth mindset experience a setback they may feel some pain, but they recognize that the misadventure is a chance to learn, and they keep moving.
Holly started shifting her attitude and getting back her energy at work when she recalled the many times over the years when she’d been able to learn new things. From reflecting on past recoveries, she realized that she could learn from this situation as well. She turned her attention to her long-term career goals and came up with new strategies for heading in that direction.
Holly gave up the idea of her career as a direct path toward a defined outcome, and started thinking of it as an interesting and winding process. And she recognized that the team leadership role had given her a chance to test her managerial skills and identify ways to make them more effective.
Here are strategies that worked for Holly and might work for you:
- Talk about it. Not everything you do on the job will end well. But if you never speak of your missteps, their importance may grow in your mind. You can take the agony out of your stumble by bringing it into the light. This doesn’t mean prolonged venting. The smart way to talk about a fiasco is to frame it in an objective way. At first it was difficult for Holly to acknowledge that she had made some mistakes. But she was able to discuss the project in a positive way once she had collected the data and written a matter-of-fact account of the team’s activities. Her report noted what the team learned at each stage and mentioned the positive contributions that various teammates made along the way.
- Apologize if you hurt someone. Sometimes projects don’t work out but there’s no need to feel shame. However, if you let someone down, made a bad decision or were insensitive, it might be time to say you’re sorry. Start by acknowledging precisely what you did. Then describe what you will do to make things better and avoid the same mistake in the future. Keep your comments simple and straightforward, and be prepared to listen to what the injured person has to say.
- Ask for suggestions. Once Holly developed her report on the project, she was able to take it to her bosses and mentors and ask for advice about how to handle things differently the next time. The discussions helped her think about her approach to collaboration, identify training opportunities, and explore new ways to communicate as a leader. And the humility with which she sought advice actually improved her relationship with a senior colleague who admitted he once thought of her as arrogant.
- Look at the process. When you see the big picture, it’s easier to regard your recent disaster as just one phase in a long process of learning and achievement. In his book “Never Stop Learning,”professor Bradley Staats says that process-focused learners know that they aren’t fixed in their ability to learn. Learning involves figuring out how inputs affect outputs. And Dr. Staats says that when you study a process you can see that it involves more inputs than you first imagined. As you examine what happened, you start to see through the noise and discomfort, to better understand how various factors are related and to develop new discipline around reaching your objectives.
- Make a plan. Many great leaders have overcome massive setbacks, and their example can help you navigate your recovery. Holly thought about President Jimmy Carter, who had a mortifying election loss to Ronald Reagan. He might have been tempted to spend years licking his wounds, but instead he looked around for ways to make a difference and he made some plans. He threw himself into addressing homelessness, poverty and international conflict, and in 2002 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. If you don’t know how to move past failure, follow the example of President Carter and look around for ways to add some value. Identify aspects of your job where you can become more productive, learn a new skill, or identify a colleague who could use your help. Each time your thoughts drift back to your catastrophe, shift the focus to your plan and take an action step.
The Bottom Line: One of the worst parts of a career disaster is when the voice in your head argues that you will never get past it. That voice is wrong. Highly successful people tend to take risks and sometimes things don’t work out. Remind yourself that this latest adversity is a key learning experience. Then turn your attention to your longer term goals and the immediate steps that can move you in that direction.
**********************************
Need a gift for a recent grad?
Here’s a small way to support their success: give them Bev’s guide to career resilience, “Think Like an Entrepreneur, Act Like a CEO.”
