Executive or hourly employee, admin or mid-level manager, career change – even the thought of it – strikes the same basic fears and insecurities regardless rank. It is true that every individual brings a unique mix of circumstances to a career transition, but at the basic human level the fears, self-doubt, and concerns of the unknown exist on all steps of the ladder, on the lattice, in the silo, across the matrix, on the plant floor, and in the cubicles.
This is assuming that basic survival needs are covered.
I am talking about the idea of changing from a career, a company, or a position we know to something new. When our instinct fiercely fights to hold on to a familiar identity, we struggle to navigate the changes that career transition represents. We hold on, white-knuckled, while we try to align a new career direction with notions of who we may want to become next.
Yes, we are all different. But, underneath it all, we are so very much the same.
