Back at work. By today you may be back amidst the mundane office life. Post-summer blues may have hit it hard and brought you back to the nagging doubts: Stay in this job? Look for a new opportunity in this same niche? Or start a completely new career?

Certainly, it’s refreshing to start a new chapter and find work that is more aligned with your values and vision. But, making this kind of decision is difficult and takes a thorough evaluation of your current situation.

“Your job isn’t to fix the leader; it’s to add value. If the leader won’t change, then change your attitude or your work address.”

John C. Maxwell

I always find it helpful to ask my clients what perspective they take towards their work:

What is it for you?

1. Job
2. Career
3. Vocation

Depending on your answer, your motivation varies.  Respectively, you would be predominantly motivated by:

1. Money
2.    Opportunity
3. Contentment

Not a career coach here, but let me tell you about change

Frankly, I have never classified myself as a Career Coach, as I don’t have an HR background or similar experience to broaden someone’s possibilities in the job market.

But I do have found a common, recurring behaviour when we encounter a problem – may that be at work, in our relationships, or plans. We want to change! In fact, let me rephrase it. We want THEM to change.

So, in this case: we want to get a new a brand-new-shining-job!

(and in most relationship conflicts we are inclined to just fall in love again, hoping for a smoother ride with the next one)

The reality is, however, as you well know, life is not perfect, and keeps on throwing stones in our way. We stumble. We are asked to stop. Only when we take a moment to reflect, we find the fertile ground for growth.

Finding fertile grounds for change and growth

If you stay at your current organization, to find the change you wish for, you may have to work on your mindset.

J. C. Maxwell would ask,

“Are you in the mindset of scarcity or abundance, of adding value or wanting to be acknowledged for your efforts?”

To grow and change, you must work on leadership abilities as diverse as following, leading, cajoling, appeasing and partnering as needed. Take a look at our worksheet On Becoming a Great Leader. If you become a manager or leader, executing from the middle, you will face a number of challenges according to J.C. Maxwell’s “Multi-hat Challenge:”

• Demands from Customers
• Expectations from Vendors
• Expectations from Followers
• Demands from Leaders at the Top

“No matter what our circumstances, our greatest limitation isn’t the leader above us- it’s the spirit within us.”

John C. Maxwell

Venturing to new grounds

Depending on where you are in your career, it may be helpful to stop and consider your options of seeking a new organization to work for, or going for a career change.

Here are a few ideas that could help you along the way:

1. Honestly, where & how do you want to be and feel in the next five years? (Revisit our ebook Bounce Back on job/career/vocation). Get clarity!
2. If this is difficult on your own, invest in a one-off coaching session!
3. What value do you add to your organization?
4. What value do you get out of working at that organization (beyond financial benefits)?
5. Ask yourself: Do you have a friend, a good, true friend in that organization? If not, start by creating a sound relationship with someone in your organization.

To help you navigate through the challenges you may face at work in your leadership role, we create monthly worksheets with simple, yet hands-on 5-min and 10-min activities. Simple exercises help you get on track and stay focused at work. Take a sneak peek below.

We offer these worksheets for free!

Check our full library of practical worksheets here. In our section on Motivation, you can download this month’s Take a 360 Vision on your Career, with activities to implement right away and practice every day. Browse the library to find extra exercises to improve motivation, lower stress, and increase productivity.