Research Paper: Triggers for Transition and Transformation

Triggers for a person to pursue their ideal/dream job:

In order to look at this section from the perspective of a person transitioning, the “triggers to pursuing an ideal/dream job” will revolve around people who have had a different job prior to their ideal/dream job that was not considered ideal.  A person who has always been in their ideal/dream job doesn’t need to make a transition, therefore they are not the demographic that I was targeting.  I would like to note here, though, that there are similar conditions (noted below) that are needed in order for the person to pursue their ideal/dream job in both scenarios.

An interesting observation about this section is that sometimes the conditions can be triggers and other times the triggers are reliant on the conditions, in order to allow the person to pursue their ideal/dream job.  What I mean by this is that, when someone has a condition of a supportive spouse/partner, or a spouse/partner who encourages a change, then that can trigger the person to transition in their job.  On the flip side, when someone makes the decision to transition into their ideal/dream job, they may need to have a supportive spouse/partner as a condition in order to actually pursue it.  One survey respondent’s answer to the question of “big turning events in one’s life,” demonstrates this concept well:

Another big turning event was when I was 25. I had been working at Newsweek Magazine in Livingston where I grew up, going from one department to another. I started to play golf with some of the women there and was getting pretty good at it. So as I started playing more, and getting fairly proficient at it, I decided I didn’t want to work in an office environment for the rest of my life, and maybe I could pursue golf as a career. I called my Dad, who I trusted cause he played golf, loved sports, and was an entrepreneur his whole life, and asked him if hew thought I could become a golf pro. His next words were the turning point. “Camille, you never know unless you try”. Wow, did he just say that? So 4 months later, I quit my job at Newsweek, and moved to Clearwater, Fl, with no job, and $400 to my name. Didn’t know a soul there. But my parents did have a house there that I could stay in until I figured it out. I gave myself two years to give this golf thing a try, and the rest is history. I became a Golf Professional as an Instructor and a member of the LPGA. So the words of my Father gave me the strength and courage to leave behind friends and family to pursue a dream. [7]

One of the triggers to someone pursuing their ideal/dream job is the loss of a job or feeling forced to quit based on the situation at their current job.  In this case, the person must be fed up or not enjoying their line of work and sees the circumstances as a blessing in order to pursue a new career.  There may also be an opportunity here that the person feels they need to take advantage of, like a severance package that provides them with income while they make the shift to their new line of work.  Conditions are important here because source of income can put a huge strain on someone’s situation and prevent them from making a transition.  So, it’s important to note that usually a trigger in this section needs to be supported by some sort of right conditions.

Another trigger is a change in belief regarding life purpose or meaning, also occurring during the above section related to transformation.  There is a link between the belief that we have more than one life in the human form (or reincarnation), and wanting to do meaningful work, or give back and do something good for humanity.  When one believes they have a higher purpose here to do good, and provide a benefit to others, they may look to their profession to fulfill that purpose.  So, a sense of fulfillment may be an important factor in their line of work.  This isn’t always the case, as some people may choose to have a their profession fulfill a different need (like income or health insurance) and then fulfill their life purpose on the side, or outside of work.

It also makes sense that if you have a belief in reincarnation and that you may come back to this planet, you would want to preserve it.  Doing meaningful work that contributes to helping our planet, and/or working for a company that incorporates this into their mission may become important for that person, resulting in transition of job.  This also made me think about whether it could be related to a Karmic belief.  When dealing with Karma, the belief is that your current actions will come back around to you.  If one believes in this, then it could be fair to say that they would be more mindful of their actions to make better decisions so that they don’t have to deal with negative Karma later in this life or the next.  Doing good and meaningful work that helps other people, would then bring back good Karma to them in this life or the next.

It’s also safe to say that a change in situation, like becoming a parent, may also be a trigger for transitioning in to their ideal/dream job.  If we relate this back to the previous paragraph about preserving the planet for their offspring, they may decide that transitioning in their job will allow them to provide that for their children.  Also, being a role model for their children may be important to them, and demonstrating it through their job may be the way they wish to be a role model.

Another trigger that may launch young adults into this need to find meaningful work may simply be based on their generation, or the year of birth.  An article written in November, 2013 in the New York Times, discusses today’s young adults born after 1980, known as Generation Y or the Millennial generation, and how the desire to find meaningful work is spanning most of this group:

Millennials appear to be more interested in living lives defined by meaning than by what some would call happiness. They report being less focused on financial success than they are on making a difference. A 2011 report commissioned by the Career Advisory Board and conducted by Harris Interactive, found that the No. 1 factor that young adults ages 21 to 31 wanted in a successful career was a sense of meaning. Though their managers, according to the study, continue to think that millennials are primarily motivated by money, nearly three-quarters of the young adults surveyed said that “meaningful work was among the three most important factors defining career success.”

MEANING, of course, is a mercurial concept. But it’s one that social scientists have made real progress understanding and measuring in recent years. Social psychologists define meaning as a cognitive and emotional assessment of the degree to which we feel our lives have purpose, value and impact. In our joint research, we are looking closely at what the building blocks of a meaningful life are. Although meaning is subjective — signifying different things to different people — a defining feature is connection to something bigger than the self. People who lead meaningful lives feel connected to others, to work, to a life purpose, and to the world itself.

Millennials have been forced to reconsider what a successful life constitutes. By focusing on making a positive difference in the lives of others, rather than on more materialistic markers of success, they are setting themselves up for the meaningful life they yearn to have — the very thing that Frankl realized makes life worth living.[8]

My personal opinion on this phenomena is that the Millennials have seen their parent’s generation strive hard for success, related to monetary rewards, and yet not seen the relationship with their parent’s happiness.  Many of the Millennials may have tried out their parent’s way of thinking in regards to the path to success, and gone down the road of finding work based on salary, security, and benefits; only to witness the unhappiness and lack of fulfillment firsthand.  And so, whereas the older generations may feel they are too far into their career to change now, the younger generations are more willing to face the adversary of change in their career.

Another idea about Millennials could be that they are

on the whole helicopter parented and therefore always ‘have’ the security of their parents’ arms and home to run back to… therefore they are able to take the opportunity to take the ‘dream’ job regardless of money which I don’t think Gen X always had the opportunity to do. This gives them the luxury to make these decisions with their heart not just their minds. [9]

Here are a couple quotes from survey respondents who have made the transition to ideal/dream job, which demonstrate the concepts above:

People are sick and dying in our society and I did not want to be a part of the problem, but a part of the solution. I feel I was put here to help others. [10]

Conditions for making it work:

The conditions necessary for those to transition in their career include support, financial ability, courage, and drive.  Not all of these need to be present at the same time in order to make the transition, but most of these conditions help the person feel safer through the process.

Support is so important in transitioning through a career change because of all the uncertainty that happens along the way.  The support can come in many different forms, from spouse, partner, friend, family member, coach, to a specific group.  These are people who not only believe in you, but they believe in your dreams and validate that you can get there.  They may help you along the way with financial help, tools to make it work, or simply encouragement.  When going through a tough point in the process, these people are essential to have around because they can keep you moving forward and positive.

Financial ability is also important because we do need money to live.  Having a savings with enough money to carry the person through a period of time needed to make the transition, or to enable them to go back to school to learn a new trade is extremely helpful.  Some people may have other resources to work with financially so that they are able to make the transition, or at least start it.  This can include loans, public assistance, or even a someone who wants to support the person financially as they get started in their new career.

Courage and drive will allow the person to stay strong and motivated during the transition process.  If a person is fearful and lazy, it may prevent them from being able to stick with it and get to the end goal.  When times are hard, or a new skill is needed in order to get that ideal/dream job, a person will need to rely on their strength, courage, and drive.  It’s essential to find out how the person works (potentially using a strengths finder test) to see how they might be able to work through this area, and create their ideal conditions.

How it relates to coaching:

The most important piece of a career transition that the coach can support, is in the relationship between trigger and conditions.  Knowing which conditions are needed by the client in order to make the transition will help them make that jump.  The conditions are what supports the client during the transitional period, and so the coach may find that if the right conditions aren’t met, or are lost along the way, it could jeopardize the transition.  Each client will have their own unique set, but it’s important to find out upfront what will support them, and keep tabs on them through the process.

Coaches who want to target this group of people who will transition in their career to a more fulfilling job, can use this information in finding and supporting their clients.  Just knowing that there is an entire generation who have the propensity to want a meaningful job, means there is a huge market out there to target.  As I mentioned in the coaching application for transformations; if a coach wants to target this group for marketing and attracting, my suggestion is for them to do a deep-dive into researching this group and topic.  That includes the demographics, the tipping point, steps or process for going through it, where they may be researching or looking for support, and why they would be drawn to you as a coach.

Final thoughts:

In review of all the information I have included here, my hope is that this paper has given the reader a new understanding of what triggers will launch people into a transition.  Whether it’s a transition into a new career that is more fulfilling and aligned with their purpose, or a full exploration into who they are which transforms them completely, the most important notion for a coach to take-away is in the link between the triggers and the conditions.  Without one, you can’t have the other.  It’s essential for a person to have the right conditions that will allow them to make that leap, once they are triggered.  As a coach, understanding the journey will help in supporting the client more fully and empathically.

It’s easy to take your own experience and project it onto others, in order to try and say what the magic is to creating a better, more fulfilling life.  There may be similarities in experiences, and there may be various elements that act as triggers, but everyone’s situation will be different.  Keeping an open mind and being flexible is extremely important when dealing with such an experience as transition, when it’s applied to coaching.

There are many variables that go into this process, where triggers are concerned, that I believe are only controlled by a higher source of intelligence.  We can’t control the process of triggers – we can only get a better understanding of the possibilities and the process.  I hope this paper has opened your mind to the potential out there, for clients, transitions, and change.  If you are planning to target transitions and transformation as your coaching niche, then this is just the beginning, I’m sure, for your deeper dive into your client’s journey.  But I hope it’s a good start.

ADDENDUM

“Survey Questionnaire”

December 13, 2013

Submit back to jennifer@warriorofchange.com by December 23^rd, 2013

Thanks so much for taking the time to share some information with me today.  I’m conducting this study in order to gain insights for a research paper I’m writing for my school.  This paper is a requirement for my coaching certification, and will be submitted on my school website for peers to review and then for the administrators to grade.  I will not share any of your personal information (ie. Name, address, email), and any text that will be quoted in the paper, will be done so anonymously.  I will also keep all of your answers confidential and stored safely in my secure files.

If at any point, you would prefer to answer these questions verbally instead of filling out the form – just let me know a convenient time for me to call you.  I’m hoping to get your answers before Monday, December 23^rd.  If you feel you can not make this deadline, please let me know.  This survey may take between 15 – 45 minutes to complete.

Thanks again.

Jen

jennifer@warriorofchange.com

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[1]    Online source: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/transform