What is the most common blocker in your career?

 

Lack of knowledge?

 

Lack of skills or experience?

 

Or 

 

Lack of opportunities?

 

Nope, nope, nope!

 

Fear is the biggest blocker and today I’m going to help you to sort that!

 

We’re talking about how to overcome fear and take action in your career!

Hello and a very warm welcome to Episode No 35 of ‘Your Bravo Career’

My name is Mark Crossfield, I’m a Professional Career Coach / helping you to love your job and build a great career.  

 

How you can enjoy what you are doing day each day at work

and how to build a great career along the way.

Introduction

Welcome everybody to Episode No 35,

We are now a few weeks away from Spring 2022

I hope your year is going well so far?

 

So

In this episode, I’m going to be discussing how to overcome fear and take action in your career

 

And, more specifically, how to deal with fear.

 

Proven actions you can take to overcome this tricky blocker in your career and get you moving in the direction of what's next..

 

So, that’s coming up very soon … 

 

But first, and as usual on these solo episodes, it’s time for the news section …

 

People Management are reporting this week that two-thirds of UK workers find that developing friendships when you are working remotely can be challenging.  

Employers have been urged to do more to encourage social connections between remote staff, particularly those working from home.

 

A poll of 2,500 UK workers, conducted by OC Tanner as part of its Global Culture Report, found 63 per cent said it was more challenging forming new friendships with colleagues while working remotely.

 

Over half of those polled (58 per cent) also admitted that the office was where most of their new friendships are formed, while 71 per cent of UK workers said they valued colleague interactions.

 

If you’ve worked at home for any time over the last year, and let’s be honest that’s most of us, you probably won’t be surprised with this survey. 

 

Companies don’t like this because friendships at work and close connections help you to stay bonded to the organisation. You are less likely to leave.

 

It’s not good for the worker either, these connections can help to make work enjoyable and meaningful.

 

So, what can we do about it? How can we build relationships and friendships at work when we work from home or work remotely.

 

Well, here are some tips courtesy of Psychology Today which I have also recently spotted.

 

1. Schedule an informal meeting just to chat.

You can’t build a friendship if you only ever talk about work. One study found that while people feel closer the more time they spend together, this wasn’t true at work. In fact, the more time people spent together at work, the less close they felt. This is likely because when we only focus on work, we don’t reveal anything about ourselves. If you want to make friends at work, stop talking about work and have informal discussions.

 

2. Make informal meetings consistent.

Friendship is not built from one interaction; it grows gradually. So put a standing meeting on your calendar, perhaps once a week or once a month, depending on preference.

 

3. Share more of yourself.

Now that you have stopped talking about work, start sharing stories. According to a meta-analysis (which combines data from multiple studies), people like people who disclose details about themselves. 

 

Also, use interesting questions to get to know your co-workers. 

 

And, finally …

4. Widen the scope of those you meet with

When we are in the office, we have lots of informal discussions with people outside of our normal team environment. Therefore, make sure to meet with those people as well. Don’t just limit your informal meetings to those in your team.

 

Ok, I hope that was helpful and now let’s get on with the main part of the show.

 

Let’s get started with how to overcome fear and take action in your career

 

Of the many things that might stop us from changing our job or career, fear can be the most difficult to deal with. 

 

Our fear can be crippling and make us overlook facts and logic, quickly closing down any actions we might think of taking. Fear also misrepresents reality, and this quickly starts to make change look unattractive or unattainable.

 

However, there is a way of dealing with fear, proven actions you can take to overcome this tricky barrier and get you moving in the direction of what's next in your career.

 

So, let’s get started by first understanding what fear is …

 

Step 1 …

 

1.      Understand that fear is normal                     

 

The first thing to recognise is that fearing change is a normal part of our psychological behaviour. It’s only natural that fear will show up when you contemplate change and the possibility of leaving what you know for something new. The first step, therefore, is to acknowledge that fear is normal. Fear showing up is nothing more than an evolutionary response to uncertainty. And, as we will see, when you get clear on the specifics of your fear, you can learn to deal with and sidestep any resulting blocks that shows up.

 

Step 2 …

 

2.      Identify your specific fears

 

Once you understand that fear is normal, the next step is to identify your specific fears. Take some time to reflect on what specifically you fear when you contemplate changing careers. Understanding the specifics of what you are fearing will make it easier for you to address your doubts.

 

You fears might include for example:

 

-           Feeling like you don’t have the confidence to change

-           Not wanting to deal with the process of change

-           Financial worries about making a career leap, or

-           Meeting new people / saying goodbye to work colleagues

 

It will be easier for you to explore each of your fears in more detail by asking yourself questions about the actual risks involved. What for example are the worst-case scenarios and what you can do to lower the potential risk that might arise along the way. 

 

You will also see, when you start to look at your fears in this way, and this leads to Step 3,  that:

 

3.      You have relatively few fears and most of the worries you have about changing career don't materialise

 

You might find that you have two or three fears showing up. This in itself makes it much easier to deal with than thinking you have a big list of fears to deal with. Creating a plan of action for dealing with a defined list of fears is much easier when you know what you are dealing with.

 

In addition, you might also see that your fears are irrational and unlikely to materialise. I've found that almost all of these worries and concerns dissipate when you start taking career-changing actions.

 

It's a bit like when you are invited to a party and don't want to go? But you go anyway and have a great time. The fact you didn't want to go wasn't a predictor of whether you would enjoy the party.

 

It's the same with your career change. So, you can set aside most of the worries you have before you start because most aren't going to show up on your career change journey, which reminds me of the quote by Mark Twain.

 

I've had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened …

Ok, so when it comes to overcoming fear and taking action in your career, so far we have:

 

1.          Understand that fear is normal; it shows up when we make changes in our life

 

2.          Identifying the specifics of any fears that show up reduces their impacts and allows you to make a plan

 

3.          Know that you have very few fears, in reality, and most of those won't materialise anyway

 

And, in a few minutes, we will look at the next 2 actions to help you overcome fear and take action in your career

 

But first it’s stime for …

Ok, so the resource I’m suggesting today is the TEDx talk by Gerald Walsh. The talk is about How Your Fears Prevent You from Reaching Your Career Potential

 

I’ve put a link to Gerald’s talk in the show notes which you can find at www.bravocoaching.co.uk/podcast

The talk deals how to deal with fear that might be holding you back from seeking a promotion, changing career direction or asking for a pay raise. Or perhaps leaping into self-employment? Gerald shows how a fear-based career can limit you from reaching your full potential and what you can do to overcome these fears. 

 

The TEDx talk is well worth watching …

 

And, if you are pushed for time, just watch from about 13 minutes, this is the most important part of the video. In fact  the video is only 15 minutes long, so maybe just watch the last couple of minutes of this video.

 

Ok, let’s get back to Part 2 of the episode.

Part 2

So, let’s continue to look at how you can open career doors in 2022.

 

Step 3 is to know that …

 

4.      Inactivity keeps the fear active; action makes it vanish

One of the biggest reasons people don't get started in their career change is that they wait until they have everything figured out, including waiting for their fear to subside or miraculously disappear.  

 

Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way; you need to take action in pursuit of your career change first. This has the double benefit of helping you to get clearer and more motivated about your change and at the same time you will see that your fears begin to dissipate. Taking action in pursuit of a better career is vital.

And finally, step 5

 

 

If you still need support, there are various professional resources to assist with the challenges of changing jobs. You might seek a career coach to help guide you through changing jobs or careers and help you deal with any lingering fears that remain.

Also, consider reaching out to your network or to professionals in a field or role that interests you and find out more about some of the concerns you might have.

Ok,

So here is a summary of what you can do to banish the fears of make a career change: 

4.          Understand that fear is normal; it shows up when we make changes in our life

 

5.          Identifying the specifics of any fears that show up reduces their impacts and allows you to make a plan

 

6.          Know that you have very few fears, and most of those won't materialise anyway

 

7.          Inactivity keeps the fear active; activity makes it vanish

 

5.      Seek professional advice if you need it

 

So, to conclude …

I hope I have shown you fear shouldn’t hold you back in your career. There are ways to deal with fear that keep your career on track.

 

 

Your call to action today is to:

 

Ask yourself these questions.

 

What is fear stopping you from doing? And, If you don’t deal with your fear, what will the longer term consequences of that decision be?

 

Something to think about there …

So, that’s it! We’ve come to the end of another episode.

 

I hope you enjoyed the show.

  

You can email me at mark@bravocoaching.co.uk and you can find the show notes at bravocoaching.co.uk/podcast.

 

 

If you are interested in working with me, you can book a free discovery call on my website.

 

If you haven’t already subscribed, why not do that now. I’ve got a special guest on the next podcast who I’m excited to talk with. I think you will enjoy the conversation as well …

  

Have a wonderful week and I will speak to you again in a couple of weeks time.

 

Bye for now.