By Janet Cropper
When AI, a restructure or a change in your circumstances turns your work upside down, what do you ask yourself?
On a visit to an old tin mine on the cliffs of Cornwall, I was reminded of how closely work and identity can be connected. For generations, the mines had provided families with their livelihood. When they closed, people had to find a new way forward.
I know how reinvention feels.
Changing our work, staying true to ourselves
For years, NoLimits delivered leadership workshops and coaching face to face across Asia. During COVID, our work moved online and we moved back to the UK from Singapore for family reasons.
As our circumstances and clients’ needs changed, we reinvented our work. We now coach and run leadership programmes online and meet face to face when needed. We’ve also created tailored AI learning tools at OwnMentor to sustain learning.
Reinvention doesn’t always mean starting again. Sometimes it means finding a new way to do what matters to you.
A Singapore-based leader once messaged me after a presentation. He was enjoying how AI made preparation faster, but added, “Still got to think of the content though!”
He had changed part of how he worked while keeping his own thinking at the centre.
Who before what
When people talk to me about reinvention, they often ask, “What can I do now?”
It’s an understandable question. But I recommend starting with another:
“Who do I want to be?”
Keep asking yourself this as you and your work change. It can help you choose your next direction, rather than simply react to what is happening around you.
Remember who you want to be
Decide who before what to do. Think beyond a job title to the qualities you want to bring to your work and life.
Try this: Finish the sentence “I want to be someone who…” and remind yourself of your answer each morning.
Recognise who you are
A job can be made redundant. You can’t. Your skills, strengths, knowledge and passion don’t disappear when a role changes.
Try this: Write down three qualities you bring with you, whatever your job title. Where have you already put them into practice?
Respond to what you can control
You can’t control every restructure, new technology or change in the market. You can make choices about your learning, how you use new tools and the next step you take.
Try this: Choose one skill you would like to develop. Decide how you will begin learning it this week.
Reinvention can help you step off the hamster wheel. You don’t have to have the whole route worked out before you begin.
How have you reinvented yourself or your work, and what did it teach you about who you want to be?
This question sits at the heart of The Hamster Who Danced with the Giant, a book about moving forward in your work, career and life.