Did you know that in April 2022, four million people quit their job? That is according to ALIVE.com. Why did these millions of people quit? Parents quit because of childcare issues – 48%. Low pay accounted for 63% in their survey. A record 6.6 million people were hired in April 2022. Where did they come from? Did they change jobs, or did they re-enter the market from another sector?
What happened? According to one person who worked in a veterinary clinic in the Chicago area, the straw than broke her back was “a stressful work environment.” This is not the type of environment she wanted to work in and so she quit.
What will they do next? Who knows? According to business insider.com, this number of 4 million has been sustained for the last 11 months. Is anyone working in America?
How long will it take to secure a new job? Apparently, there are millions of job openings, and no one is willing to go back into the workforce. Many workers are looking specifically for “remote work positions.”
Do I really want a new career?
What am I willing to sacrifice to get what I want? The simple answer is nothing. The pandemic has awakened a new kind of employee, who is doubling down for a better work environment, less hours, fewer days, and no commute, thus saving money at the pump and public transportation. Wages are also up since March 2022 a full 5/6% over March 2021.
How much risk am I willing to take to get what I want? If indeed an economic hurricane looms on the horizon, according to Bloomberg.com, how much risk are you willing to take? You might want to look at this from another perspective, if you are too young to have experienced the last recession of 2007 -2009, you might be looking through rose colored glasses, thinking you don’t need to worry, things will be just fine for you.
Heavy questions, right? Many Americans gained a new perspective once the lock-down happened in March of 2020, changing their attitude to this: “Life is too short to get stuck in an unsatisfying job.” They are right none of us has the promise of tomorrow.
You bet.
Well, let me see if I can help you here and if you will let me, I will be your thinking partner while we explore this brave new world you are entering.
Let’s begin with some simple questions.
- Who can help me in my search for something new? You know the adage, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. If one can plan to get help with someone, you can succeed. From working with clients who stop one thing to start another, the decisions and the consequences of those decisions can take a long time and the consequences can be painful. One of my mentors says this: “ your net worth is often determined by your network”. Who is in your network? Begin by making a list and start calling those on the list and solicit their counsel.
- What is your biggest risk now that you have quit your job? Of course, the first thing on the list is money, then what? Let’s be real here, what is your money runway? Do you have one week in the bank, one month, six months, a year? Most people jump before they assess what their ability to move forward is, and what happens is panic sets in, for failure to plan or foresee that might be in their future.
- What was the reason you quit your job in the first place? Simply put were you fed up with something or someone with no way out or maybe you grew beyond your circumstances, and you need something new and challenging? I have many examples of folks who just could not stand one more day of “_______________________” and they quit, and the result was dire, and made for a bleak and difficult future. Many of these poor knee-jerk decisions came close to retirement.
I lead a study group and recently we were studying some interesting individuals in history who made rash decisions that change the course of their lives and the future of the nation they were a part of. A term I had never heard before was discussed: “A Character-Building Season.” This phrase gave me pause. Perhaps this is where you are right now. You have been put on “pause” so to speak and you are figuring out who you are, what are your values, what is important to you, what is your next step, where did I get triggered in my previous job, what could I have done differently and so many other questions? Right?
Those of us in the Maxwell Leadership program are all familiar with the “Maxwell Leadership Success Cycle,” and how it impacts our decisions in every area of our lives. Look at the image below and I will explain is part of the cycle in the hope, it will open your eyes to your next moment of pondering and thinking.
We each begin in the same place…
Enter – You have decided to do something, so you begin.
Fail – Inevitably challenges will come up and you will fail at some point.
Learn – You re-evaluate what happened, you gain new wisdom and skill to solve the challenges.
Adjust – You change your course, your skillset, you create a new process, and then you…
Re-enter – the arena of life and business and try again.
Let me come back in here for a moment and state what is obvious to me, but this idea may have escaped you. No judgement here, I have a different perspective since I ask questions of my clients all day long.
What do you think is the “Value of A Question in this situation?”
Here is the answer:
- You only get the answers to the questions you ask. “What if I don’t know what to ask?” That is exactly why you need a partner to help support you and challenge you through the process.
- Asking questions unlock and open doors that otherwise may remain closed. In coaching we call these types of questions “A-HA Questions,” because they cause us to become creative and look for answers, we may not have thought of.
- Asking questions is the most effective way to connect with others and our inner selves.
- Questions make us humble. They signify “I do not have or know all the answers.”
- When you partner with someone else, you cultivate an engaging conversation and the combined number of years in business or life becomes double. Doubling the wisdom.
- Questions build a foundational framework upon which to grow and focus and gives clarity around the premise you are trying to answer.
- When partnering with a coach, mentor, or another person you gain new perspectives. When partnering with a group you create a mastermind which gives you the combined wisdom of the group.
- When you ask questions, you can get out of your own way and out of your natural way of thinking.
The hardest person you will lead is YOURSELF. This is true no matter if you are the President of a business, company, President of a nation, or the owner of the local ice cream truck circling the neighborhood in the summer, or the lifeguard at the YMCA for the summer. You are a leader. You are a leader in your family, your relationships, committees, teams, place of worship, things you choose to place your money in – in other words your life.
Everyone can learn to lead well.
None of us should do it alone.
Reach out today for a partner.
