Career Creativity!

“A good explorer knows that looking for ideas is like prospecting for gold. If you look in the same places you will find tapped out veins.” Roger von Oech

In the previous 2 blogs we assisted you to debunk myths around career growth, as well as rediscovering your unique story. Knowing your story is the foundation. Once you have insights you can start thinking about potential future scenarios.

I love this four-step process of Roger Von Oech. It has helped me in many situations. Take your potential, that is your skills, values, personality and experiences and let’s start the creative process.

Just some guidelines before we start. We often start with an idea and immediately afterwards we judge it. Judgement has its place, but not in the beginning, unless you want to stop your creativity in its tracks. Follow the steps below and trust the process. Silence the negative thoughts and allow yourself some space to truly explore.

Step 1: The Explorer

The sky is the limit in this phase. Gather information from different sources. Look at trends. Ask confidants their opinion on what you can do with your potential. This phase is not about judging and saying “But I cannot afford this”. It is about wild adventure and searching for all possibilities.

Step 2: The Designer

From all your exploration, create 3 possible scenarios. Take all the information from the exploratory phase and put them together into 3 possible pictures of your future career. One scenario is a wild, blue sky scenario. The second scenario is a realistic scenario, explaining your next steps if you continued on the path you are on. The third scenario is a combined scenario of 1 and 2. Remember, you are still not making a decision.

Step 3: The Judge

Take your 3 scenarios and compare them. You can use different comparison tools for this. One of the most known is the SWOT analysis.

Step 4: The Warrior

Now that you have compared the scenarios, you probably see a fourth more realistic and optimistic scenario. Now is the time to take action. Write down some actions you can take to move towards your possible future.

Now that you have experimented with this process, go a second round. Once you are finished, decide on some concrete next steps. In the next months, take action and explore the options that came from the process. You will gain more insights and it will then guide you further in your next career move.

In the next blog we will discuss key character traits to nurture your career life.

Order your copy of Creative Life Planning today and start exploring your next career move. Contact our office at office@xpand-sa.com for more information on career coaching.