This article which is based on HBS case study will guide you how to justify a drastic career change with grace, confidence & conviction. . Most of us confuse this transition as a time of loss, insecurity, diffidence & uncertainty. This article will emphasize on the importance of a compelling yet genuine story to back up your move.
“All of us construct narrative stories about ourselves-where we’ve come from, where we’re going wrong. The kind of stories we tell make an enormous difference in how well we cope up with change”
-Harvard Business Review
Stories are integral parts of our life because they define us. To know someone, it’s imperative to know her story -the environment that has shaped her, the turning points, challenges & odds that have tested her.
Case study says “Seldom a good story so needed, though, as when a significant change of professional direction is underway-when we are leaving one profession without yet having left it and moving towards another without yet having gotten there. In a time of such unsettling transition, telling a compelling story to interviewers-inspires belief in our motives, charcter & capacity to reach the goal we have set for ourselves.”
Creating & telling a story that matches with our condition & convictions also helps us believe in ourselves. Most of us confuse this transition as a time of loss, insecurity, diffidence & uncertainty. We vacillate between holding on to the past & embracing the future.why? It’s because we have lost the narrative thread of our professional life. Without a compelling story that lends meaning, unity & purpose to our lives, we feel lost & rudderless. We need a good story to reassure that our plans make sense.
The question is why these transition stories are so important? This is because the person who will be facing the transition consequences will be you & what’s at stake is your career. Only love, life & death could be more important. Transition is always about a world that’s changed. You’ve somehow decided that your life doesn’t work anymore the way it was working in past. Perhaps you have reached a point of no return-one that marks the end of a period of frustration & struggle. This much of effort requires a systematic approach to get maximum return.
Hence, a good yet genuine story is essential for making a successful transition.Yet most of us fail to use power of storytelling to match our conviction & goals. Or when we craft a story we do it badly, this may be because many of us have forgotten how to tell a story.
Let’s discuss key elements which will make your story successful
· The story must be about a person or group whose struggle listener can relate to.
· The story should include the catalyst that compelled the person to take major decision.
· The obstacles, frustrations, conflicts confronted by the person should be integral to the story because it reflects the strength of the character to fight against odd.
· Turning point, a point of no return should be the crux of the story. The person can no longer see or do things as he did in past.
· A resolution, in which the person either succeeds magnificently or fails tragically.
Coherence, it’s an essential narrative element because it earns the listener’s trust.- Ruby Singh
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