Are you part of the empowered workforce?
“To exist is to change; to change is to mature; to mature is to create oneself endlessly.”
(Thank you, Henri Bergson the French philosopher, for these wise words.)
Does this quote ring true for you?
If you've ever questioned what you're doing in your work, who the heck you are, why you're here, or who invented the silly expression "follow a career path," consider yourself in good company.
You, my MTMT friend, are endlessly changing.
And endless change can feel like a crisis, ruminating thoughts, getting unstuck then being stuck again, or undergoing a positive disintegration (one of my favorite terms).
Your personal growth, combined with new life stages, identity shifts, unexpected job losses and/or opportunities, economic fluctuations, and workforce trends are all part of this big crazy, abstract concept of a "career."
The only constant is YOU, and how you choose to face whatever comes your way.
ARE YOU PART OF THE EMPOWERED WORKFORCE?
As I think about the current state and future of work, I'm intrigued with how we're empowering (or not empowering) people to to live their best lives and also to live their best work.
Instead of being beholden to a job or an employer, how are you flipping the script to make your career about you, not them? How are you living your career on your terms, not theirs?
Is this even possible?
I argue it is. You just need the right role models, examples, and tools to open your mind to it. It's happening.
The empowered workforce...is a term being sprinkled out there, and according to Heather McGowan (my favorite workforce futurist) it's a place where the workforce has "tasted autonomy and flexibility. We are no longer centered on where we work, but rather on where work fits in our lives..."
SIX KEY CONCEPTS THAT ARE CRITICAL TO THE EMPOWERED WORKFORCE
I've selected six keywords that stand out in my research on modern careers and thriving in the future of work. I believe they apply to feeling empowered in the workforce as well. They are:
Versatility, resilience, empathy, self-efficacy, curiosity, and imagination.
These constructs also map to my new theories on being in Career flight (instead of on a path), and what it takes to attain career belonging (where you own your career, not your employer).
How these six traits apply to the empowered workforce
Versatility is the ability to read and respond to change with a wide repertoire of complementary skills and behaviors. (HBR article 2023)
Resilience is "the ability to cope with a stressful situation, recover from it and learn from the experience" again and again. (Dale Carnegie Training, 2021)
Empathy is where "leaders [and workers] must acknowledge and respond to the fundamental shifts that lay the foundation for effective leadership" (Chris Shipley and Heather McGowan)
Self-efficacy is a belief in one’s own abilities to shape outcomes. (Stanford Center on Longevity, New Map of Life)
Curiosity is about asking yourself, "Who am I now?" as well as being curious about the world, how it's changing, and how you need to evolve to keep pace with it.
Imagination is "stepping outside of reality, outside bounds of physicality, consciousness, your real self so to speak, so that it allows you to stay connected to freedom, possibility, and fun." As we age, we lose the capacity or inclination to engage with our fantasy and it leads us to complain. (Esther Perel on instagram)
THE TAKEAWAYS
I believe we exist to create ourselves endlessly.
Our identities evolve, our beliefs evolve, and our idea of what it means to "have" a career evolves. No two people's definition of a career are the same, nor will they ever be.
The point is for you to define your career on your own terms. And first, you need to know what those terms are.
To be part of the empowered workforce, the six traits of: versatility, resilience, empathy, self-efficacy, curiosity, and imagination, are essential. They are cornerstones in shaping your growth, development and evolution as a human and as a professional.
When you feel lost, down, taken advantage of, torn between options, stuck in a toxic environment, or find yourself in a career transition, it is time to double down on these traits to help you rise to your next level of [career] greatness.
Remember, your career is not given to you or a path to follow [that's the career mantra of generations past].
You are the inventor, leader, shaper, and activator of what your professional identity and career are, and it starts with leaning into ALL six traits (most especially imagination).