Butler explains: “Are we energized in a highly competitive professional environment? Do we respond better when warmth and collaboration are the established norms? Do we like the predictability and clear rules of formal hierarchical structures or do we like more informal ‘flat’ organizations where communication across levels or seniority is encouraged?” It includes many dimensions, such as family, circle of friends, and social and religious organizations.Ĭareer decisions involve more than work, but we also obviously must come to grips with what “work” community means to us. The second element is community: the need to find a place that is right for us. “The road to identity never travels in a straight line,” he stresses in his book The Four Elements. Find the crux of the experience and capture it in one sentence, as a way to understand your essence. He recommends spending time in a relaxed, meditative position, remembering moments when you were deeply engaged at work. You are searching for your role and contribution to that world. There is something deeply within you but the outside world also contributes, amplifying and confirming your instincts. Butler notes, is an “inside” and “outside” phenomenon. Who are you? What do you want to do next? What do you need to do next? How do you find out? In this context, identity is the human need to be identified as an individual, to emerge from the career chrysalis as someone who has recognizable talents, interests and intentions. We need a more meditative approach, freeing our mind to wander and express our inner feelings. And the key, counter to our instincts, is to be less analytical. Those may not seem immediately obvious, which is what makes them helpful. Having coached many people in such situations, Timothy Butler, senior faculty advisor for career and professional development at the Harvard Business School, says we need to figure our way through four vital life elements to find our way forward: identity, community, necessity and horizon.
It can be confusing and hard to navigate.
When we hit a career impasse or pivot point, many voices – often conflicting – call out from within.
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