In ‘What’s your Story’, Harvard Business Review, January 2005, Prof. Herminia Ibarra and coach Kent Lineback, explain why recounting a laundry list of credentials and jobs to an audience is ineffective, because listeners cannot easily understand how their contacts and knowledge might be of help. They provide an alternative and powerful way of communicating transitions to make effective use of contacts and to successfully enlist supporters.
Transitions are critical times. Whether one is transitioning from one industry to another, one job to another or one responsibility to another within a company, the transition needs to be managed.
Transitions are periods of opportunity, a chance to start anew, but they are also periods of anxiety and vulnerability. However, managing transitions effectively will provide the confidence to focus on the opportunities and tame the anxieties.
Given the stakes, it is surprising that not much guidance is available. Therefore, a series of topics in the upcoming weeks will address some of the issues during transition.
