However clear the vision you have this year, you are likely to need a renewed vision next year. Alterations in the external world because of economic changes, globalisation, the speed of transfer of information and shifts in political expectations come faster and faster. Your values give you fixed points, but your vision will need to be continually developing as expectations of you change and your ability to contribute evolves over time. If you do not renew your vision you stagnate. Refreshing your vision and reinventing yourself can give you new energy.
A battery needs to be recharged or it will go flat. Your energy levels need to be recharged if you are to sustain your energy. You need to be re-inspired so that you can focus on the outcomes that are most important to you. An opportunity to take stock can enable you to achieve a new perspective on what it means to be successful.
My first career was 32 years in the UK Civil Service. When I had the opportunity to move into a second career as an executive coach at age 55, it represented a renewed vision and others saw in me new energy and vitality. Taking this step into a new career was a life-changing moment and involved a completely new vision of myself making a difference through coaching senior leaders.
It is encouraging to see individuals develop a new vision or expression of themselves. Andy moved from teaching into adult tutoring, Peter moved from banking into teaching, Julia moved from being a solicitor into teaching, and Margot moved from being a doctor's surgery receptionist into church ministry.
As you observe individuals transferring from one sphere into another, you can sense their renewed vision and energy. Watch it, it can be infectious!
Reinventing yourself is not about taking on a completely different personality. Each of us has something unique about our character. Your essential 'Charlieness' or 'Sarahness' is central to your personality and success. Reinventing yourself is not about changing the essential you, but it could mean adapting your approach significantly to fit different contexts.
Now may be a moment to make a radical change in your approach. For example, you may have received feedback that you could become a better listener. When entering a new job you might decide to listen more and use practical techniques to ensure that this happens. You might want to invite feedback after a few months to see whether people now regard you as a good listener or not.
Reinventing yourself is also about using the opportunity of a change of job or role to step up. You may be conscious that you are not as confident as you would like in your job: you are feeling your way and learning about the organisation. But in your next role you can build on the experience that you have and be a more surefooted and assertive leader.
Starting a new job can be an excellent moment to reflect on what you want your impact to be and how you want to present yourself. In advance of starting a new role, ask yourself these key questions:
How will success be defined by my new boss?
What are the outcomes I want to deliver after six months?
What might be some early wins?
What are the most important relationships and how do I want to build them?
How can I make a good first impression, and how do I want to be viewed after three months?
How will I keep up my energy and freshness and ensure that I have a realistic work/life balance?
I often ask individuals when they start a new job what adjectives they would like people to use to describe them. I then ask what evidence they will have that will mean that these adjectives have been applied to them. Addressing these issues allows you to decide how you want to live your values in the new role. What is then important is to get feedback a couple of months into the job and find out whether those you are working with use these adjectives to describe you!
You may not have the opportunity to reinvent yourself by switching roles. You might be expecting to teach in the same village school for a number of years to come; you might be the vicar in a parish expected to stay another four or five years; or you might be building up your practice as a solicitor and have no intention of moving to a different location. What does reinventing your vision mean in these circumstances?
Reflecting on these questions can help you take stock and decide what type of renewed vision you want to focus on. Often you need a stimulus to generate a new vision, which could include a sabbatical in a very different environment, a quiet retreat in a monastery or on a mountain top, periods of silence when you allow what is most important to you to dominate your thoughts, or structured conversations with a coach that help you decide on your next steps.
Even if you originally decide there is no need to look at your vision, it might be that as you enable others to think about their own next steps and renew their vision, you are stimulated to do the same. As you give you receive. As you see others excited by new possibilities and with a new focus and energy, you can catch something of their new life. It can be infectious if you play a part in enabling others to renew their vision!
The impetus to renew your vision can come through external stimulus or inner change. It often arrives through the external stimulus of a change of role, a new boss or different expectations, but is can also arise through inner change stimulated by reaching a certain age, the death of a close friend, as a consequence of honest comments by friends, family or colleagues, or as a result of a profound religious, emotional or intellectual experience.
Responding to inner change is not a sign of weakness: it is a recognition that your beliefs and priorities will change over time. Being open to inner change is a sign of maturity as you remove the blinkers of past attitudes and allow yourself to be open to new directions.
