Coaching Transitions for Mid-Career Professionals with Heather Baker
Being alert to an opportunity to act

Career management with a netball eye (part 2)

Netball is a fast game and following on from part 1 which talked about staying on your toes, here is part 2 of parallels with the world of work. 

“Be alert!” 
- Lorraine, netball coach

“Be alert!” is another instruction from team coach Lorraine.


Watching play from the other end of the court, it can be tempting to switch off, think about something else, perhaps pay attention to something off-court. Yet we limit our options if we don’t observe what is happening there. We can’t anticipate the game or actions of other players. It will never be long before the ball is back in our end of the court. Keeping a close eye on the game means we’ll be ready to respond quickly.


In our professional lives, of course, our preference is to be able to influence decisions that affect us, and to have positive choices available to us. To do this, we need to remain alert to what is happening around us - in our team, our organisation, or more broadly in the industry – so that we can better anticipate and consider how it might affect us. Whether we are flourishing in our role or finding it slow going, we then have more time to respond, participate actively, make good decisions and take positive action.


Amidst the busyness of our working lives, allowing ourselves a little bit of time to understand what is happening not only in our immediate vicinity but also the wider environment may open up more effective ways of responding and new opportunities. I invite you to give yourself some time ask yourself how alert you are to the environment of your career and how you might keep a closer eye on opportunities.


In part 3 we discuss the importance of having an anchor when making decisions and taking action.


Next: Part 3 Maintain a constant anchor in times of change