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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!” 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