People change jobs. Head-hunters, job sites, professional networks and a large eco-system thrive on this phenomenon. Over the last two decades, I have been fortunate to see thousands of people change jobs and have been personally involved in a few hundred cases. I see people between jobs : some people quit having another opprotunity at hand, some walked away from their jobs out of their own choice, some were pushed out by their employers and a very few took a leap of faith in the pursuit of something they didn’t know in great detail. Let us explore this phenomenon of leaping in faith.
I see them either over-enthusiastic or crystal-clear about the future or at times, breaking away from the shackles of monotony. They get enticed with the invitation to explore the unbeaten path, feel inspired by the adventurous, dream of the most optimistic outcome and stay energized with that idea. They do not worry much about the uncertainties of life. When someone walks away from a job, especially when there is no major threat or push factor, one walks away from stability, power, authority, security and comforts of familiarity. It calls for a lot of courage and determination to do something different. People who do this invariably possess a lot of energy, drive and confidence. Organizations and recruiters must tap into this pool of untapped potential and drive. Such personalities could be potentially great-fits if their energy is channelised into driving change and innovation. Unfortunately, many employers don’t think beyond the job description and restrict themseleves to their comfort zones. If you discover a strong desire to try something different, have an idea and see the potential in the power of your idea, you must unleash yourself and not regret later for not having taken the plunge. One must be careful of not being over-exuberant with some sketchy ideas.
While many leaders and thinkers have advised us to follow our heart and the passion, I feel it’s not so simple! It is important that one must carefully evaluate the power of the idea and think about the ever-demanding realities of life such as the family, the finances and the lifestyle being met day to day.
Evaluation of the power of an idea is easier said than done. Thousands of ideas do not succeed either because the idea was not great or the execution was below-par. However, when the idea gets embodied into an organization, the founders never feel that their idea would be a failure. They write a business plan, convince their investors in themselves or another agency. In spite of all these due diligence, how does the idea not flower forth! Why does this leap of faith prove to be a damp squib? Possibly, it is because the founders and investors did not have the strengths needed to evaluate the idea. Also, it could be that the leaders and the organization did not have the strengths required to execute the idea. In either case, the take-away for me is to know one’s strengths, determine what strengths are required for success and check the extent of the match.
Take the leap of faith if you have an idea, tie-up steady supply of provisions for day to day necessities of life, guard against over-exuberance and see matching strengths in you to succeed in the new chapter.
