The Power of Small Career Changes

"I can't stand another day of this work!"; "I'm bored. It's not that I don't have a good job or make enough money. I just don't feel any meaning in what I do anymore."; "There's no way out of this job other than getting fired. I think this is the wrong career for me." This is what I often hear from mid-career counseling clients seeking to reverse a stagnating career. And often, the first option being considered is a major change in career or job.

I don't usually advocate for such changes, although there are exceptions. For the most part, major changes are not the most productive alternative, because not only are they often unnecessary, but they can also lead to major life upheavals with uncertain results. This is more significant in mid and late career, when the timeline for successful change is shorter and the tolerance for potential loss of income may be lower.  I've met with clients who incurred major debt for education they never used in hopes of changing a career. Others may change jobs for something that looks great, such as with a start-up, but then the new company goes out of business in less than a year. The point is that an attempt at major change can sometimes lead to more trouble than it's worth. Again, there are exceptions, such as when there is a clear mismatch of career with skills or interests, or when there is no better alternative, or when major change is a low risk, high gain strategy.

In my long-term study and practice regarding careers, I find that 2 simple principles can be used by anyone to guide the amount of change needed to get out of a stagnating or unbearable work situation, and to proactively avoid these from even happening. The first is known as the Pareto Principle, and the second is what I call the Intersection Principle.

The Pareto Principle is widely applicable. It simply says that about 80% of effects are accounted for by about 20% of the causes. In other words, when we apply this principle to human behavior, we can hone in on the pertinent influencers of how we feel about our situation and make small changes to get the desired results. You can see this happening everywhere. In the career world, how many times do we see a change from a punitive to a supportive supervisor make the difference between hating and loving to come to work? Or a change to an exciting new project? Or reassignment from a team with a bullying member to a more functional team? So how efficient is it to make a life upending career or job change when a smaller change is feasible and will accomplish the desired result?

The Intersection Principle is a broad, yet simple guide to making changes and adjustments over time to stay in or close to the "sweet spot" of feeling passion and meaning toward the work you do. It is particularly applicable to those who are in the middle or late in their careers. This Principle states that the sweet spot lies at the intersection of your best skills, and of those, the ones you get the most satisfaction out of using; your interests in general and in specific work fields; your best-fit environments; and the opportunities that you create or that otherwise arise that are consistent with these factors.

While you can use the Intersection Principle in selecting a new career or targeting a new job in a different organization, i.e., major change, it is particularly useful for making small changes as well. For example, small changes can include improving skills on an ongoing basis to qualify for promotions or transfers to more satisfying jobs within an organization. They can also include requesting new assignments or reassignments based on emerging areas of interest. The environmental area is ripe for small changes in anything from physical changes, to peer and supervisory relationships, to fit with work teams and other possibilities. The extent to which you can approach the sweet spot depends on the opportunities you create by what you do, and those that arise spontaneously.

So, by using the Pareto Principle in combination with the Intersection Principle, the power of small change can potentially equal or exceed the power of large change. For those in mid-career and later, it offers a framework for retaining a mindset over the remainder of a career that can realistically support continuing passion for and meaning in work.

Note: This article summarizes information covered in detail in the book RELAUNCH! Stagnation, Change, and Renewal in Mid-Career and Beyond, and in my presentations. S