Personal Reinvention

Earlier this week I received notice that I had successfully obtained Professional Certified Coach (PCC) status with the International Coach Federation (ICF).  Needless to say I was quite enthused at my accomplishment and dutifully updated my LinkedIn status and credentials, took to my twitter account to trumpet the news, and celebrated with my Facebook friends.  I also took time to thank ALL of those I had coached over the past two years and others in positions of authority who had vouched for me as part of the ICF credentialing process. 

One of the first responses back to me on Facebook also sparked this blog entry.  My past coach remarked "Congrats Greg!  That's a huge milestone to celebrate.  Consider yourself officially transitioned."  Officially transitioned.  It was an interesting assessment of where I now stand in my career.  Over the past two years I have had several offers to return to an executive role in healthcare.  I'd also been approached with leadership opportunities in other sectors.  The offers were intriguing and would have represented an easier path than the one I've been on.  While I didn't dismiss these offers out-of-hand, there were some very tangible reasons for leaving my former role and sector in the first place and very specific and rewarding reasons for continuing my commitment to my (re) discovered passion for leadership coaching.

I've learned a lot along this path of reinvention and found continued expression for my desire to lead and be of service to others - and perhaps there a few gems for others as they consider a change in role, sector, or career.  Even if you expect to stay in the same leadership role for the long-term its wise to consider how you might need to reinvent yourself to take account of the changing business environment that surrounds you.  Evolve or perish!  So here are some of my takeaways from two years of reinvention.

First, any truly successful or meaningful reinvention has to start with the realization that whatever you have done before, the positions you held, and the titles you "owned" don't carry much weight in your new venture.  In my case being the Senior Vice President of a large organization with responsibility for hundreds of millions of dollars in budget and several thousand staff didn't carry as much weight as I had hoped or vainly expected when trying to contract with coaching or consulting clients.  As you transition, your clients or staff in your new venture are going to be less interested in what YOU HAVE DONE versus what they believe YOU CAN DO for them into the future.  It can be a harsh reality check.  You can very much feel that you are starting from scratch.  Taking nothing for granted as you start your new journey.    

Second, and perhaps an evident no-brainer, is the particular value of reinventing yourself on the basis of what excites you and gets your motor running.  Commit to following your passion and the rest will fall into place.  It was at least six months into my personal reinvention before I made the tentative yet powerful decision to commit to becoming a certified executive coach.  There were a few bumps along this path as I juggled a need to invest in self versus the desire to pursue lucrative consulting engagements.  Short-term pain for long-term gain and easier said than done.  However, once you truly commit I expect you to be rewarded with a strong feeling of "being in the right place" and intent on overcoming obstacles in pursuit of your driving passion.

As the Nike slogan says "Just do it!"  Just because I had discovered or rediscovered what got my motor running didn't mean that I had the process of coaching nailed on day one nor that I had the confidence to boldly own a new future.  It took a lot of small, sometimes tentative steps along the way, a great deal of peer support, family encouragement, support of mentors, and willing clients to help me move from passion, to action, to the beginning realization of the true potential before me.  You too will need to constantly remind yourself of your vision, goals, objectives and milestones along the way.  Take time to celebrate your very real successes and hold true to the path you have set for yourself despite the inevitable setbacks or stumbles.  Reinventing oneself is a constant state of trying and practice.

Successfully reinventing oneself is also about time and metrics.  As noted, it's taken me two years to achieve PCC status.  While I'd like to say that I've been patient with that process those who have walked this path with me - including my wife - will quickly remind me how much that has not been the case.  The reality is if you expect to radically - and successfully - change paths you have to be patient with the process.  In my case I had spent the previous 25 years in healthcare leadership roles.  Expecting to seamlessly transition into another career at the same level of performance was certainly not a realistic expectation.  That didn't stop me from punishing myself for not excelling in the same way that I believed I had in my former roles.  What was comforting - to some degree - were the metrics and milestones I had established at the beginning of my transition.  Take time to step back and assess your progress against your plan.  You will more realistically evaluate your progress and success and not get discouraged in the day-to-day effort.  You will see that your effort is paying off and your vision slowly translating into reality.

Finally, whether it is reinvention of oneself in career terms, redefinition or reconfiguration of one's leadership role and capacity, or investment in one's skills and abilities, it should be recognized that the process must be constant.  If there is anything that the past two years has taught me - whether as a coach or a consultant - it is that you are only as good as your last successful engagement.  I am constantly evaluating and reevaluating what worked or didn't work.  How could I have had greater impact for my clients?  What can I learn and apply to the next encounter or next engagement?  This effort takes a great deal of discipline, self-motivation and a passion for learning in its own right.  But I believe that the energy expended in the effort of continual and constant reinvention will rebound to you manifold.  While I pride myself on being a force multiplier for my clients they have also been a force multiplier for me.

Good luck on your continued reinvention.  My personal reinvention continues to be a work in progress - as all good leadership should be.
______________________________

Greg Hadubiak, MHSA, FACHE, CEC, PCC
TEC Canada Chair/Executive Coach/Senior Consultant
hadubiak@wmc.ca

Helping leaders realize their strengths and enabling organizations to achieve their potential through the application of my leadership experience and coaching skills. I act as a point of leverage for my clients. I AM their Force Multiplier.