What approach to career transition support leads to a better experience and preparation? Research confirms that executives have a clear preference.
Every four years we watch the efforts of the world’s best athletes competing in a variety of sports with a wide range of physical, mental and technical demands.
Whether it is in the water, on the track, on ice, or on the field, one consistent theme is the importance of the relationships between the athletes and their coaches.
Gaining access to a coach who has acquired knowledge through experience, research and specialization has often been a key step for successful athletes. It then takes time to develop a relationship so that the coach understands each individual athlete’s talent, skill set and disposition.
The executive in transition is comparable to an athlete in that there is a preparation phase and a competition phase. Willingness to engage is a cornerstone to preparing to compete in any arena, and this requires building trust and confidence between the coach and competitor.
During the 17+ years I have been working with executives I have learned that there is no question that career transition involves the executive’s entire life and many of the people in it. Due to the complexity of the issues involved in career transition the ability to develop a relationship with an experienced coach has high value.
And research conducted by Clements United bears this out. The research shows that 1% of executives in transition would prefer webinars led by a consultant, 4% would prefer group meetings led by a consultant, while 95% feel that one-on-one meetings with a consultant is the best approach. High touch, our approach, is the clear winner and preferred to impersonal approaches.
Clements United takes pride in trying to address the full impact of a career transition. Similar to athletes, the executive has emotional and professional needs and the research shows my clients felt supported as they reported they were helped with: “The emotional impact of losing your position” (87%); “Learning about yourself as an executive” (92%); and “Learning about yourself as a person” (93%).
As any elite athlete will confirm, the key to competing well is to be prepared. When asked, “Did the work you did during your career transition process help with preparing to take yourself back to the market?” 93% of the executives sampled agreed that it did so. At which point it becomes “let the games begin!”