S4E5 - An Introduction to the Career Decision-Making Matrix: A Teach, Lead or Leave Episode

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In this episode of Positively Leading, host Jenny Cole introduces the Career Decision-Making Matrix from her book Teach, Lead or Leave - a simple but powerful framework built around two key factors: your energy and your impact. 

Jenny walks through the four quadrants educators can find themselves in - Thriving, Underutilised, Exhausted, and Disengaged - explaining the warning signs of each and the pathways forward, from stretching and pivoting to resting or planning an exit. Whether you're feeling restless, exhausted, or unfulfilled, this episode offers a clarifying tool to help you honestly assess where you are right now, and why knowing that is the essential first step toward figuring out what needs to change.

Did you know there is more? You can access every episode, show notes, links and more via my website Positively Beaming.

Transcript

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[00:01:03]

Hello, and welcome back to Positively Leading. I'm Jenny Cole, coach, consultant, and author through my business, Positively Beaming. I'm currently doing a special collection of episodes focusing on the themes in my new book, Teach, Lead or Leave. And over the past several episodes, we've been exploring what it feels like to be stuck as an educator.

That restlessness, the exhaustion, the sense that something needs to change. And if you've been listening and reflecting, you might be starting to get a little clearer on what you're experiencing.

Maybe you've recognized that you're burnt out. Maybe you've realized that you're bored. Maybe you're seeing that life stages, have shifted for you and need to be considered. But today is where it gets really interesting because knowing what you're experiencing is only half the picture, and the other half of the picture is [00:02:03] understanding where you are right now in terms of two really critical factors.

And these are the factors that I use in my work, and they are your energy and your impact. And today I want to introduce you to a framework that changed everything for me and for the educators that I have coached, and I call it the Career Decision Making Matrix. And I wrote about it in my book, Teach, Lead or Leave, and I'm gonna talk about it here today. It's based on a really simple but powerful idea.

Your career satisfaction isn't just about one thing. It's about the intersection of two fundamental things. Whether or not you have energy for your work, or in fact if your work is energizing, and whether you are having the impact that you desire and that you want to have.

What [00:03:03] I've learned, what I've noticed, is you can be having an amazing impact, you can be an excellent educator and still be miserable if you're completely depleted. And you can have loads of energy, and passion, and enthusiasm, but still feel unfulfilled if you're not making the difference that you want to make.

So today I'm gonna explain the matrix, and then perhaps encourage you to map out where you are right now. And that clarity, that honest assessment of your current reality is the first thing, well, it's the first step to figuring out what needs to change and, in fact, if anything needs to change. So let me explain how this works.

 The career decision-making matrix has two axes. The vertical axis is energy. This is about your personal energy levels. Are you energized by [00:04:03] your work or are you depleted by it? Do you finish your day feeling satisfied, or, overwhelmed and exhausted? Do you look forward to Monday, or do you dread it?

This isn't about whether the work is hard. Hard work can be energizing if it's the right kind of hard. This is about whether you are running on full fuel and energy, or whether you are running on empty. The horizontal axis is impact. This is about whether you're making the difference that you desire to make.

Are you doing work that matters to you? Can you see the results of your effort? And do you feel like you're utilizing your skills and strengths effectively? Again, this is not about whether other people think that you're having impact. This is not necessarily about data and scores. This is about whether you feel that you are [00:05:03] having the kind of impact that is meaningful to you.

So now both of those axes go from low to high, so you've got low energy to high energy on the vertical axis, and you've got low impact to high impact on the horizontal axis. And when you put those two axes together, you get four quadrants. Four different career states that you might find yourself in as an educator. And here's what's important.

Those quadrants aren't permanent. You're not stuck in one forever. And most educators, most leaders, most teachers will move between them over the course of their career, sometimes multiply. The question is, where are you right now? Where are you spending most of your time? Where have you spent most of your time over the past six months?

Let me walk you through each of the quadrants and tell you what they mean. [00:06:03] And so let's start top left, which is high energy, low impact. I call this underutilised. You might also call it restless. If you're in this quadrant, you still have energy for education. You still have passion and commitment. You're not burnt out.

You're tired, but you're not exhausted necessarily. But somehow you feel unfulfilled. You're underutilised. You may even be bored. So remember, you've got high energy, but you don't feel like you're making a difference. You have a sense that there's something better or different that you could be doing, something more meaningful, something more impactful, something that would actually use your skills and capabilities better.

You might look at other teachers, but particularly leaders around you and think, "I could do that better." Or you [00:07:03] might see opportunities being missed and think, "Why isn't anyone doing anything about that?"

Your context, your school culture, the leadership, the direction in which your place is going might not be allowing you to do your best work. So you might come to work with lots of energy and enthusiasm, but your ideas get shut down, or you're just not in the right culture for the sort of work that you want to be doing.

So sometimes the context can be limiting, and so you're not having the impact that you want. In this quadrant, you're definitely capable of more, but you might not be getting the chance to show it. And this is the restless educator, one who's got plenty of energy but nowhere meaningful to direct it. Here are some warning signs that you might be in this quadrant.

You're restless and wondering if there's something better, [00:08:03] more, or different. You're feeling bored or understimulated. You're looking at job adverts even though you don't hate your current job, so you're looking but you're not applying necessarily. You might even be volunteering for things outside your role just so that you've got something interesting to work on.

And you might feel like you're underutilized, so you're not being challenged or stretched. This is what I need you to know. The problem is not that you're committed to education and that you're not a good teacher or leader. The problem is you're not in the right role or the right context to make the best contribution you're capable of. In my book Teach, Lead, or Leave, I outline six pathways that are possible for teachers considering their careers.

And if you are in quadrant one, high energy, [00:09:03] low impact, you're underutilized, you've got a couple of options.

Option one is that you could stay and stretch. You could find ways to stretch and grow within your current role or within your current school. Could you volunteer for leadership opportunities? Could you take on a new challenge or a project? Could you mentor someone? Could you join a professional association or network?

Sometimes staying in your current school but adding a challenge is just enough to move you from low impact to high impact. Option two, you might need a different role in a different school. Maybe the culture or leadership at your current school is not allowing you to thrive, but a different one might.

So that could include moving to a different school, or it might mean moving into a leadership position.

Then of course, there's also option three, which is leave. And sometimes honestly, you realize that it's not this school or [00:10:03] this role, it's education itself that's not letting you have the impact that you want. And you might need to explore options outside education entirely. So three options if you are in high energy, low impact.

Now look at quadrant two, which is high energy and high impact, and I call this thriving. This is the top right quadrant. This is thriving. This is your sweet spot. If you're in this quadrant, congratulations, you are using your skills and strengths to make a real tangible difference. You have a high career satisfaction.

You're energized by your work, and you can see the impact that you're having. This does not mean that the work is easy. It's still challenging, but the right kind of challenging. The challenging that stretches and grows you rather than depletes you and de-energizes you. [00:11:03] So in this quadrant, you might be someone who volunteers enthusiastically for additional responsibilities in areas you're passionate about, or you've mastered that elusive work-life balance, and it keeps you energized rather than exhausted.

If this is you, I want to say education desperately needs you. We need committed educators like you, professionals who are thriving, who love their work, who are spreading enthusiasm to others. Please stay. Resist the negativity that can pervade staff rooms. Please keep doing what you're doing. But this is really important.

You need to be vigilant. Just because you're in this quadrant doesn't mean you're gonna stay there, and it can be very easy to slip out of it. So here are the warning signs to watch for. When you start taking on too much because you're good at things and people keep asking. People [00:12:03] pleasers, take note.

You'll notice you'll slip if your boundaries start to erode and you start getting resentful. Just be aware of role creep, doing more and more things that weren't originally part of your job, and noticing the early signs of burnout, such as negativity or overwhelm. So to stay in this quadrant, monitor yourself regularly, maintain your boundaries, beware of role creep, and make sure that you've got some systems and habits that sustain you and the work that you do.

This quadrant is exactly where we all want to be, but staying here requires intentionality, and it doesn't happen by accident. Quadrant number three, we're dipping into low energy, and the first one is low energy, low impact. We are disengaged.

This is the bottom left quadrant. [00:13:03] I'm gonna be really honest with you. This is the toughest quadrant to be in. If you're in this quadrant, you already feel disengaged, despondent, and maybe even completely disinterested in education. You've got no energy, and you don't feel like you are making any difference. There's a few warning signs that you might be in this quadrant.

Perhaps you're taking more sick days than usual. perhaps you're becoming increasingly negative or cynical. You might start gossiping about coworkers more than you used to, being unprofessional. You might start working to rule, doing the bare minimum and not a thing more, or constantly complaining to family and friends, and honestly, they will be very tired of you and tired of hearing about it.

And if we're in this stage, our emotional [00:14:03] intelligence is generally slipping. We're less reactive and more professional, and we're gonna feel stuck. If this is you, I need you to hear this. A radical change is what you need. Not minor tweaks and adjustments, not better time management, not a better school or a different principal, but radical change.

You either need a significant break or a complete career shift. And here's the hard question you need to ask yourself. If you could work in the best possible school with the best possible leadership team and the best possible students, your absolute ideal scenario, would you still want to be a teacher or a leader?

If the answer is no, even in the best imaginable circumstances you wouldn't want to do this work, then you need to start planning your exit from education. Not next year, not [00:15:03] later for whatever reason, not eventually. You need to start planning now for your own benefit and also those of the students and staff around you.

If the answer is yes, you think you could love education again in the right context, then maybe you just need to pivot. Maybe you do need a new school, a new role, a new environment that aligns better with your values and gives you a chance to get your energy back and to have impact again.

But here's what you can't do at the low energy, low impact quadrant. You cannot stay where you are because staying in this quadrant long term will destroy you, and it's not fair on your students, your colleagues, or yourself. Here are some really quick strategies if you're in this quadrant, but I appreciate that the journey out of this quadrant can take quite a significant amount of time and effort, and there are no quick [00:16:03] fixes.

If you're planning to leave, start researching what you could do. Update your resume or LinkedIn profile. Network with people outside of education. Have serious conversations with your family about finances and timelines, and work with a coach or career counselor to help you overcome your limiting beliefs and help you see possibilities. If you're planning to pivot within education, research different schools and different roles.

Talk to people who work in contexts that you might be interested in or at least are different to yours. Update your resume. Start applying for positions that might reignite your passion. Be strategic. Don't just jump anywhere. Make sure that the new context will actually be different in ways that matter to you.

But do something. And if you're leaving or pivoting, please consider working with a [00:17:03] coach. while we don't always just coach people who are in crisis, you are the people that we can make the most difference with, and you're often in this quadrant because your thinking is stuck, and a good coach can help you identify what your patterns of thinking are and how to get out of those.

You can't see options, and you feel hopeless. A good coach will help you see possibilities when you can't see it for yourself. Quadrant four is low energy but high impact, and this is where, in the bottom left quadrant, where you're still making a difference, but you're exhausted. Your energy levels are really low, and I call this on the brink of burnout quadrant.

If you're in this quadrant, you're hardworking. You're a talented educator. You're probably very skilled. You once loved your job, and you're probably [00:18:03] doing good work, maybe even great work, and you're having impact. Parents might request you as their child's teacher as a leader. Nobody is noticing that you're not doing a good job, but you're exhausted, and you're running on empty, and I don't just mean standard tired.

I just mean that physically and mentally, spiritually and intellectually, you've just had enough. You're mentally and physically drained. You might be performing okay on the surface, but you're depleted. You arrive home with zero energy for family or self-care, and so you might numb yourself in whatever way makes most sense to you.

You might be drinking too much or doom scrolling or eating comfort food or forgetting to take care of yourself in whatever way. You might feel resentful that others are coasting while you seem to be working harder than ever. [00:19:03] You may even feel you're not getting recognition for all that you're doing.

You may start to become cynical and judgmental about where education is heading, and it's very possible that you could be having physical symptoms such as headaches, stomach issues, insomnia, difficulty sleeping. If this is you, I need you to hear this very clearly. The pathway forward is to stop doing what you have always done, and that is to work harder.

The way out of this quadrant is not by working harder. It's not by being more organized. It is not by pushing through. The pathway forward is to pause. I want you to rest. Don't quit. Rest. Education needs your experience if you're in this quadrant. It needs your expertise. But we don't want you to burn yourself out [00:20:03] completely and leave forever resentful and depleted.

We need you to step away or step sideways for as long as your finances will allow. Some strategies could include using every bit of leave available to you. Long service leave, annual leave, sick leave, whatever you can do and however you can afford it. And during that leave, I want you to actually rest, not catch up on work, not finally get to all of those projects at home or at work.

I want you to rest. And in my book, I talk about, the various types of rest. But at the very least, sleep, move your body, spend time with people that you love, do things that have nothing to do with education. And when you've rested and actually recovered, you can start making decisions about what comes next.

Maybe you'll come back to your current role with better boundaries and renewed energy. Maybe you'll realize that what's actually needed [00:21:03] is a pivot to a different job or a different school or a different level of responsibility. Maybe you'll realize that you do need or want to leave education. But you cannot make good decisions from a place of complete depletion.

You need to rest first and make decisions later. Here are some strategies that you can do immediately if you think that you're in this quadrant. And so when I'm talking about rest and taking leave, we can do some things this week, to set the wheels in motion. So one of them is to set firm bou- boundaries.

Make sure you're leaving work at a reasonable time. Put that in your calendar if you have to. Tell everybody to remind you to go home at a reasonable hour. Don't check your emails after work or on weekends. In fact, take all of that stuff off your phone. Turn all your notifications off or down. Say no to additional responsibilities, and [00:22:03] protect your breaks, like your lunch break.

You're allowed to have a break. Take care of your physical health. Digital detox. Reduce your screen time. Take every effort you can to improve your sleep. Make this a priority. Move your body in ways that feel good. Make sure that you are fueling your body with really good food, not just what is quick, easy, and comforting.

And if required, get some professional help. And I didn't say this in the low energy, low impact quadrant, but that quadrant has a lot of similarities to depression and poor mental health. And this one, in terms of low energy, can also point towards other things happening. So I want you to make sure that you, speak to your [00:23:03] GP, especially if you think you're experiencing burnout symptoms.

For both low energy quadrants, I want you to consider therapy or coaching or both. Plenty of my clients have both. And I want you to talk to your principal or your line manager about potentially reducing your workload. And if that feels hard, that's exactly what your therapist or your coach can help you with.

In this low energy, high impact quadrant, I want you to understand this critical truth. Taking a break is not the same as quitting. We are not letting people down. We are not abdicating our responsibility. In fact, taking a break is essential maintenance for a sustainable career. You wouldn't run your car without ever changing the oil or replacing your tires.

We don't leave our car running 24/7, yet we do that [00:24:03] with ourselves. So if you have wandered off, come back to me, 'cause I've got some things for you to think about. First of all, I'm just going to go over those four quadrants again. And I'll probably do them in slightly different order. I want you to think high energy, high impact, thriving.

That was actually quadrant two. You're in your sweet spot. Stay here. Protect it fiercely. Continue to be awesome. High energy but starting to have low impact, you're either underutilized or restless, quadrant one. You've got passion, but you're not making the difference that you want. You need to stretch or pivot or possibly leave.

Low energy, high impact. This is the one I talked about just a moment ago. You're overwhelmed. Quadrant four. You need to pause and rest before you completely implode. [00:25:03] And low energy, low impact, quadrant three. You're disengaged. You need a radical change. Either a significant break, a complete career shift, and just be aware that if this feels permanent, that could signal some mental health concerns and to speak to your GP.

Now, here is your homework. I want you to think, where have you been spending most of your time over the past six months? Be honest. Not where you wish you were or not where you used to be, but where are you actually now? High energy, high impact. High energy, low impact. Low energy, high impact. Low energy, low impact.

Now, you might find that most of the time you're in one quadrant with occasional little dips into another. That's normal. Most [00:26:03] of us slide, as we get to the end of term two or term three when it's been cold and wet and miserable. But where have you spent most of your time? Or you might actually find you've been clearly in one quadrant for quite some time.

Either way, knowing where you are is the first step to figuring out what needs to change. Now, you might be wondering what actually determines which quadrant you're in. Why do some people thrive while other people burn out doing exactly the same job? That's what we're going to explore in further episodes.

Because your energy and your impact aren't random. They are determined by some very specific factors, particularly your energy. These are impacted by, or determined by, the foundational elements of your strengths, what you're naturally wired to do well, your values, which is what matters most [00:27:03] to you, and your style, which is how you naturally prefer to work.

When your work aligns with these things, you have both energy and impact, and when it doesn't, you will either end up depleted or unfulfilled or both. So in subsequent episodes, we're gonna start diving deep into what grows your energy, what are the things that when they're present in your work give you energy instead of draining it, and that's where we're headed next.

Thank you so much for being here and for doing this honest assessment of where you are. I know it's not always comfortable to look clearly at your reality, but you cannot change something that you won't acknowledge. And if you're in a quadrant that's not working for you, the first step is to admitting it, because you're not stuck there forever, even though you are there now.

And as I said, in the next episode, we're gonna talk about the first [00:28:03] thing that grows your energy, your strengths. Not your skills, but your strengths, and there's a big difference in understanding the difference between skills and strengths can change everything. I will see you in the next episode.