37: When Changing Your Public Sector Career Feels Like Stumbling in the Dark

Find the example of an 'Ideas Bank' at https://spacetoshiftyourcareer.com/37 

As a public sector leader, you know how to get things done. 

You know the processes, you know the people. You value systems and evidence-based decision-making. There may not always be time for it, but that’s the ideal.

That’s why changing your career can feel a bit overwhelming. You don’t know any clear process for how to go about it.

It’s like you’re standing at the edge of a dark cliff. 

You can’t see any clear path. You can’t see the destination on the other side. You can only see the cliff.

Now imagine you had a torch to shine small pools of light around to see what’s out there. 

Are you curious enough? 
Are you open to finding a way to get across? 
To create a path that works for you?

In this episode, I’ll talk about ‘structured curiosity’. It’s a process, consisting of a 6-steps, you can follow to find career options that are the right fit for you. 

It’s your torch in the dark. 

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Yvonne Davidis helps public sector leaders develop exciting career options that align with who they are now and how they want to evolve in future. 

With 20+ years of moving countries, working for the UK and Denmark across three continents, plus professional coaching certifications, Yvonne is a unique specialist for leaders in the public sector considering their next chapter.

Book a 90-minute Jumpstart Session to clarify your deal-breakers and must-haves for a more satisfying work experience.  

For step-by-step support on your career change journey apply here for Yvonne's 5-month Find Your Career Space programme, and she'll be in touch to invite you to a free discovery call. 

Transcript

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As a public sector leader, you know how to get things done. You know the processes, you know the people. You value systems and evidence-based decision making. There may not always be time for it, but that's the ideal. And that's why changing your career can feel a bit overwhelming. You don't know any clear process for how to go about it. It's like you are standing at the edge of a dark cliff. You can't see any clear path. You can't see the destination on the other side. You can only see the cliff. Now imagine for a moment you had a torch to shine small pools of light around, to see what's out there. Are you curious enough? Are you open to finding a way to get across? To create a path that works for you? In today's episode, I'll talk about structured curiosity. It's a process consisting of six steps you can follow to find career options that are the right fit for you. It's your torch in the dark. You are listening to Space to Shift Your Career, a free resource for leaders in the public sector wondering what's next. I'm Yvonda Vides and I've created this podcast to invite you to explore new paths that reflect who you are now and how you want your career to evolve in the future. I have a talent for creating a high trust space so you can reflect, think out loud, and test your assumptions. And I love helping you explore, dream and discover new possibilities for yourself. I moved country several times and I know what it's like to change careers, both within and out of the public sector. And I'm a trained career change and executive leadership coach. I've been working with career shifters as a mentor since 2013 and as a coach since I started my business in 2022. Now subscribe so you don't miss any new episodes. Now let's go. Most of the public sector leaders I speak with feel stuck at the very beginning of career change. They say things like, I just can't see what else I could do. I'm not a creative, I'm a pragmatic person. I need something realistic, not wishful thinking. And if that's you, I feel you. That's what I thought myself too. The public sector is generally a system where the next step is quite structured and predetermined. You join a particular track in your subject area, gain experience, move up the ranks, lead bigger teams, budgets, and programs. Maybe you move across to another part of the organization. But when you step outside that structure, you suddenly have to create something for yourself. And that can be a bit scary. Like the cliff edge in the dark. But don't worry, there is a process for this. I call it structured curiosity. I'm going to take you through the six steps, step by step. Step one, create an ideas bank. Public sector leaders often get stuck because they search for roles too quickly, but that would be like putting the cart before the horse. To get clarity about work that is more aligned with who you are now, work that makes your heart sink, you need to start with you. That's why the first step is to create an ideas bank. This is where you capture all your ideas, no matter how small. To create your ideas bank, take a blank sheet of paper, or if you prefer to work on your computer, open a new document or use a digital tool like Miro. Then instead of asking yourself, what's my next job? Ask yourself, what sparks my curiosity? And begin collecting clues. Write down anything you're interested in, even just slightly, things you've done before, as well as things you feel drawn to but haven't given any attention to. For example, topics you research for fun, conversations you lose track of time in, roads you admire from a distance, activities that make you feel more like yourself. There's an example of an ideas bank on my website for this episode at spacedoshiftyourcareer.com slash thirty seven if you want to get an idea of what this looks like. Then step two, create experiments and test assumptions. Look at your ideas bank and get more curious about it. Go out and do stuff. Test whether it really lights your fire in the way you thought it would, whether you can imagine doing them. As you do this, you are very likely to come up with new ideas for your Ideas Bank, which is great, because the goal is to have at least thirty five ideas on your ideas bank. Everything from the most straightforward ones to the most outrageous idea you can think of. This is part of the exploration phase, where you are meant to shine your torchlight into every corner to make sure you've checked all sorts of possibilities to find a way across that cliff. Step number three, looking for themes. A theme captures the gist and the breadth of the ideas on your ideas bank. You're looking for the golden thread. So when you look at all the ideas on your ideas bank, connect the dots and look for patterns. What's the essence of these ideas? Here are some examples. Creating structure out of complexity, working outdoors rather than behind a desk, bringing people together, building capability in others, designing systems that improve lives. When I work with public sector leaders in my five months find your career based program, we do this together. We usually come up with four to six themes. Then my clients choose the two to three themes that really resonate with them. Those are the ones we develop options for. Step four. For each theme, we come up with options that would turn this theme into reality. That's how you develop your spectrum of possibilities. Number one on the spectrum is the easiest step you can think of to act on this theme. Something you can do now, while number ten is the most ambitious and holistic way to act on this theme. Let me give you an example. You've looked at your ideas bank and identified the two themes building capability in others and emotional intelligence. For you, the essence of these ideas is the magic of people's internal growth and ability to navigate the world without being thrown around by reactions and emotions. On the spectrum of possibilities, a one could be sharing an article on emotional intelligence in a LinkedIn post. And a ten could be being the number one speaker on emotional intelligence in an AI-driven workplace, running your own training business and publishing research studies. Your one and your ten can be something completely different as long as they represent two ends on the spectrum. Then you develop options in between those points. Once you have 10 options on your first spectrum, you choose the one option that resonates with you and that you want to test further to make sure it has legs. In step five, you verify options. Then you go through the build, measure, and learn cycle to test this option. You decide whether to discard it based on these three questions. One, does it give me energy? Two, am I good at it or can I become good at it? Three, can I make a living from it? If the answer is yes to all three questions, you develop this option into a real career option in step six. If not, you either refine the option so the answers become a yes or you discard the idea. I talked about this build, measure, and learn cycle in more detail in episode 17 called Why the Big New Career Idea Won't Just Arrive. Have a listen to that one to help you with this step. Then finally, step six, build your transition plan. Once you've verified your idea, you begin to design a career transition plan for it. This includes a timeline, any potential training you might need to do, or a bridge job before transitioning fully. It also includes looking at your financial situation, any adjustments you might need to make to build a buffer to get through the transition, and to set up well in your new career. Good transition plan should also include how you're going to involve your loved ones so they are not blindsided and more likely to support you on your career change journey. That's what I help my clients with as well in my five months program. Let me give you an example of how this works in practice. One of the themes Mike, a public sector leader, identified was working with people. His first idea on his idea bank was that he might enjoy being a leadership coach. Instead of overthinking it for months, he ran two small experiments. He attended a free workshop about leadership coaching, and he had coffee chats with two coaches. And he realized it didn't resonate with him. He said, I can't see myself doing it. It doesn't motivate me at all. And that was great to find out. Imagine he had invested into the whole coach training, which cost several thousands of dollars, and only then found out it wasn't for him. His experiment was much more effective. It was not a failure, it was a very smart way to make progress. So Mike pivoted towards another option on the working with people spectrum he had developed. He explored fundraising. He met someone who worked as a fundraiser, shadowed them for a couple of hours, and then started volunteering for the organization they worked for. First for a few hours, then Mike built it up to one day a week. Gradually he built expertise, experience, and confidence. And a network. Mike's path is still unfolding, but the key point is this. He is no longer frozen. He is well on his way. Exploring new career options isn't about finding the answer tomorrow. You will have heard me say this many times before. It's about making space for yourself to widen your horizon wide enough that patterns emerge. It's about shining your torch around that dark cliff. Creativity and having a play with something you're drawn to helps you generate options. Experimentation helps you test them. Reflection helps you make meaning. This is not fluffy. It's evidence-based, and I know from experience that it works. If you feel clueless right now, feel stuck or lack ideas, it's okay. Be kind to yourself. You are simply at the beginning. Beginnings can feel overwhelming and scary, but they can also be exciting and fun. So pick up your torch and have a look. Follow what sparks curiosity. Collect ideas. Connect the dots. Look for themes. Run small experiments. Build, measure, learn. Career clarity won't just fall from the sky fully formed. You create it for yourself, step by step. Trust the process. It's a tried and tested method. And trust yourself. If you'd like my support along the way, get in touch on the Work with Yvonne page on my website, spacetoShiftyourcareer.com. Until next time, make space, rediscover you, and then take action. Thank you for listening today. You care about solving real problems and making a difference. And you feel it's time to figure out in what way you can do that in the next chapter of your career. Learn more about how I help leaders in the public sector break through four limiting beliefs about shifting their career. Space to shiftyourcareer.com. And if you're getting value from this podcast, please do share it with other public sector leaders who are considering what's next for them.