There is something about transitions I find super fascinating.
The whitespace, the energy or lack thereof, possible feelings of loss of identity or belonging, a purpose that is walking away or coming back with a vengeance…
A sense of connectedness that has seen better days…
The in-betweenness.
I notice people who are doing some “quiet quitting” (in other words, people who are not engaged and/or not engaging anymore with the workplace), people who are returning to work with some big questions, and some who feel they’re burning out and can’t see the end of it… Others who have been through a reevaluation time but still find themselves in some sort of pathway with no specific goal or materialised exit.
And all these situations have one thing in common:
A costly transition fog.
This transition costs people energy, time and finances; it depletes connections and sense of worth.
We recently interviewed people in the ecosystem and early findings showed that:
- People find it difficult to align their values, levels of confidence, motivation and availability of opportunities.
- People mostly look to translate their experience into other areas where they could make an impact, but also get traction, be in movement, and grow from their past experiences.
- Respondents showed a lot of resourcefulness, reading, getting advice and discussing that transition fog in leadership networks, to some extent.
- However, a majority seemed isolated and still miss the final step that would bring to life the knowledge and insights acquired.
What does it all mean?
Key obstacles seem to revolve around:
- Some degree of difficulty to find the energy and the courage to explore the assumptions that hold people back and hamper their self-accountability
- Wounds left by toxic power dynamics, that taint how people envisage their position in the world
- A degree of hesitation to embody/be the desired “work title”, to understand it fully, represent it, talk about it, and enact it accordingly (even when people are self-employed)
- A consistent delay of “the jump”. People seem to take away their own permission to do something about this fog
If you work in the Social/Impact Finance ecosystem and you’re currently seeking to get out of the transition fog, I would love to hear your thoughts!
What do you think you most need in order to feel relevant and continue to make an impact?
I know it seems contradictory and if you actually knew, you’d get out of the transition fog as quickly as you can… but somehow starting to think about it might be just a trigger to let some avenues emerge…
Book a vision scoping conversation with me now with no obligation !
