BOOST YOUR CAREER BY EMBRACING YOUR DISRUPTIVE SIDE

Challenging yourself, changing the way you work and adapting to an ever-shifting employment landscape are vital attributes in today’s economy. This guide will help you stay ahead and benefit from being disruptive in your career.

CHANGE IS GOOD FOR YOUR CAREER AND WILL HELP YOU STAY RELEVANT IN THE JOB MARKET

Jobs for life are hard to come by these days. Technology is rapidly making many positions redundant and the rise of the gig economy has put specialist resources at the fingertips of businesses that can bring them in and out as required. To stay ahead in this environment, agility, innovation and adaptability are crucial, and the ability to disrupt the status quo will ensure you aren’t left behind.

How companies work and the products they design and sell are constantly being challenged as are the employees who must deliver that change. This is a threat to traditional career paths but also provides opportunities. Most of the big ideas, the game-changing products and innovations, are the result of someone disrupting the status quo. To become one of those people, and become someone others want to invest in, you need to disrupt your thinking.

DISRUPTING YOURSELF SOUNDS PAINFUL. WHAT IS IT?

Take a look at well-known disruptors such as Elon Musk and Steve Jobs, they have several things in common:

• They proactively seek out experts from different walks of life.
• They welcome different opinions that challenge traditional ways of thinking about a problem.
• They take a variety of ideas and connect them in ways other people haven’t considered.
• They are always experimenting and are not afraid to fail.

So, simply put, disrupting yourself is about learning to think differently. Disruptive thinkers help companies, or create their own, that identify a need before anybody knows they need it. Lots of organisations invest in supporting employees with regular learning and development programs that will improve the work you produce. But disruptors go beyond this by committing to continually challenging themselves, even in ways that are unrelated to their role.

Disrupting yourself doesn’t always have to be dramatic. Gaining better knowledge of a product, customer group or market; working or volunteering in a role or environment you want to move in to at some point or putting in the groundwork for a significant career change, all count.

Disruptors don’t restrict themselves to a pre-defined career path. They look for challenges that will keep them engaged and fulfilled at work, which can take them in interesting directions. If your career is stalling it could be time to locate your inner disruptor. For more on whether a change in careers is right for you read guide Deciding when to change careers. And how to do it to learn more.

WHY DO WE FEAR DISRUPTION?

Our brains are prone to over exaggerating risk. Fear is an important survival mechanism inherited from our ancient ancestors who lived in more dangerous times than the, relatively, safe 21stcentury. Because of this we place disproportionate importance on situations and events that aren’t life-threatening.

For example, we are often overly anxious about being in an unfamiliar situation. Our brain encourages us to be cautious of the unknown, but trying new things helps us to think creatively. Fear can often stop us taking that risk, which, whether it goes well or not, will provide valuable experience that we can learn from.

When stepping out of their comfort zones people often worry they won’t have the right skills, they’ll make mistakes and others will dislike them for it. Some will resent the fact they have to adapt in the first place. This unease affects everyone, from new starters to senior management. Some people managers, for instance, might be terrified of having difficult conversations, which holds them back. While a business owner might be scared of cold calling and miss out on opportunities to grow their business.

But embracing that fear and putting yourself in ‘constructively uncomfortable’ situations, will enable you to adapt to, and progress in, a rapidly changing working world.

A LITTLE BIT OF STRESS ISN’T A BAD THING

We’ve known for a long time the benefits of ‘optimal anxiety’ – when our stress levels are slightly higher than normal and we’re operating just outside our comfort zone. Way back in 1908 a study revealed that working within your comfort zone produces a steady level of performance but working in a state of high anxiety leads to poor performance.

Optimal anxiety is the sweet spot between the two which leads to higher productivity, creativity, innovation and helps you find more efficient ways of doing things. It also teaches you to challenge the status quo and your own beliefs, and gives you tools to better deal with change, discomfort and stress in the future.

Ongoing learning and development prevent you from stagnating in your comfort zone, keeping you relevant and nimble. Research has shown thinking differently and creatively is a learnable skill, which means there’s nothing to stop all of us becoming disruptors.

Managers need to understand the value of disruption too. They should encourage calculated and affordable risks in order to innovate, with failures viewed as an opportunity to learn and, ultimately, ensure their organization isn’t left behind.

Organizations that continue to survive and thrive are those that champion and support disruptors. They know that breaking out of logical career paths and questioning convention will benefit them and their employees who, in turn, are likely to stay more engaged and productive.

It also makes sense financially. Studies show there’s a high level of return on investment in employees. Whether it’s hard cash on a course or time spent learning something new, it’s likely to pay you, and your company, back many times over.

READY TO GET DISRUPTIVE?

Here are some things to bear in mind:

• Focus on the learning experience, not the fear. Usually when we’re scared of taking risks, the potential reward is high but we exaggerate the potential loss. Keep reminding yourself of the possible upside.
• Stop making excuses that prevent you doing things. Admit that you are fearful, identify what you are fearful of and work out small and achievable, but slightly uncomfortable, steps, you can take to start overcoming your fears. For example, if you are an introvert who’s scared of talking to people you don’t know, rather than making a speech to a room full of people straight away, start by challenging yourself to strike up a conversation with the local shopkeeper.
• Alleviate the potential downsides. If your disruptive plan risks financial loss, start saving now so that you have extra support if and when you need it.
• Don’t be afraid of failure. Everybody fails at some point. Don’t dwell on it. Cut yourself some slack and take away key lessons from the experience.
• You may never feel ready. Richard Branson once said you should always take the job and learn how to do it later. When Sheryl Sandberg thought about declining a role at Google because she didn’t have the right experience the CEO told her: “If you’re offered a seat on a rocket ship, don’t ask ‘what seat’. Just get on.” Taking a risk can reap big rewards. Innovation and re-invention don’t happen when you are comfortable.
• Step out of the comfort zone donut. The hole in the middle is your comfort zone. The donut around it is all the new experiences you’ll have by moving beyond your comfort zone. Fatten up your donut and you’ll open up a lot of tasty opportunities.
• Start gently. Don’t tip the scales into the realms of high stress and high anxiety. Work towards your goals by stretching your personal boundaries in a controlled way.
• Learn from others. Many successful people have benefited from bringing innovations that have disrupted other industries into theirs.
• Don’t forget the small things. Disruption can come from making lots of little changes, not just dramatic large scale ones.
• Network with influencers and leaders with different expertise and from different sectors. Be proactive about connecting with them and be open to a variety of views and perspectives.
• Play to your strengths. Yes consider opportunities outside your comfort zone but be aware of what transferable skills and attributes you have. Read guide Understanding, owning and talking about your strengths and weaknesses to learn more.
• Be prepared to change course. You may not end up where you expected when you started your journey. Many successful people find opportunities they weren’t expecting crop up when they disrupt themselves. Don’t be afraid to veer off the path and take them.

Although completing a project at work or securing a promotion count as successes, the kind of success that radically changes careers, companies and even industries, comes from thinking differently and continually challenging yourself to do better. So, go get disruptive.

FIVE THINGS TO REMEMBER:

1. Innovation and adaptability are key skills.
2. Don’t fear failure. Learn from it.
3. Commit to continual learning.
4. Don’t wait to be ready.
5. Put yourself in ‘constructively uncomfortable’ situations.