Lifeboard Framework
By Pralika Jain & Afraaz Masters - 22nd Jan '23
2023 seems to have kicked off throwing thousands of our fellow colleagues a massive curveball. My wife and I have been laid off in the last few days.
The most challenging thing to do now is to think clearly, remain positive, and move forward with a concrete plan. We spent this weekend workshopping this framework that has helped us put things into context. Remember where we've come from, and what we've achieved, and gameplan where we want to go individually & as a family.
We thought we'd put this out for everyone else in the same boat as us.
Note: I'm not a professional coach and not claiming to be one. But have created this framework to work through some of my thoughts and from my experience of spending two years during the pandemic trying to help professionals make career pivots with my venture, Rudderly.com.
How to use this framework.
Step 1
Retrospective of a career so far.
This allows you to go back to the beginning or as far as you want to. Personally, I went back to school (18 years ago).
It accounts for mapping out your learning, progressions, things you avoided or ignored, and how you felt when you moved on.
On a graph plot how each experience felt emotionally, mentally, physically & aspirationally.
Why?
This reminds us of where we've come from, the progress we've made and allows us to be truthful to ourselves about the things we could have don't differently.
Step 2
Your WINS list
As you're going down memory lane through all your experiences. Use this section to keep a note of all your wins. This could include;
- The measurable successes that you'd like to add to your resume.
- The softer skills you acquired along the way.
- A personality or mindset shift that was hard for you.
- Your leadership wins - irrespective of your title :)
& anything else you're proud of.
Why?
This will help in reminding you of how good you are! Plus you can add some of these to your resume. Additionally, these could make great answers for your behavioral questions during your next interview.
Step 4
Exploring the Pivot.
Many of us have thoughts about switching careers into an aligning field, industry, or even making a complete career pivot into something different.
This section allows you to put a structure to this thought and use the time to actually explore all our options.
Why?
Most of us have either fleeting or frequent thoughts about other things we could do. This section allows us to put structure to chatter in our minds into a structured way of thinking about our options.
Step 5
Aligning your professional & family goals.
This section will vary depending on your stage & phase of life. But the intention here is to cross-link your next career moves against your personal life aspirations.
Where you'd like to be down the road, the type of lifestyle you'd want to lead, location preferences, social life, etc. Whatever is important to you.
Why?
The good life, in my opinion, is finding balance, meaning, and purpose within our professional & personal lives.
This also helps to find the balance of aspirations between your partner and yourself.
Therefore, I personally find this section the most important.
