Originally published on Cleveland.com, 10-29-14 by Terri Mrosko, Cleveland Plain Dealer reporter
When it comes to creating a fruitful career – one that fulfills and sustains you – it may help to think of your career as a luscious piece of fruit. According to master certified coach, speaker and author Sandy Mobley, chief executive officer of the Learning Advantage, a “juicy” career is one that rewards all your senses as it refreshes your spirit and nourishes your body. You know something is juicy when you can really sink your teeth into it, literally or figuratively, and when it gets your own juices flowing. In her book, “Juicy Work,” Mobley explains how to open yourself to the possibility of
bringing all of your energy, passion, knowledge and experience into your career. No matter what your background is or what field you are in, the author said that finding “juicy” work is possible.
“To attain it, you must recognize what is getting in your way and then, through dialogue and exploration, begin to embody new behaviors, unlock your inner wisdom and creativity, and shape your plan for a juicy work life,” Mobley shared.
Enjoying a fruitful, juicy career matters because our life force comes out through our work. It is how we share our gifts. If we aren’t doing work that matters, a little piece of us dies each day, Mobley stated. For those who might be afraid to give up where they are in their career to truly pursue work that is fruitful and nurturing, find a way to try out the change before making it happen.
To help define juicy work, Mobley looks for alignment in a person’s strengths, passions and the type of environment where he or she thrives. The first step is to identify your sweet spot by identifying your strengths, recognizing your passions and understanding what type of environment nurtures you. She suggested the following exercises to help with the analysis.
- Read old performance appraisals and note what strengths are consistently recognized.
- Ask friends and colleagues to identify your top three to five strengths.
- Recall what you did and enjoyed as a child and think about how that applies to what you are doing today.
- Write down all the things you feel passionate about without regard for how it applies to a job. After making your list, think about how that could apply to a job.
- Keep a journal and once a day write down the best part of your day and what made it satisfying.
- Make a list of all of the things that you like at work including characteristics of the best boss and coworkers, pace of work, amount of interaction with people, quality orientation and reputation of the company, size of the company, mission of the company and leadership of the organization.
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