As the seasons change, we get some pretty obvious signs, don’t we? Flowers bloom, the sun burns with greater intensity, snow piles up. But perhaps the most obvious signal from Mother Nature that a change is coming is when the leaves turn from a persistent green to various shades of yellows, oranges, and reds. If only the signals were so clear when it was time to take a new career path, right? Actually, the signs that it’s time for a professional change might already be in front of you – if you are open to seeing them.
Here are some of the top signs it might be time to turn over a new leaf and pivot to a fresh career opportunity as a fractional sales leader:
When is a Leaf Not a Leaf?
When we think of the phrase, “turning over a new leaf,” most of us think about the changes in autumn leaves. Certainly, that seasonal signal can be a good reminder to take stock of your career path and your level of professional satisfaction. Interestingly enough, however, “turning over a new leaf” has its origins not in the trees around us but in the pages of books. As far back as the 1500s, book pages were most commonly known as “leaves.” Thus, turning over a new leaf – as metaphor – meant turning the page, making a change, starting a new chapter in life.
Is now the right time for YOU to begin a new career chapter?
Signs It Might be Time to Rethink Your Future
If you are a career sales professional and have reached the management or executive ranks in the corporate world, you might have begun wondering, “what’s next?”. If so, it’s also likely that you have set these questions and gut feelings aside or at least put them on the back burner while you tend to the front-burner challenges of the day. But be careful, for it’s those front burner fires (where career burnout happens) that can obscure goals, longings, dreams, and opportunity.
Even if you don’t feel as if you’ve reached the burnout stage, it’s possible you could be experiencing career fatigue, a precursor that could be a burnout warning sign, according to Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith. She notes that career fatigue “is characterized by a growing indifference about the work you do, a drop in productivity, and an increase in work-related stress.”
What are some other common career fatigue and/or burnout signs that indicate it might be time to leverage your experience and pivot to a new career path? Here are just a few:
- Your energy, motivation, and optimism for your current role and projects have waned
- You feel frustrated by being taken for granted and not recognized for a job consistently well-done
- You often daydream about something you’d rather be doing
- You feel jealous of others who seem happy and secure in their professional lives
- You feel that your identity is getting lost in the corporate shuffle and that you are just a name on an org chart
- You feel isolated, helpless, and trapped
- You don’t feel you are working with a sense of purpose
- You yearn to make a real difference
- You crave a new challenge
A Word of Caution
Be aware that career fatigue and burnout can sometimes be associated with signs of depression. If you have concerns that your mental health is suffering because of your frustrations at work, seek professional help so you can bring your best self to whatever career path you take. Changing jobs or embracing an opportunity like fractional sales leadership consulting is no guarantee that burnout or depression will be cured.
The Fractional Sales Leadership Consulting Opportunity
If you recognize yourself in the signs above and believe it might be time to turn over a new professional leaf, the opportunity to become a fractional sales leadership consultant is worth checking into. What our licensed Sales Xceleration Advisors have discovered is that embracing this opportunity empowers them to work with renewed energy and optimism. It allows them to leverage their years of experience and wisdom but channel these in new ways for fresh accomplishments. And it lets them work with a sense of purpose as they make a real difference for small and mid-sized businesses.
To learn if the season and the time is right for you to become a fractional sales leadership consultant using the Sales Xceleration platform, click here or contact us at 844.874.7253. For four years running, we’ve been among Inc. Magazine’s 5,000 Fastest Growing Companies in America; and opportunities are available in all markets.
