Why a compass is better than a roadmap when you’re looking for career fulfilment - and how to discover yours

‘Trust the compass, not the map.’

Professor Susan David, author of Emotional Agility: Get unstuck, embrace change and thrive in work and life, advocates acting according to your deepest values in order to truly flourish. This is part of what she refers to as trusting ‘the compass, not the map.’

If you’ve read any of my career articles, you’ll know this chimes big time with my career change coaching approach. But what does it mean to have a compass you can trust – and why is this a better source of guidance that a roadmap?

Both are about career destination and how to get there, but there are some important distinctions that can make all the different to where you end up – and whether that’s the place you intended and whether it’s actually the best place for you.

What’s your career direction?

When you find yourself asking questions like those listed below, you know you’ve started to question your own career direction:

·      Is my career heading in the right direction?

·      Where is it taking me?

·      What’s my next move?

·      Is this enough?

·      Is this the best place for me?

·      Should I have a master plan?

·      Am I doing enough to steer my career?

Questions like these also stir up feelings of confusion, doubt, insecurity, worry and general disorientation.  It’s uncomfortable! And so the natural desire to find answers that bring certainty and clarity begins. It’s at that time you might start thinking about a roadmap or a series of career steps that will take you to your destination.

But that’s when I say reach for a compass to determine what that destination looks like to you. Your individual compass will guide you towards work and purpose that align with your values and what matters most deeply to you.

 That’s exactly why your compass won’t be the same as mine. 

Uncovering a personal and genuine vision of what fulfillment looks like to you (not me, nor your friends or family) is essential to course correcting and ultimately enabling you to thrive at work and in life. 

Compass v. Roadmap

A roadmap for career success carries with it many hidden assumptions:

·      That we all have the same definition of career success

·      That there is one best route to achieve that success

·      That this is the same wherever you live on the world

It may also be a very old map. 

Was it handed down to you by your parents, your teachers, your peers or other people who influence you? 

Was it created during a time when career trajectories were clearly defined and people stayed in one career for life?

I’m guessing you’ll agree with me when I say that ‘a career for life’ very rarely applies any more. Industries, roles, organizational structures and cultures, economies and ways of living and working are all being disrupted – just look at how Covid has turned everything on its head!

So don’t assume that old roadmap that (apparently) served your parents so well will help you navigate the 21stcentury career highways and byways. It’s far more likely that you’ll need the skills of a map-maker to design a chart that works for you – especially when the landscape shifts at every turn.

And I’m not suggesting a map won’t be beneficial, only that you need to know why it was created and where it’s taking you. Even more importantly, you need to understand the values and beliefs embedded in that map.

That’s where the compass comes in. You need this first – and only then are you ready to draw your very own roadmap towards a fulfilling work life.

Uncover your own compass

‘Your boat. Your compass.’

Seth Godin

This requires complete honesty and some proper uninterrupted thinking. It means shaking off all the assumptions you may have inherited from family, friends and other depictions of success or happiness that surround us. Your own compass is about understanding what these things look like to you.

What do you really want from your work and from your life?

It’s a big question! But don’t let that put you off. 

It’s easier when you break it down into smaller chunks. When I’m working with my career change clients, we explore some of these themes, all of which help them answer the big questions.

They uncover their:

·      Achievements in life and work

·      Values – what matters most to them

·      Purpose – what gives life and work meaning

·      Strengths – talents, professional and personal skills, personality traits, mindsets

·      Flow – the activities that engage, absorb and challenge them (just the right amount)

·      Definition of success

·      View of what would be an Ideal Life

·      Ideal working day

These discoveries are empowering and make choosing a new direction so much easier.  They point to some key elements of their destination. When that has come into finer focus, they know where they’re heading, and most importantly, WHY.

The essence of these elements provides a set of criteria, or to apply the navigation metaphor we’ve been using here, a personal compass to help them move in the right direction.

You can see why everyone will have a very individual compass.

Having this compass in your back pocket means that whatever the world throws your way, you’ll always know the best direction for your next move – and can start building your personal roadmap to take you there.

If you’d like to start digging into what your compass might contain, contact me for a free 30-minute career chat: