Your next play

- Whether your next career move is by your own choosing or thrust upon you, walking into an unknown situation can be exciting and anxiety-inducing, but your ability to step into this move with confidence, it will lay the groundwork for a successful next play. So here's some tips to help. First prepare yourself, if you can. Start thinking about your next play and having casual conversations long before you're ready to make a move. Now you know the culture of your organization and how hush-hush you need to be. Keep your finger on the pulse of your industry so that when the moment strikes, you're ready. Second, don't burn your bridges. I know you're eager to dive head first into this new adventure, but before you leave, make sure you're not leaving people who helped you get to where you are in your dust. Be proactive about staying in touch with people from your previous roles even if your departure wasn't your ideal plan. Those people will go on to be your connections, your colleagues, maybe even your customers in another venture. The world is always smaller than you think. Third, keep non-career elements of your life steady. If you can avoid it, don't change your career, your location, your personal life, all at the same time. Your brain needs a sense of peace and stability in at least some areas to free up space and adapt to this new career change. Having a steady base will also help you be resilient if you do run into some early workplace challenges, and stay flexible. If you go into this new job and expect it to be the most carefully constructed career stepping stone, and then it's not, take a deep breath and recognize that high performers often do things that don't initially perfectly all fit together. In his book "Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World," author David Epstein cites his research of the world's top performers from professional athletes to Nobel Prize winners, and he demonstrates that the path of high-achieving people isn't always perfectly linear. Epstein says that high performers often find their paths late. They explore a huge breadth of ideas and roles and industries. For example, Andrew Mason, the founder of Groupon, he has a degree in music, and Steve Jobs considers calligraphy one of his most important classes. Epstein makes the case that these high achievers don't succeed despite their career tangents, but they succeed because of them. These high performers gain experiences and insights, be it through classes, different roles, or new industries, and those insights and experiences enable them to thrive in the long term. No matter how thorough the interview or how much research you did about this new opportunity, there's no crystal ball and that's okay. Make peace with the fact that you won't know exactly how things will pan out. Career changes can be an exciting time, yet so many people let the fear of things not going perfectly rob them of this crucial journey. Lean into new opportunities with the confidence that you can navigate this new adventure.