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Fast Company Career Transition Survey
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Your current leadership level:
*
(Choose one)
Informal leader (no direct reports, team member, specialist)
Front-line leader (Supervisor, Team Leader)
Operational Leader (Mid-Manager, Department/Function leader, Unit Director)
Strategic Leader (Business unit head, General manager, Executive, C-suite/CEO)
The leadership level to which you aspire:
*
Informal leader (no direct reports, team member, specialist)
Front-line leader (Supervisor, Team Leader)
Operational Leader (Mid-Manager, Department/Function leader, Unit Director)
Strategic Leader (Business unit head, General manager, Executive, C-suite/CEO)
Gender:
*
Male
Female
Age:
*
20-29
30-39
40-49
50-59
60+
Company Revenues (in US$):
*
$1M - $10M
$10M - $100M
$100M - $500M
$500M - $1B
$1B - $10B
Over $10B
Industry Sector:
*
Manufacturing
Financial Services
Technology
Professional Services
Health Care
Consumer Goods
Chemical/Pharmaceutical
Government
Education
Consumer Goods
Utilities
Entertainment/Hospitality
Retail
Telecommunications
Current Annual Salary:
*
Below $50,000
$50,000 - $100,000
$100,000-$200,000
$200,000-$300,000
$300,000-$500,000
$500,000-$1,000,000
Over $1,000,000
Change in salary upon making career transition (in $US):
*
Decrease of more than $50,000/yr
Decrease of $20,000-$50,000/yr
Decrease of $10,000-$20,000/yr
Decrease of $5,000-$10,000/yr
Decrease of less than $5,000/yr
Stayed the same
Increase of less than $5,000/yr
Increase of $5,000-$10,000/yr
Increase of $10,000-$20,000/yr
Increase of $20,000-$50,000/yr
Increase of more than $100,000/yr
Now, think about your most recent career transition and respond to the following items…
The main reason I agreed to make this career transition was because…
*
Anything is better than where I was before
I felt I didn’t have a choice
I didn’t give it much thought – I just took it
It paid more, and the money was more important than the work
I thought it would look good on my resume
It was an unexpected opportunity that I was thrilled to accept
It was part of my long-term career plan/goals
When I think back to what I expected before my most recent transition, I realize now that…
*
I knew almost exactly what it would take to succeed
I had a very good idea what it would take to succeed
There were things I didn’t know, but I knew the most important things
There were some very important things I didn’t know about how to succeed
I knew almost nothing about what it would take to succeed
When I think about my own skills and experience as a leader, I feel that in this most recent transition I was…
*
Fully prepared and capable
Mostly prepared and capable
There were some important areas in which I wish I had been more prepared
There were crucial parts of the job for which I was unprepared
I was completely unprepared and incapable
The thing that surprised me most about my most recent transition was…
*
Degree of difficulty/complexity
Volume of work
Amount/prevalence of politics
Lack of support from my boss
Lack of support from my team
Very little surprised me
Other:
The most difficult parts of my most recent transition were (check 3)…
*
Navigating politics
Dealing with ambiguity
Getting work done through others
Keeping employees engaged
Building a network
Making high-risk decisions
Representing the corporate line
Learning to lead across borders
Thinking strategically
Giving up my reputation as an expert
Worrying that I would fail
Pressure/Stress
Required
In my most recent transition, I…
*
Learned very little about myself that I didn’t already know
Learned a few minor things about myself that enhanced what I already knew
Learned some important things about myself that I hadn’t known before
Learned profound things about myself that were new to me
The most useful resource to me during my most recent transition was…
*
My boss
Peers/colleagues inside the organization
Peers/colleagues outside the organization (from my personal network)
My team
A former boss
Formal training I received
My experience
My skills
My instincts
Other:
The most frequent feeling I experienced in my most recent transition was…
*
Excitement/Anticipation of Success
Fear
Regret
Fatigue
Frustration
Sadness
Pride
Other:
Looking back at my most recent transition, I wish I had (check all that apply)…
*
never agreed to it
done it sooner
asked more questions about the assignment
received more formal training in advance
received more guidance from my boss
known what was required for success
asked for more feedback from others
involved people I failed to involve
Which of the following elements did you include in your approach during your most recent transition (check all that apply):
*
gathered a lot of feedback from others about how I was doing
involved the right people in getting things done
studied the people and culture to learn how to operate
actively reached out to expand my network of resources and colleagues
expanded the responsibilities of my team
sought out and leveraged experts who could help me
applied proven approaches I knew well and had tried before
applied new or unfamiliar approaches
relied on others to inform and validate my approaches
relied on my experience and instinct to inform my approaches
took action only after fully understanding the likely political impact
took rapid, aggressive action without hesitating (asked forgiveness later)
elevated the responsibilities of my team (asked everyone to raise the bar)
Required
Which of the following DID YOU NOT DO in your most recent transition BUT WISH YOU HAD (check all that apply):
*
gathered a lot of feedback from others about how I was doing
involved the right people in getting things done
studied the people and culture to learn how to operate
actively reached out to expand my network of resources and colleagues
expanded the responsibilities of my team
sought out and leveraged experts who could help me
applied proven approaches I knew well and had tried before
applied new or unfamiliar approaches
relied on others to inform and validate my approaches
relied on my experience and instinct to inform my approaches
took action only after fully understanding the likely political impact
took rapid, aggressive action without hesitating (asked forgiveness later)
elevated the responsibilities of my team (asked everyone to raise the bar)
Required
In my most recent career transition, my boss (in my new role) provided me with…
*
little or no support at all – was almost never there for me
a minimal amount of support – we seldom there for me
moderate support – was there for me sporadically
good support - was usually there for me
tremendous support – was always there for me
How challenging is making a career transition?
*
Least Challenging
1
2
3
4
5
Most Challenging
How challenging are family issues?
*
Least Challenging
1
2
3
4
5
Most Challenging
How challenging is getting married?
*
Least Challenging
1
2
3
4
5
Most Challenging
How challenging is becoming a parent?
*
Least Challenging
1
2
3
4
5
Most Challenging
How challenging are health issues?
*
Least Challenging
1
2
3
4
5
Most Challenging
How challenging is managing teenagers?
*
Least Challenging
1
2
3
4
5
Most Challenging
How challenging is coping with a bereavement?
*
Least Challenging
1
2
3
4
5
Most Challenging
How challenging is moving?
*
Least Challenging
1
2
3
4
5
Most Challenging
How challenging is dealing with a divorce?
*
Least Challenging
1
2
3
4
5
Most Challenging
Looking back, the things that would have helped me most in my most recent transition were (you may check more than one):
*
More self-awareness
Better role-models
Clearer expectations
Understanding that I needed to think differently
More support/guidance from my boss
More formal training/development
A stronger network of people I could rely on for help
More feedback on how I was doing
More courage to take bold action
More sensitivity and empathy for others
Required
Overall, in managing my most recent transition, I have been…
*
Extremely successful
Somewhat successful
Neither successful or unsuccessful
Somewhat unsuccessful
Extremely unsuccessful
Overall, my most recent career transition was…
*
Positive
Negative
Your answer
What else do you want us to know? Feel free to share your stories below.
Your answer
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