Articles

When people decide to change careers and are in transition, they often grapple with not just their own sense of loss but also the expectations of the people around them.

Moving into a new career can feel impossible. A survey of more than 950 business school alumni explores why, and what can help.

The accelerated pace of technological change and, most recently, the advent of AI are reshaping jobs and organizations in ways that call for constant career reinvention. So we all need to learn how to get better at making the most of the frequent transitions that will constitute a long working life.

Networking is critical for senior executives who are making job and career transitions, but it’s hard to find advice on how best to manage the process. In this article, the authors — who have decades of experience working with executives during periods of transition — identify six networking hurdles that executives often encounter, and they provide guidance on how to get over them.

It’s not easy to become less directive and more empowering. Here’s how to navigate the challenges.

Sponsorship is a vital mechanism for advancing the careers of junior employees. But it’s not just a one-way relationship in which everything flows from the sponsor to the sponsee. What sponsees bring to the relationship, in fact, is just as important — if not more important — than what sponsors do. This article describes six of the most important attributes of successful sponsees.

Sponsorship initiatives are increasingly popular today, but few sponsors are given any guidance about how best to work with the people they’ve been asked to work with, and as a result the relationships often don’t develop as productively as they should. Aspiring sponsors need more practical guidance. In this article, drawing on their long experience with sponsorship, the authors describe six important steps all sponsors should take.

Mentorship isn’t enough. To develop productive career relationships, you’ve got to be authentic.