Reinvent yourself to succeed in your next challenge

“ Man is a creation of desire, not a creation of need. ”

Gaston Bachelard / The Psychoanalysis of Fire

When Yuval Noah Harari says that humans will need to reinvent themselves every ten years in the future, we already sense that it is important to start this process now. And even if it’s not obvious, many leaders have already reinvented themselves—from Elon Musk to Marc Simoncini, and François Pinault. With increasing instability (Brexit, Trump…), greater ecological constraints, societal pressures (#MeToo, personal relationships), and the need to better manage energy (burnout, mental health, boreout…), leaders need inspiration for themselves and time to recharge in order to inspire their teams in turn.

Structuring your agenda with the precision of a Samurai

More and more studies show that working less can be more productive for both employees and leaders. Leaders need to find ways to gain perspective, become even more strategic in managing their time, simplify and industrialize processes, make better use of digital tools, delegate more effectively, and dare to say “no” more easily and regularly.

For example, Microsoft’s experiment in Japan last August with a four-day workweek boosted productivity for both employees and the company! Leaders are increasingly facing paradigm shifts and more mature stakeholders. They therefore need greater self-awareness and understanding of how they operate to become more inspiring. The best strategy to achieve this is to enhance presence, impact, and grounding—requiring a new style of leadership.

Giving yourself time for reflection and re-energizing

Surfers know well: after riding a wave, you must paddle again and watch for the next wave to catch it. When I decided to leave finance, I asked a coach to help me create a 3-5 year plan for my transition—from being a manager on Deutsche Bank’s trading floor in London to becoming an independent coach working from home. I had to reorganize my personal life, use my free time to train in coaching and yoga, and fulfill a personal dream, like climbing frozen waterfalls in the French Alps.

Nature is an example for recharging energy, as it does with fallow land. We must learn to rest temporarily, letting productivity lie fallow so we can later reap its benefits.

Visualizing your future

We already know that coaching will be disrupted by AI in a few years—and Google and other GAFA companies are likely already working on this. They know us better than we know ourselves, whereas a coach only knows what the client chooses to share, filtered through cognitive biases…

So how can we prepare, nurture a positive imagination, and familiarize ourselves with the implications of this transformation in a profession we love? I believe that AI will likely handle the cognitive part of my work, while the coach’s role will focus on helping clients accept AI’s messages and implement suitable solutions. That’s why I’ve chosen to focus on enhancing my emotional intelligence, integrating messages, and understanding the influence of body and posture on clients’ minds.

Remember the 1970s slogan: “In France, we have no oil, but we have ideas.” Change usually comes in difficult times, rarely when everything is going well. That’s why I prefer to anticipate, pause, and nurture what I call “my dream machine.”

Cultivating optimism to create opportunity

Richard Branson, founder of Virgin, never stopped believing that everything he attempted would succeed—even in fields where he had no prior experience, like aviation (Virgin Atlantic), mobile phones (Virgin Mobile), and space travel (Virgin Galactic). According to him, lack of experience is not necessarily a handicap—it can even be an asset, especially in a rapidly changing world that requires freeing oneself from preconceptions. Opportunity is created; it’s not awaited.

“Fake it until you make it”, what does it mean? Learn to project confidence and mastery while taking the time to acquire knowledge and comfort gradually. Don’t doubt your ability to succeed in your next challenge—just give yourself time! Sometimes communicating success before it’s fully realized can turn “fake” into reality.

Reinventing yourself, or “self-hacking” in startup terms also involves strengthening your personal branding by communicating your dreams, goals, and projects. People tend to pigeonhole us based on our past, often ignoring our evolution. That’s why creating a storytelling strategy that incorporates your “future self” vision is crucial. Alexandre Bompard at Carrefour did this effectively when communicating the brand’s repositioning to democratize organic products and strengthen customer closeness. Strategic communication is a powerful tool to help everyone project into a new vision or project.

So, have you identified your next wave, and how will you prepare to ride it?

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