How to Identify the Next Right Move in Your Career

Research & Sources / Personal & Career Development

Good chess players do not plan the entire game from the first move. Nobody can. Instead, they look at the board as it is, think about where they want to go, and look for the best next move. Then they look again. Careers are similar. You do not need to know your whole path. You need to find the next right move.

Why the next move feels so hard

At certain points in a career, especially after a big success or a long stretch in one role, the next move becomes unclear. Several options look reasonable: a bigger role, a different company, a new industry, starting something of your own, or staying and growing where you are. Each has upsides. None is obviously right.

Many people respond by waiting for clarity to arrive. It usually doesn’t arrive by itself.

Five questions to test any option

1. Does it fit my values? Kennon Sheldon and Andrew Elliot found that goals that come from our own values are pursued with more lasting energy and bring more well-being than goals adopted because of pressure or status.¹

2. Does it use my strengths? Gallup found that people who use their strengths daily are six times more likely to be engaged.² A role that uses your strengths every day will feel very different from one that doesn’t.

3. What will I learn? Does it build skills and experiences you will need later?

4. Who will I work with? The people around you shape how you grow and how you feel.

5. Does it keep good options open? Some moves open many doors. Others close them.

Test before you commit

Herminia Ibarra’s research on career change found that people find the right direction by experimenting, not by reflecting alone.³ Before making a big move, look for small ways to try it: a project, a side assignment, conversations with people doing the work, a short course.

Beware the obvious next step

The most visible next step is usually the next rung on the same ladder. Sometimes it is right. But often it is chosen because it is expected, not because it is wanted. The bigger title in the same direction is a fine move only if the direction is still right.

Think it through with someone

Career decisions are personal, and the people closest to us often have their own interests in our choice. An outside thinking partner can help you see the board more clearly. A randomised study by Anthony Grant and colleagues found that coached executives made more progress on their goals than a comparison group.⁴

What this means for you this week

• List your three most realistic options, including staying.
• Score each against the five questions.
• Design one small test for the option you find most interesting.
• Talk it through with someone who has no stake in your answer.

You don’t need to see the whole game. Just the best next move.

Sources

1. Sheldon, K. M. & Elliot, A. J. (1999). Goal striving, need satisfaction, and longitudinal well-being: The self-concordance model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76(3), 482-497. doi.orgGoals that fit our own values are pursued with more sustained effort and add more to well-being.
2. Sorenson, S. How Employees’ Strengths Make Your Company Stronger. Gallup. gallup.comPeople who use their strengths every day are six times more likely to be engaged on the job.
3. Ibarra, H. (2002). How to Stay Stuck in the Wrong Career. Harvard Business Review. hbr.orgCareer changes succeed through small experiments and new relationships rather than by first finding the perfect answer through reflection alone.
4. Grant, A. M., Curtayne, L. & Burton, G. (2009). Executive coaching enhances goal attainment, resilience and workplace well-being: a randomised controlled study. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 4(5), 396-407. doi.orgCoached executives made more progress on goals and showed more resilience and well-being than a comparison group.