Gone are the days where a smart, eager professional waits at a company for 10 or 15 years for a promotion to open. Rather, expanding the virtual tool box at one company helps a leap forward, not just a single step promotion. Possibly the most overused buzz phrase of the past decade is "change agent" or "change management" - and it carries negative connotations. After all, external change agents are brought in for restructuring, layoffs, or extreme efficiency implementation.
If you can learn to divest yourself of the professional baggage as transitions happen, you will be able to successfully complete large-scale projects and gain great experience for your next jump. The ability to phrase the right time to depart for new opportunities is best facilitated when you control the tempo of your departure - such as the end of a large software implementation, the launch of a new product, or the rebranding of an existing product in order to gain market share: all of these things form a great launch pad for a new endeavor on your own terms.
However, most employees get cold feet, share negative nelly impressions about large projects that require change in their routines or through processes. If you have direct reports that are worriers, you need to allow them to "vent" - creating a certain time each week for concerns together allows them to feel safe as well as bond together; then, you can flip their energy toward positive motivation but guiding them through the rough waters rather than telling them which way the highway travels.
Learning to cope with your own insecurity outside of the office as well as gaining new tools that help you manage expectations - employees and your own - so that the project will be a success and you have a blockbuster resume builder for your next career step. It's not easy but there is no greater ROI for your career.
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/247617
