Career ReCharge: Five Strategies to Boost Resilience and Beat Burnout

By Beth Benatti Kennedy and Susan Britton Whitcomb

Does going to work fire you up or drain the life out of you? 

Do you flourish or flounder when faced with change? 

Do you have the energy you need or are you running on empty? 

Resilience has become a necessary business competency-key to not just surviving, but t

• Language: English
• Publisher: Benatti Training & Development
• Release date: Oct 10, 2018
• ISBN: 9781945252549

Book preview

Praise for Career ReCharge

"Career ReCharge is a compelling road map to resilience and success. It clearly explains how to implement five core strategies, including focusing on your personal brand. This book is a must-read for any professional who seeks career success and fulfillment." 

—William Arruda

Co-founder of CareerBlast.TV and bestselling author of

Career Distinction and Ditch. Dare. Do!

Leaders in today’s ever-changing business landscape need to be resilient to guide their organizations effectively. Beth Kennedy, a unique thought leader in leadership and career development, sets out five key strategies for boosting your resilience, then shows you how to implement them with her Friday 5 process. This is a must-read to keep you moving forward with your career recharge.

—Paul V. Butler

President, GlobalEdg LLC and co-author of

Think-to-Win: Unleashing the Power of Strategic Thinking

"Beth Benatti Kennedy shares vitally important lessons in her book, Career ReCharge—information, tools, resources, and activities that will teach you how to harness and leverage the power of resiliency to enhance both your personal and professional life. A must-read for anyone who wants to thrive in today’s rapidly evolving world of work."

—Wendy Enelow

CCM, MRW, JCTC, CPRW, executive resume writer and career consultant, author of Modernize Your Resume and Modernize Your Job Search Letters

Beth Kennedy has worked extensively with employees in our organization, guiding them to greater career success. Her Benatti Resiliency Model shows you how to recharge your career by building resilience.

—Jesús Gómez-Navarro, M.D.

Vice President and Head, Oncology Clinical R&D,

Takeda Pharmaceuticals

Greatly needed advice for an incredibly hectic new world! We all need to recharge! Beth shows us how.

—Marshall Goldsmith

Thinkers50 #1 Executive Coach in the World and

Top Ten Business Thinker for eight consecutive years

"In Career ReCharge, Beth Kennedy gives us five strategies to boost resilience and shows us how to implement them. Full of real-life examples and presented in a straightforward and practical way, this book is essential for anyone looking not just to survive, but thrive in today’s complex world."

—Anne Marie Pernice

Executive Coach, Leadership and

Organization Development Consultant, Medtronic

Clear, intelligent and useful. Beth Kennedy’s book provides down-to-earth ways to bounce back from career frustrations and land on your feet.

—Barbara Sher

New York Times bestselling author of

I Could Do Anything If I Only Knew What It Was and

six other books on goal achievement

The Benatti Resiliency Model is a practical blueprint for building your resilience, beating burnout and recharging your career. Beth’s inclusion of self-awareness and personality type as key components of resilience is a powerful and unique differentiator. The reader will be left with clear tips for steering their career towards a path consistent with their natural style and, in the process, reducing stress and building resilience.

—Rob Toomey

President, TypeCoach LLC

"As a career coach, I know the importance of resilience in our ever-changing world of work. In Career ReCharge, Beth Kennedy makes cultivating resilience doable and practical. This is an engaging and empowering read and I’m recommending it to all my clients."

—Ruth Winden

International career coach and

CEO of Careers Enhanced (careersenhanced.com)

This book would not have been possible without the support and encouragement of my husband, Patrick, and our two daughters, Kira and Kaitlin. They provide me with countless opportunities for love, joy, and many celebrations! As the main sources for my own career recharge, this book is dedicated to them.

Career ReCharge

Five Strategies to Boost Resilience and Beat Burnout

Copyright © 2018, Beth Benatti Kennedy

The views expressed by the author in reference to specific people in their book represent entirely their own individual opinions and are not in any way reflective of the views of Capucia, LLC. We assume no responsibility for errors, omissions, or contradictory interpretation of the subject matter herein.

Capucia, LLC does not warrant the performance, effectiveness, or applicability of any websites listed in or linked to this publication. The purchaser or reader of this publication assumes responsibility for the use of these materials and information. Capucia, LLC shall in no event be held liable to any party for any direct, indirect, punitive, special, incidental, or any other consequential damages arising directly or indirectly from any use of this material. Techniques and processes given in this book are not to be used in place of medical or other professional advice.

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photography, recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system without written permission from the author or publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in articles and reviews.

The material in this book is provided for informational purposes only. It should not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

It is your responsibility to research the accuracy, completeness, and usefulness of all opinions, services, and other information found in this book.

The reader is responsible for their own actions.

Some names have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.

Published by:

Capucia, LLC

211 Pauline Drive #513

York, PA 17402

www.capuciapublishing.com

IBSN - Paperback: 978-1-945252-53-2

ISBN - eBook: 978-1-945252-54-9

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018960681

Cover Design: Ranilo Cabo

Layout: Ranilo Cabo

Book Midwife: Carrie Jareed

About the Author photograph: Bobbie Bush: Bobbie Bush Photography

Back cover photograph: Emily Cikaneck: Ana Miyares Photography

Exercise illustration artist: Tim Sposato Illustration & Design www.timsposatoart.com

Benatti Resiliency Model graphic: Hannah Honey

Printed in the United States of America

Acknowledgments

This book reflects what I have learned from my coaching clients and from my parents, Richard Benatti, who was a resilient entrepreneur and dad, and Joan Benatti, who also modeled resilience and provided encouragement throughout my entire book-writing process, even performing the final copyediting.

A special thank you goes to my book project manager Melissa Corcoran, because this book would still be in my head and on many Post-it notes if she had not gotten involved. It was important to me that Career ReCharge be a tribute to my amazing coaching clients and my dad, as they have added so much to my life, and Melissa supported and guided me so my dream could come true. Her enthusiasm never waned as we talked weekly, and she meticulously looked at every detail and kept me moving in the right direction. Melissa’s passion for words was such a gift to get the book where it is today, and I am so grateful.

I have The Gillette Company to thank for believing in me and giving me a chance right after graduating from Northeastern University with my master’s in human resource counseling to begin offering coaching services to their employees. My coaching clients and colleagues at Gillette taught me firsthand about innovation, and I embraced it to create my business, Benatti Training and Development.

I am most grateful to the clients who shared their resiliency stories in this book. Thank you for your courage, confidence, and resilience. All of you inspire me every day and keep me motivated!

I want to also thank my coaching colleagues for their energy and enthusiasm. Thank you to Jeri Hird Dutcher, who assisted with research when I just could not handle those details anymore; Betsy Day, who continued to inspire me throughout the process; and Lisa Dolce, my book-writing accountability partner, for her sisterhood and collaboration.

Connection is not only an important part of this book and my Benatti Resiliency Model but a key part of getting this book done! I am grateful to Barbara Sher and Patti Newbold, who taught me book-writing strategies and encouraged me to design a Career ReCharge Training at the same time as writing this book. In addition to all the scientists and leaders I have worked with at Millennium Pharmaceuticals and Takeda Pharmaceuticals, a special thank you goes to the extraordinary administrative folks who gave me an opportunity to pilot my very first training on resilience in 2008 and allow me to share my new activities with them on a regular basis.

As I describe throughout this book, I am committed to a lifelong practice of resilience, and I have my late Bethany College professor Gale Thompson to thank for teaching me so much about mindfulness and yoga. He taught me about having a career with purpose, and I cherish all his teachings that changed my life.

I appreciate my developmental editor, Katherine Pickett’s, continuous feedback and her superb work on this book. I thank Christine Kloser and her team for running book retreats that allowed me to clear my calendar and make incredible book progress with other passionate authors. Carrie Jareed’s outstanding teamwork and dedication kept me on track and on time. I am thankful to Penny Legg for her intuitive book coaching, my editor Gwen Hoffnagle for making the book the best version possible, and to Ranilo Cabo for his creativity in my cover design.

A special shout-out to my peer readers David Parkes and Dorothy Sales. Thank you for sharing your excitement for the book and for spending precious time giving me valuable feedback.

Friends and family… near and far… you know how important you are to me. A special thank you for all your insights and celebrations along the way! There are way too many friends and individuals in my Book Ambassador Team to thank, but know that each and every one of you contributed to the success of this book. I am grateful to my older sister, Terri, and my brother, Jamie, who both shared their career and life lessons with me and reminded me that I needed to get this message out to more than just my coaching clients. I appreciate all the Kennedys who always asked how the book was coming along and were my cheerleaders!

If this book helps you become a little more aware of how important it is to take time for you and to recharge your career, then it will have served its purpose. My work has always been about resilience and recharge, which has helped foster my growth. It is my wish that it will do the same for you.

May you benefit from whatever insights you may glean from Career ReCharge, and remember to celebrate just a little bit more!

AN INVITATION

One of my greatest joys is hearing about the successes of my clients and readers. Please share your story with me by emailing me at [e-mail]. Visit www.bethkennedy.com to learn more about my coaching, training, and speaking services or to sign up for my monthly ezine, Spark Success. Visit my blog for more insights on recharge and resilience, and be sure to leave a review of Career ReCharge on Amazon.com.

Contents

Foreword

Introduction

Chapter One: How Resilient Are You?

Chapter Two: Well-being

Chapter Three: Spark Your Well-being!

Chapter Four: More Well-being Sparks!

Chapter Five: What Is Your Purpose?

Chapter Six: How Is Your Mindset?

Chapter Seven: What’s Your Type?

Chapter Eight: Your Brand

Chapter Nine: Connection

Chapter Ten: Innovation

Chapter Eleven: ReCharge New Habits

Chapter Twelve: Reap the Rewards

Conclusion: The Magic of Resilience

Resources

About the Author

Connect with the Author

Notes

Foreword

Having coached more than ten thousand career clients over the years, one thing is clear to me: the people who recover the fastest from devastations, disappointments, or simply the deluge of daily stressors hold a big advantage in the world of work. This bounce-back factor—also known as resilience—helps workers get promoted, get invited to join dream teams, and improve their income-earning ability.

With resilience comes hope—a belief that things will turn out okay; that you will be all right even when circumstances look tough; that you will be able to not just survive, but thrive amid your circumstances. That hope sparks a chemical reaction in your brain that releases dopamine, serotonin, and other happy neurochemicals. Study after study show that when these neurochemicals are present, participants become more creative, have better cognitive functioning, are more able to take action, are nicer to be around, and much more.

Resilient people live in a habitual state of being on top of things instead of under the circumstances. Instead of seeing an unending string of demanding projects, looming deadlines, and traumatic blindsides, resilient folks quickly make sense of life’s curve balls, leverage their strengths, and navigate career challenges with a buoyant, bring-it-on attitude. They know how to take care of themselves so that they can be at their best. They get more done in less time. They seem to pull solutions out of thin air. And they have fun in the process.

The Benatti Resiliency Model will help you do all this and more. Beth’s methods are drawn from grounded research, personal insights, and time-tested techniques she developed with her corporate career clients. And she walks her talk.

If you’re ready to recharge your resiliency batteries, read on!

—Susan Britton Whitcomb

Best-selling careers author, eternal optimist, and founder/president of the California-based coach training company The Academies, Inc.—changing minds for good!

Introduction

Volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous—for many, this describes their work environment perfectly. Even a fulfilling career can sometimes seem to consist only of daily frustration with competing deadlines, 24/7 smartphone contact, long meetings, a lack of clear objectives, budget cuts, yet another reorganization, social media pressure, career uncertainty, family expectations, an exhausting commute, and more. It’s not just the lack of time that gets to us, though; it’s the lack of energy to deal with it all and make changes that better our careers and lives.

This VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous) environment in which we live and work requires us to be resilient—to take charge of our careers and lives and ride the waves of change instead of letting them drown us. In Career ReCharge: Five Strategies to Boost Resilience and Beat Burnout, we will explore what it means to be recharged and resilient so you can experience a vibrant life and career. As a career and leadership coach for more than twenty years, I have had clients who wanted not only a great career fit but to be confident, influence others, and make a daily impact through their productivity. Career ReCharge will help you do that. The process outlined in this book is unique and easy to implement even if you have an already-full life.

I often hear clients