What must we keep and what must we shed in order to reinvent ourselves?

Herminia Ibarra is one of the most insightful writers on personal reinvention and career transitions. It was she who had the insight we cite in the book that sometimes your network can hold you back -- sometimes people you know expect you to be a certain way, and don't "let" you reinvent yourself. In these cases, you need to find new people who will support your new identity.

In a recent post on the HBR network, Ibarra reflects on Margaret Thatcher's life and her "failed mid-career transition," and asks these potent questions: "Thatcher's story is ours as well. We might see the need to evolve, but towards what? When the formula is working, how do we determine the shifting point? How do we come to value the polar opposite of everything by which we have defined ourselves?

If we are lucky, like her we come to know early on what we do well and in what arena we want to make a mark. Then, if we are successful, the hard part kicks in: we come to the point where we have to reinvent ourselves. What must we keep and what must we shed in order to advance and grow?"