Planned Happenstance in Action: Helping clients to navigate the unpredictable

Centre for Guidance Studies Seminar Friday 12th October 2007

This seminar examined emerging application of the theory of Planned Happenstance,

within career education and guidance contexts.

What influences career decision making?

If we look back over our career and education history it is not hard to see that chance
impacts on our decision making. There can be many reasons for this: geography or
location, what other people decide/do –e.g. partners, family, friends, the people our
networks connect us with, and who we are introduced to through our networks. The
labour market, government policy changes, trends/fashion, organisational change, and
team deficits can all influence our decisions.

These factors influence our choices in a very different way to the more traditional trait
and factor based rational career decision making model. In the latter, one takes the
test, gets assessed, and matched with a job which requires the skills, aptitudes and
interests which we have scored highest on. The trait and factor approach helps us
make sense of the world of work, but its critics say that personality is much more
complex than this, and impossible to second guess.

Trait and factor is still very much seen as the dominant model in careers guidance.

(This link outlines the main points of the trait and factor theoretical approach
http://www.guidance-research.org/EG/impprac/ImpP2/traditional/matching/ )

However, in some areas, new models are being built around narrative (story telling)
approaches to careers education and guidance, as well as greater awareness of chance
and its role in decision making. Derby University is working closely with Careers
Scotland to develop just such new models.

Social Learning Theory

The ‘Planned Happenstance’ theory has evolved, in part, from the social learning
theory of career decision making developed by Krumboltz. This in turn derived from
Bandura’s Social Learning Theory. Krumboltz proposed that there were a set of 4 main
influences on career choice: Genetic (i.e. race/gender); Environmental factors – such
as social, cultural and economic factors; Learning experience to date; Task Approach
Skills (i.e. is the person skilled in problem definition, generation of alternatives,
gathering and assessment of information?) This set of factors affects our world view,
and influences our actions as we consider learning and career development decisions.

Krumboltz and others have developed the social learning theory further. Key points of
the theory are that:

 Our goal in IAG is not just about decisions, but about life satisfaction for clients

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  We can use tests as talking points, to get another perspective, but the focus
should not just be on a list of matching results
 We should encourage our clients to experiment and take risks
 We should encourage our clients to keep an open mind
 The unexpected events in life can offer benefits which we should help our clients
maximize
 We should encourage lifelong learning

Implications if we accept the value of planned happenstance:

 IAG should be a lifelong process rather than a one off intervention

 The distinction between career and personal counselling should be broken down
– life events and career are interwoven
 Counseling around transition may be more appropriate than career counseling
 Practitioners will need training to adopt new methods in their guidance work

More detailed exploration of the Social Learning Theory, the SLTCDM and its liks to
Planned Happenstance can be found at:
http://www.guidance-research.org/EG/impprac/ImpP2/traditional/learning-theory/
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Decision Making and Planned Happenstance

Jenny Bimrose has suggested in recent research that only 25% of people fall into the
strategic/rational decision maker category (taking sequential steps to meet
identifiable goals). This suggests that up to three quarters of clients for career guidance
might not be best served by approaches which assume the best way to make decisions
is to follow a proactive, analytical and rational decision making strategy. A further 25%
are more opportunistic – seeing what comes along at the time - and are open minded,
exploring new opportunities and testing things before committing.

Kathleen Mitchell is a key proponent of Planned Happenstance (City College, San

Francsico) having written various books including “The Unplanned Career - How to
Turn Curiosity Into Opportunity”. A workbook is also available.

More about her work and publications at: http://plannedhappenstance.com/aboutus.html

Previous theories based on accidental career choice failed to take account of the
contribution that people make – their thoughts, actions and attitudes, which are
applied to situations. These can influence how we perceive opportunities in chance
situations. It is also possible to put ourselves into situations where we will be exposed
to more chance opportunities. Activities which give rise to networking for example, will
lead to opportunities, which would otherwise pass by a person who simply sat back and
did not engage with others.

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Practical application in guidance

There are two key things to work with clients on:

 Getting them to explore more – as this generates chance opportunities

 Helping people develop the skills and attitudes they need to make the best of any
opportunities that present – i.e. optimism confidence and resilience to set backs

These skills include:

 Being curious
 Being persistent
 Flexibility – changing attitudes as circumstances change
 Optimism – being open to seeing possibilities in things
 Comfortable taking risks – when the outcome is far from certain

Practitioners can help clients review their personal timeline and explore how and when
chance intervened in their career and education to date.

There is also a notion that you have to have decided on your career choice before you
act – but in fact planned happenstance would suggest you should act before you
decide! This is why clients should be encouraged to become “curious explorers”.

Encouraging Curious Exploration

A key element in the theory is the idea of “curious exploration”. If we adopt the use
of planned happenstance theory with clients it changes the way we might suggest they
act. For example, instead of asking a client to visit the stands they are interested in at a
careers convention, you might deliberately ask them to visit stands they would never
normally have considered – just to see what opportunities arise, and nurture their open
mindedness. Similarly, rather than doing work experience in the thing they always
wanted to do, they should choose a totally different placement to gain new insights and
awareness. They should certainly be encouraged to explore and develop new
networks, and actively participate in them with no other goal than exposure to new
people, ideas and opportunities.

Curious exploration might include:

 stepping out of one’s comfort zone

 visiting convention stands you’d never have thought to visit (e.g. Plan 3 such
visits)
 Talking to people
 Doing voluntary work – but not necessarily related to a specific occupational area
of interest
 Shadowing people
 Using media – exploring occupations which appear on a TV show /film /book
 Using “dream setting” or “wave a magic wand” scenarios to explore symbolic
career ideas – (not always just pure fantasy!)

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  Go to evening classes, clubs, other networks
 Participate in something – expanding your sense of self and the world
 Go online – use second life, join forums and meet people online
 Set yourself tasks – e.g. to talk to 3 strangers at a party
 Mentoring – either be a mentor or get a mentor
 Change focus from “what will help me get from A to B?” to “what will help me
explore?”

Suitability for clients

Many types of client could benefit from understanding the potential of planned
happenstance:

Creative/lateral thinkers
Flexible clients who like freedom more than security
People under pressure/frozen in their decision making
Those who are uncertain – the “don’t knows”
Perfectionists – struggling for the perfect match and fearing making wrong decision
Those with complex lives – e.g. care leavers
Those without many opportunities/limited options
Entrepreneurial people
Those overwhelmed by rational decision making
Students who see decision making as a distant future activity
Pragmatists who like to try things first
Those with faith or spiritual dimension to their decision making in life – i.e. remaining
open to intervention of God’s will, fate or destiny.
People affected by ill health, redundancy etc – whose plans come apart at the seams

Mindset Categories

In 2005 DfES commissioned work on decision making – which suggested young people
fell into different mindsets. The Mindsets categorise young people as falling into one
the following groups:

Confident aspirationals – “My ambition will get me there.”

Determined realists – “I know what I want: let me focus on that.”
Long-term preparers – “School, degree, then I am not sure.”
Indecisive worriers – “How can I decide? It is all too much.”
Short-term conformists – “What is the next step in the education system?”
Unrealistic dreamers – “I am going to be a surgeon or a deep sea diver.”
Comfort seekers – “I would like a nice life.”
Defeated copers – “I will make do with what I know I can do.”

Different strategies would need to be adopted by career guidance practitioners with

each of the groups.

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You can read a summary of the key points from Sarah Blenkinsop and Marion Morris’
work here: http://www.teachingexpertise.com/articles/making-the-right-choices-at-14-
and-16-1519 or follow the link to the full report and tool here:
http://www.dfes.gov.uk/research/data/uploadfiles/RR773.pdf

Decision Making Styles and Strategies for Intervention

Liane Hambly identifies 4 main decision making styles. She urges practitioners to
consider how a client prefers to make decisions, and to then tailor the
intervention accordingly:

Rational Intuitive approach Planned Cooperative

approach Happenstance decision maker
(chance)
approach
Looks at pros and Quick, wants to Flexible, optimistic, Seeks belonging,
cons own a decision, willingness to learn acceptance,
Wants justifiable uses own wisdom, from mistakes, decides in line with
decisions possibly biased take an open others, sees
Challenges bias minded view, take decision as a
Can lead to more risks and grasp shared
Can be time commitment to opportunities when responsibility,
consuming and action. But can they arise. draws on
ignores also be community or
subconscious manipulated by Requires network knowledge
client to reinforce confidence and
status quo. some resilience to
cope with any set
backs.
INTERVENTION INTERVENTION INTERVENTION INTERVENTION

Look at pros and Use visualisation, Networking, Involve others,

cons. what if scenarios, tasters, identify key players
What would the reaction to volunteering and influences,
criteria be for a opportunities, mind Challenge false identify wishes and
best option? mapping, games, career beliefs by needs, and areas
Use matching dreams and hopes. ‘reframing’. of tension in
approaches process

Reframing Career Myths

Reframing “Career Myths” can be a useful part of the approach using planned
happenstance. Liane Hambly suggested clients may hold mistaken beliefs (e.g. that
they should know what they want to do; that they should decide on a career path and
then stick to it; or that they are just unlucky). All of these beliefs can be rephrased – for
example you don’t have to stay on a path which makes you unhappy, that it’s fine to
keep options open and be flexible to opportunities that come your way.

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The Problem with Choice – Too much of a Good Thing?

In his book “The Paradox of Choice”, Barry Schwartz discusses the interesting concept
that more can sometimes be less!

We assume that more choice means better options and greater satisfaction. But choice
overload can make you question the decisions you make before you even make them,
it can set you up for unrealistically high expectations, and it can make you blame
yourself for any and all failures. In the long run, this can lead to decision-making
paralysis.

For key points from Barry Schwartz on this concept see

http://www.squeezedbooks.com/book/show/19/the-paradox-of-choice-why-more-is-less

Some Questions for Career Guidance Practitioners

 How far can ‘Planned Happenstance’ be applied to guidance practice with

clients?
 What are its implications for the nature of the practitioner – client relationship?
 What are the implications for the career guidance delivery structure?
 How far would current quality assurance mechanisms continue to be
relevant/applicable in the ‘Planned Happenstance’ world of career guidance?

Michael Larbalestier
October 2007

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