The value of failing in career development: a chaos theory perspective

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Abstract

Failing is a neglected topic in career development theory and counselling practice. Most theories see failing as simply the opposite of success and something to be avoided. It is contended that the Chaos Theory of Careers with its emphasis on complexity, uncertainty and consequent human imitations, provides a conceptually coherent account of failure in career development. The benefits of failing are outlined. The counselling implications of failure and ways for it to be addressed and utilised with those confronting career development challenges are also discussed.

Keywords

Failing Chaos theory Counselling 

Résumé

La valeur de l’échec dans le développement vocationnel : une perspective de la théorie du chaos. L’échec est un sujet négligé dans les théories du développement vocationnel ainsi que dans la pratique du conseil. La plupart des théories voient l’échec simplement comme l’opposé du succès et comme quelque chose à éviter. Il est soutenu que la « théorie du chaos des carrières » , avec son insistance sur la complexité, l’incertitude et, par conséquent, les limites humaines, fournit un cadre conceptuel cohérent de l’échec dans le domaine du développement vocationnel. Les bénéfices de l’échec sont décrits. Les implications de l’échec pour le conseil ainsi que les moyens de l’aborder et de l’utiliser avec une population confrontée à des défis liés à son développement vocationnel seront également discutés.

Zusammenfassung

Der Wert des Scheiterns in der beruflichen Entwicklung: Eine Chaos-Theorie-Perspektive. Scheitern ist ein vernachlässigtes Thema in der Theorie der beruflichen Entwicklung und Beratungspraxis. Die meisten Theorien sehen Scheitern einfach als das Gegenteil von Erfolg und als etwas, das es zu vermeiden gilt. Es wird behauptet, dass die Chaos-Theorie der Laufbahnentwicklung mit ihrer Betonung der Komplexität, Unsicherheit und den daraus resultierenden menschlichen Grenzen, eine konzeptionell kohärente Darstellung des Scheiterns in der beruflichen Entwicklung bietet. Die Vorteile des Scheiterns werden skizziert. Die Implikationen des Scheiterns für die Beratung sowie Möglichkeiten, wie sie bei jenen, welche mit Herausforderungen in der Laufbahnentwicklung konfrontiert sind, angegangen und genutzt werden können, werden ebenfalls diskutiert.

Resumen

El Valor del Fracaso en el Desarrollo de la Carrera: La perspectiva de la teoría del caos. El fracaso es un tema desatendido en la teoría y práctica de la orientación para la carrera. La mayoría de las teorías consideran el fracaso como algo opuesto al éxito y que por tanto debe ser evitado. Se afirma que la Teoría del Caos, con su énfasis en la complejidad, incertidumbre y en consecuencia en las limitaciones humanas, proporciona una explicación conceptualmente coherente sobre el fracaso en el desarrollo de la carrera. Se delimitan los beneficios del fracaso, y se analizan sus implicaciones para la orientación, asi como las formas en las que se puede abordar y utilizar, teniendo en cuenta los retos a los que se enfrenta el desarrollo de la carrera.

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Australian Catholic UniversitySydneyAustralia

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