10 | Career Design Starting from 'How You Want to Be' - In the VUCA Era, 'Will' is More Important Than Skills
We held an in-house career workshop in February 2026.
I am sharing the content of the day in the hope that it will be helpful for those considering similar initiatives.
Implementation Overview
Theme: Envisioning the Future with Will / Can / Must
Target: Those who have started thinking about their future career direction
Despite the long 90-minute duration, 35 people participated.
I felt the growing need for people to think about their careers proactively.
Design Intent
The goal of this workshop was not just to end with self-analysis, but to
'take the first step toward career autonomy.'
In recent years, under the uncertain environment known as VUCA, many companies have been advocating for 'career autonomy.'
This is because individuals proactively shaping their careers leads to improved performance for both the individual and the organization.
Also, the nature of leadership is changing.
It is an era where a style that not only leads strongly but also draws out the autonomy of members while disclosing one's own 'Will' is required.
As a prerequisite for this, I thought it was important for each person to be able to verbalize their own 'Will' first.
Program Structure
1 | Understanding the Will / Can / Must Framework
First, I explained the basic Will / Can / Must framework. Then, I introduced the 'Ikigai Circle' as an advanced version to help them understand the overall picture visually.
This diagram also helped me increase the resolution of my own Will / Can / Must.
When you look at the elements in the overlap of the circles (Dream x Stability x Excitement), you naturally start thinking, 'Can't I make this overlap even bigger?'
As an aside, I was most immersed and had the most fun when I was creating this diagram (laughs).
2 | Inventory of Can / Must (Individual Work)
We organized this using the following questions.
What you have acquired through your experience so far (Can)
What is expected of you by those around you (Must)
Articulating strengths that you take for granted also leads to the development of self-efficacy.
3 | Articulating Your Will (Individual Work)
Setting aside your job title and position for a moment,
what kind of work environment do you honestly want to be in?
what would make you feel fulfilled?
I asked them to describe these using words related to emotions and values.
This design focuses on 'how you want to be' rather than 'what you do'.
4 | Translating into Goals (Sharing)
Finally, while taking a bird's-eye view of the three elements,
what is the direction you want to prioritize now?
how will you translate that into goals?
what will you do as your first step?
They organized these points and shared them with the group on a voluntary basis.
The goal is not to end with just self-reflection, but tolead to behavioral change.
Reflections on the Session
Participants shared comments such as:
It was an opportunity to take a deep look at my own thoughts through individual work
The Will / Can / Must diagram was helpful for organizing my thoughts
I learned how to perceive and organize my career
and so on.
Through this session, I felt once again that:
・There is a growing need for opportunities to rethink one's career from 'something the company provides' to 'something you design yourself.'
・While articulating one's 'Will' is not easy, appropriate frameworks and reference books can be of great help.
・If you design a safe space for dialogue, participants will face themselves more deeply than you might imagine.
Articulating one's thoughts is not easy, but that is precisely why I realized the importance of designing frameworks and questions.
Furthermore, in designing this seminar, I referred to the following two books:
・Noboru Morita (2020) "Successful Strategies for Small Businesses"
・Yosuke Okawa (2024) "WILL: How to Find Your 'Career Compass'"
The organization of Will/Can/Must and the perspective on how to deepen one's Will are based on the insights gained from these books.
Looking Ahead
I feel it is important to design career initiatives as ongoing opportunities for dialogue rather than as one-off events.
I would be happy if this initiative serves as a step toward a culture of career autonomy within the company. I will continue to share what I learn as I gain more practical experience.