Is my career path leading me over a cliff?

Recently a client wanted to talk about developing her “career path” (don’t like the term, but more on this later). She had been in her role awhile and felt stuck.  

She knows herself as ambitious and capable, invested in her own development.  Yet she struggled to articulate what she wants next and how she might get it.  

Professional growth is a frequent coaching point, not surprisingly since the act of getting a coach is itself evidence of ambition and desire for development and growth.  

“Career path” though is an overused shorthand.  It can imply a mechanistic progression upward in one’s current line, moving station by station, toward a hazy apex.  As a term, I find it limiting and a dead end.

Truth is, it’s a big world out there with many ways for the brave and curious to get where they want to go.  There’s no reason to adopt language or thought which constrains a thing so important to us: our growth, development and happiness.

Which is where we spent the remaining time in our session, expanding her thinking about opportunities. Matters got very exciting when she spoke about the kind of work which gave her energy; work she liked to do, felt she was good at.  It was also cool to brainstorm with her the additional skills required to open up newfound possibilities.

Interests and aptitudes are a great jumping off point for thinking about the next phase of your professional life.  Think bigger than your current circumstance: not walking down a single road laid out for you, but racing on a diverging set of superhighways with you in the drivers seat. 

Don’t think the only opportunities open for you are in today’s reporting line, current company or even current country!!  It's fine to aspire to have your boss’ job, but what if that job is a horror?  What if it doesn’t exist in a few years? What if the best opportunity is not “up” but instead a “step down”, or “laterally” but into a role where you’ll learn and create a better future for yourself?

If you wonder whether coaching can help you overcome a professional challenge, Let’s Talk.  Please feel free to schedule a Discovery Session with me by clicking on the attached link. 

Until next time.

Be well everybody