Forging a new path

It didn’t make sense to a lot of people when I left my senior director position in the corporate world.

It was a career that I’d spent 9 years building, starting as a graduate and then making my way up.

But there was a niggling feeling that I’d been having for the last few years that I couldn’t ignore. I knew I needed to do something different and I also knew that I was capable of so much more.

As I started to share my very early ideas of leaving - some people didn’t understand why you’d leave such a good job that paid so well, why you’d jump into the unknown and start again - especially at the point of considering children, why I couldn’t just suck it up for a bit longer.?

Because this wasn’t a snap decision and I’d been carefully considering it for years, I think some people also maybe didn’t believe I would go through with it (I think those were the people that didn’t quite realise that when I say I will do something, there is no hope in hell that I won’t go through with it).

But what is really important to me is growth and having an impact. And whilst I could see my career was growing in the corporate world, I also felt that there were so many constraints that meant I couldn’t always show up as the authentic version of myself. I couldn’t always fully stand by the decisions I had to make. I felt the workplace wasn’t always a level playing field - crap people excelled and were promoted and sometimes the good people never got the recognition they truly deserved.

And that didn’t sit right with me.

I care about doing things in the right way. I cared about my team and that they were supported and had the opportunities to grow and develop in a safe environment. I cared about gently challenging them to expand their comfort zones. I care about being honest and having a good sense of integrity.

So I left.

Handing in my notice whilst on maternity leave with my 6 month old baby. In March 2020 days before we were placed into a lockdown.

And I can’t ignore those synchronicities. The world changed and I changed.

And forging a new path has become the golden thread that runs through my business in many ways.

Because whilst diversity, equity and inclusion is understood and accepted. It is still seen as ‘separate’. It isn’t woven into the DNA of many organisations, or seen as a differentiator to level up their workforce and grow. The workplace is shifting - but we still have so far to go.

So perhaps you feel it deep within you, that you need to forge a new path, or perhaps you are already taking steps on that journey. Here are some of my own insights that helped me and many other coaching clients that I have supported through their own evolution:

• Determine your north star and vision

Without a vision, it can be really difficult to determine your direction and the next steps to take you close to that. I think it’s helpful to understand what is important to you - how would you like to feel the majority of the time? And then explore how you can really embody that feeling. Let’s say the feeling is freedom - does that look like chunks of time exploring the world? Or is that freedom in the everyday and having more of a work life balance. Get out in nature or journal and explore what your future could look like if there were no boundaries or constraints.

• Understand your talents and strengths

I never set out to run a business - it was never in my plan. So when I knew I needed to do something different I spent a lot of time exploring with a coach what that ‘different’ could look like. I realised that what I loved was the people in my job - having a team, growing and developing them. So I tested the water and took a coaching qualification (which meant I had to work 10 days straight - I was on the floor by the end of it) and I realised that this was what I wanted to at least try.

You are more likely to succeed at something you are a) passionate about and b) are good at - so spend time exploring where that sweet spot lies and how you could monetise it.?

There is so much potential in having a multi-hyphenate career - where you don’t just do 1 job, but maybe have multiple sources of income and even a mix of employed and self-employed. I think this is the future of work.

• Grow your resilience

Forging a new path is not the easy route. Often the easy route is where you are now. Resilient is crucial to allowing you to pick yourself up after realising the way forward wasn’t what you thought it was. It’s about being adaptable and nimble. It’s (trying to) take feedback as a growing tool and not personally (this is definitely a work in progress for me). It’s knowing that whatever decision you take is not the end game. You are not tied into anything. See it all as a test and learn, some things might work and others won;t - but as long as you have learnings then that is true growth.

• Create a supportive environment

It can be tough to believe in yourself when you are doing something completely new. And that’s why it is so important to surround yourself with people who truly believe in you and know that your sheer-determinedness will mean that you can make it happen. Whilst there were people who questioned my decision, there was also a whole host of people who fully supported and believed in me at some really tough points in my journey.

So here’s to forging a new path, a path that might not make complete sense at this point in time. But if there is still that niggle weeks and months down the line, you’d be silly to ignore it.

And if you’d like to chat more or have a supporting voice then feel free to message me