Is this a good fit for me?

Is this a good fit for me?

Many years ago, a defining experience was not getting a job I thought I really wanted.

I had applied to a graduate scheme that felt like the perfect next step, and made it all the way to the last stage before not getting an offer.

It felt like a shocking failure. An example of not measuring up.

For many years I made it all about me and what I’d done wrong. If only I could have been different, been more of what they were looking for.

I never stopped to wonder if it simply wasn’t the right fit for me.

How to have a useful career conversation...

How to have a useful career conversation...

…when you don’t know exactly what you want to do next.

Many of us dread being asked the question - where do you want to be in 5 years?

We simply can’t tell you the role we want to be in, or where we want to be. We don’t know.

And that’s absolutely fine.

Except… it can be really hard when other people know their answer, and it feels that we should too.

So, we default to the response we feel we ‘should’ give, or leave it wide open - neither of which feel right.

But there is a different way to have a useful career conversation.

Don't create unnecessary boxes!

Don't create unnecessary boxes!

Recently I found myself creating a framework for the different types of people I coach, and the different types of ways we coach together.

There is now SO much variety, and I thought I’d found a brilliant way of organising it all.

It felt so interesting - look at these patterns! I could even make it into a 4-box matrix!

It made complete sense in my mind, until…

  • I started to spot the (many) exceptions to the rule.

  • I shared it out loud, trying to explain my thinking, and confused myself each time.

  • I finally realised what a ridiculous thing I was doing (with thanks to Claire Pedrick MCC).

Why was I trying to fit everyone and all their experiences into one of 4 boxes???

The joy of exploring the possibility

The joy of exploring the possibility

Back in April a friend and I applied to take part in the BBC’s Race Across the World.

It was a spontaneous decision, prompted by a conversation on a very long walk, and a quick google search that showed the deadline was in a couple of days.

At first we dismissed it as a ridiculous idea! We agreed that:

  • It was terrible timing - perhaps at some point in the future?

  • It wasn’t possible, we couldn’t take 2 months off from our lives when we played so many roles for so many different people.

  • It was completely pointless - there was no chance of being chosen.

And then we decided to take a few steps…

What's your creative outlet?

What's your creative outlet?

We spend a lot of our lives consuming our worlds. Information, learning, conversations, content - words, both online and in real life.

It can mean our thinking brains are on the go a lot - interpreting, digesting, processing. So when we want to relax, it can be hard to step out of that mode. We can turn to more words, on a screen or on a page.

I’m one of those people - I always have a book on the go - but sometimes I already have enough words in my head!

This is when I reach for a puzzle.

Why repeat an experience?

Why repeat an experience?

I often repeat an experience - I’ll watch a movie again, re read a book, take a favourite route on a dog walk.

I do the same with learning, especially if there’s a training course that I’ve found especially useful.

This autumn will be my 5th time in Tara Mohr’s Playing Big Facilitators Training.

Last month I assisted for the second time on one of the intermediate CTI coach training modules (the incredible Process) after first being a participant in 2018.

It can feel counterintuitive.

Why would I do it again, when I’ve already learned it and been putting it into practice?

Why would I repeat the same experience when there are so many new things I could learn?

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Over the summer I’ve been listening to the Books, Beach & Beyond podcast, where all kinds of writers are interviewed about their journey to where they are now, what they write, how they write, and why they write.

I love it.

A question the hosts often ask is this one: Are you a plotter (plans out everything in detail before they start writing), or a pantser (starts with an idea and lets it unfold as they go)?

The answers vary hugely. Both types exist and are successful - there’s no right way or best way - but they definitely know which one they are.

It feels like this question is useful in so many more contexts! How do we like to approach the story of our lives? Our work? Our play?

What's your Career Anchor?

What's your Career Anchor?

A number of years into my corporate career, we did an assessment to find out our Career Anchors.

Mine was Lifestyle, which I was absolutely mortified by at the time. How unprofessional of me!

Was I not committed enough? Driven enough? Would my company think I wasn’t serious about my career and development?

It felt embarrassing. Definitely something to keep very quiet and try to change.

And yet…

It was so very accurate. And so very useful.

The gift of a clear brief

The gift of a clear brief

Back in the day, when I was a brand manager on Lucozade Sport, one of my favourite things to do was write a brief.

It was a collaborative process, and I loved weaving together the threads to help tell the story of the brand:

  • What was it about?

  • Where had it come from and where was it now?

  • Where did it want to go, and why?

It was so useful to take the learning from the past and use it to shape the future.

And also to be specific about the edges - what was in and what was out, what was fixed and what was flexible.