Career & Life Coaching

I recently surveyed my clients who are middle managers or in mid-career positions to see what they had in common. I discovered three common elements: most are in mid-life; their biggest challenges are balancing life and career; and they are using this stressful, pivotal time to reinvent themselves.

In Canada 9.831 million people are between 40-59 years old. In the US this number climbs to 82.549 million people. Our entry into the 21st century has changed how people feel about being mid-life adults. Far from the mid-life crisis of generations past, it is nevertheless still a time of challenges and crossroads. While career, family, relationships, health and personal growth all become equally important, people tend to focus on their career/job because it represents money. Like it or not, money is a big factor in the balance we try to create in our lives. The mid-point often shakes people out of the auto-pilot and requires the answers to some hard questions: Is this work providing fulfillment? Am I energized by it, or drained? Can I spend more time with my family and still make ends meet? Is this what I want to do with the rest of my life? And if not, WHAT? If one pays attention, this period can provide some very important information to use in the second part of life.

Mid life is the beginning of your second chapter. What better time to take an inventory: what is really important to you; what are your VALUES; what you are good at; what are your skills and ATTRIBUTES; and what is missing in your life? Taking some time now to review where you have been, what you have done and how it has served you means you can move forward with awareness. Awareness allows us to make clearer, more positive choices for ourselves – and results in a life with fewer regrets. This is not always an easy undertaking. In addition to these concerns, there is the challenge of living in a society that caters to the young, which can cause self scrutiny and fear of aging. A therapist and/or a life or career coach can help you navigate the process.

Once you have some clarity, the next step is to set goals, put a plan in place for achieving them, and support yourself as you move forward. The bonus of mid-life is that you are equipped with half a life’s worth of experience – your experience! Mid-life doesn’t necessarily mean having to change your life; you can learn new methods of living, and change the way you experience your life by making new choices or having a different outlook.

Because you are self-aware and focused, the benefits of branding are many. Self-branding: A. Increases your confidence and self-motivation B. Increases your visibility and presence C. Differentiates you from your peers and colleagues As a result, you will: A. Achieve your personal and professional goals B. Increase your salary

Personal branding is the strategy behind the world’s most successful people like Oprah, Madonna, Donald Trump, Richard Branson and Bill Gates. It demands commitment to what you value, consistency in what you deliver, and the guts to market who you are. It is the difference between an ordinary career or business and an exceptional one. Get clear on the brand “You”, and be faithful to it.

So get unstuck! This is another beginning. As you move into the second chapter of your life, think about what will make your life a success for you – and use this to create the life you want.

“Sometimes the best begins in the middle”

Are you unhappy at work? Tired and lacking energy and drive? Don’t worry, you are not alone! Studies in the US show that up to 70 percent of the workforce is unhappy with their job at any given time.

We all feel dissatisfied and frustrated with our jobs at times. So, how do you know when the feeling of dissatisfaction and frustration means it is time for a career change?

There are a few key signs which point towards a need for change:

We choose our career path for many different reasons: because of our parents’ encouragement; because it is a successful occupation; or for the financial reward (to name just a few). However, you may be in a career that doesn’t support your core values. This could be the root of your discomfort.

Take a personal and professional inventory. Ask yourself some important questions.

1. Look at your current job. How did you get there?
2. What are your personal attributes (artistic, adaptable, creative, leader, etc.)?
3. What are your core values (autonomy, growth, helping others, financial security etc.)?
4. What are your greatest strengths?
5. Identify your accomplishments.
6. Identify your career satisfiers and dissatisfiers: For each position you have had throughout your career what activities or responsibilities did you enjoy (and not enjoy) doing?
7. What is important to you, personally and professionally?
8. What you would like to do or accomplish during your lifetime (personally or professionally) so that you will consider your life to have been well-lived?
9. What are you most excited about now?

Take a look at your answers. Is your present career in line with who you are, what you value, and what you are good at? If not, then it is time to make a change.

Once you have established that you are ready for a career change, start thinking about and noticing what you want. If you could do anything, what would you do? By assessing your accomplishments, skills, strengths and weakness you will be able to see a link between what it is that you value, what you are good at, and where the “juice” is for you – all things that you can turn into a new career.

Decide what you want and create your opportunities. MAKE A PLAN. Then, use this plan to switch from resentment in your current job to looking at the positives you can take to your new career. What are your transferable skills? What are you learning in your present position that you can take with you? Once you have a plan, stay focused on your intention, and pay attention to opportunities that present themselves.

Despite your present frustration and your excitement at the possibilities ahead of you, it is natural to feel afraid about starting a new career. Feel the fear and do it anyway! Remember, the power to do so is within you.

In today’s highly competitive business environment managers face rapidly changing conditions, flatter organization, doing more with less. Managers are simultaneously a leader, a manager, and an administrator. Understanding your management style is a critical step towards making the adjustments and transitions this new role demands.

Good Managers – well rounded and pragmatic. They understand the reality of their environment – it’s values, goals, politics and limits. They set realistic objectives that acknowledge organizational constraints and dovetail with corporate goals. They are conservative. They would rather be slow and steady than risk the glory of swift, but uncertain success. Good managers excel at hiring, coordinating and directing a team.

Good Leaders – are visionaries, value creativity. They focus on what the organization needs to do as a whole to succeed. Leaders are passionate and persuasive. They excel at inspiring others and communicating the vision. They recruit talented, motivated people, not specialists. Their knowledge of the “outside world” is the basis for their ideas, suggestions and plans. Good leaders are always prepared. They are well balanced and well rounded. They admit mistakes. Good leaders inspire enthusiasm.

High Achievers – are success-oriented, pragmatic types. They are adaptable, excelling, driven, image conscious. They are highly motivated. High achievers know their purpose and role, therefore, do not need anybody’s help in setting goals. High achievers use intuition to make decisions and it is hard to replicate that in the employee. They make decisions quickly and implement the ideas immediately. They believe that profits are the end result and people are a resource to help achieve that goal. High achievers typically do not make good managers. They want to do things themselves. They do not have a lot of faith in others and have difficulty delegating. High achievers understand driving themselves, but not working through others.

How do you measure up? Manager, Leader or High Achiever?

Test your style! Use one of our online evaluations.

cecile@cosmiccoachingcentre.com or call 416-782-5001.

1. Exceed expectations; deliver results on a or head of time.

2. Manage your time effectively.

3. Create a career plan with goals and training requirements.

4. Move away from day-to-day operations.

5. Develop strong rapport with colleagues, senior managers/executives.

6. Get a mentor, accept guidance in your career.

7. Know your organization’s goals vision, values, business strategies.

8. Create opportunities to further own/business goals.

9. Solicit feedback and assess the decision for purposes of continuous improvement.

10. Communicate effectively to people at all levels of your organization.

11. Build and maintain relationships with individuals who might impact your work.

12. Plan, prioritize and organize your work.

13. Manage own emotions and reactions.

14. Balance the demands of your personal and professional life.

15. Give yourself quarterly reviews, identify your accomplishments.

16. Become your own sales team, market your abilities.

17. Dedicate yourself to lifelong learning.

18. Be decisive and action oriented.

19. Commit to excellence and professionalism.

20. Be self-disciplined.

Managing your career, just like managing your life, requires preparation and ensuring that your time is directed meaningfully. Don’t wait and see; make things happen. Just like athletes who prepare for the “big game”, or a marathon, designing your career requires goals, planning, work, and above all, commitment. Think of yourself as a Career Athlete.

Being a Career Athlete requires awareness and action. Athletes are aware of their gifts, talents and abilities. They then focus their training on sharpening these skills with the goal of being the best they can be in their chosen area of expertise. Designing your career is no different. What are your gifts? What do you care about more than anything else? What work would allow you to connect to this purpose? This part of the process requires that you are honest with yourself. Once you have answered these questions you need to focus your attention on the “training”. What steps do you need to take in order to design a career that honours your abilities? What is in your way, that you need to overcome, as you strive for this goal? Remember that fear is a natural and inevitable part of this process, but that it does not have to stop you. Identifying what keeps you from pursuing the career that you want is an important step. Knowing what may become a stumbling block allows you to move through it much easier when it occurs, rather than being stopped by it.

An Elite Athlete has a four phase training program which can be incorporated in the Career Athlete plan.

Phase I: Preparation. This phase is crucial in providing you with a firm base. What skills/strengths are fundamental to your success? Phase II: Pre-competitive. What is the motivation behind what you want to do? Have you connected it to your value system? Phase III: Competitive Peaking. The point at which everything you have been working toward comes together. Phase IV: Active Rest. This is the phase of transition. A time when you are under no pressure. Use this time to have fun and celebrate the completion of phases I – III. This is also a good time for self-reflection, self-evaluation and future goal setting. Shape your career, don’t let it shape you! Decide what you want and create your opportunities accordingly. Positioning yourself in your career will happen a step at a time with planning. A Career Coach can help define your goals and a Career Marketing & Outplacement Service can help with a Career Evaluation.

Branding is a process started by large corporations like Nike as part of a marketing strategy in the 1980′s. It is a concept which had them selling their customers an image and an idea. Soon, along with the pair of running shoes you were buying, you were also buying into the concept, and “just doing it”; and your Bell telephone service isn’t just about a tool, it’s about the way we are all connected. Advertising has become less about the product and more about the feeling the company wants you to associate with what they sell.

Branding isn’t just for companies. People in all walks of life and various career stages are starting to use career tips like self branding to get ahead. Like a company and its products in the marketplace, self-branding means looking at yourself as a winning brand. It’s being aware of the things that set you apart from everyone else and make you memorable and unique – your skills, abilities, personality traits. Being self-aware means you become clear about what you stand for and what you have to offer. Doing a good job is no longer good enough to guarantee your career will go well.

Branding yourself means you become associated with what sets you apart from others and the added value you bring to a job, business, or situation. Self-branding demands self-awareness and communicates that you feel comfortable in your own skin. When you know what you’ve got to offer, you become powerful and intentional about how you communicate that through the quality of service you provide. You are your most important asset. Self-branding provides direction and clarity of purpose for how you work, not just what you do for a living.
Because you are self-aware and focused, the benefits of branding are many.

Self-branding:

As a result, you will:

Personal branding is the strategy behind the world’s most successful people like Oprah, Madonna, Donald Trump, Richard Branson, and Bill Gates. It demands commitment to what you value, consistency in what you deliver, and the guts to market who you are. It is the difference between an ordinary career or business and an exceptional one. Now you know one of the most important career tips. Get clear on the brand “You”, and be faithful to it.

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Copyright 2009, Cecile Peterkin. All rights reserved.