Case Study: Heather is trying to figure out if she should take the leap
Heather has been working in HR for about 7 years now and realizes that it's not the career path for her.
She wants to try something different, like maybe working for a startup, but she feels like she's giving up all of the time and effort that went into building her career in HR to change to an industry she doesn't even know she will like.
She's also considered going back to school but wonders if she'd still need to start entry-level in another field. At this stage in her life, staying in HR feels safer than taking a risk, but it doesn't really motivate her.
She's trying to figure out if she should take the leap. What should she do?
Here’s what Heather decided (and how, through coaching)
Heather decided to become a freelance writer.
Whoa, how’d she come to that conclusion!? I’ll show you how:
Coaching Goal #1: What does Heather truly want?
One question I love asking when people aren’t sure what their next step is, is to ask “If you had a blank slate - and certifications were unnecessary - what would you do?”
I’m often surprised at how quickly people can answer this question. The answer is there, but it’s being ignored for some reason!
In Heather’s case, she said she loves writing. She also said that she’d want to be flexible with where she works - maybe she spends a season in one country, another season elsewhere, and then the holiday season in her home country.
Coaching Goal #2: Let’s play with that dream!
Sometimes people don’t allow themselves to think about the steps that will bring them to their dreams. They have this dream in the back of their head and assume it can’t be done, so the dream remains suppressed.
So in coaching, I like to ask, “If you had to become a writer, what would need to be in place?”
Heather thought for a moment and came up with this:
A portfolio of work that she can show potential clients
A preferred niche (topics she enjoys writing about) to set her apart from other writers
Clarity on how many articles she’d need to write per month to reach her revenue goal
Coaching Goal #3: Taking Action
At this stage, Heather isn’t necessarily convinced that she’s ready to become a writer, but what’s important is that she’s taking some actions toward her goal so that in the future, becoming a writer won’t feel like a leap, but maybe just a small and easy step.
She decided to create a blog and write 4 articles over the next month to start off a portfolio, and also reach out to publications to offer to contribute articles for free so that she can build up credibility.
While she hasn’t decided what to do about her current job, she feels excited about starting these steps and then reevaluating her situation in the coming months.
What about you?
If you were to re-read this dilemma again with coaching questions in mind, would you still take the same path you originally thought?
It’s interesting to see what people decide, isn’t it? Every person is different, so even the same coaching sequence can lead to a different result - as long as the participant feels they are moving forward in alignment with their needs, it’s a win!