A Toe in Career Coaching

Recently, I stepped into the world of career coaching due to an opportunity to do some work for a career coaching platform.

I never intended to get into career coaching as I always saw it as something that was not for me. I do believe, and always have, that career coaching is important but it's not where my heart was.

But when I received the opportunity, for some strange reason, I decided to look into it.

My main hope, other than income, was that perhaps I could help these people influence the other parts of their lives that might also have a few aspirations lurking in the background.

Turns out career coaching and life coaching in general, boils down to reflecting on similar thoughts. However we want to "specialize" in coaching, the specializing seems to fall mainly on what people want to achieve and not on what people reflect. The adjustments most people want to make usually fall within similar categories as most other lines of coaching.

Most clients I speak to are caught so deep in their "story", they can hardly zoom out to get a holistic view of what is going on in their life. This is where a good coach can step in and help the client reflect, adjust and move forward.

Whether it's landing a job, optimizing job search, changing careers, navigating a troubled relationship or managing one's own behavior, most clients eventually land on some version of structure. Structure allows the client to scaffold their experience. By compartmentalizing actions and areas needing to be addressed, the client is able to take a breath and step out of their story and give it a moment of well deserved critical thought. This allows the lient to deal with the emotions of one item vs the whole and it allows them to move on to the next item a bit quicker. What this also achieves, is it creates more frequent wins. It's very hard to wrap one's mind around a huge task. Once this goal is broken down into little pieces we often times start to realise this might actually be manageable. Then, as we accrue the small victories, our belief system starts to change. We start to feel good about ourselves and THIS affects everything else like a ripple.

You see, what a coach does is they allow you to create mental and emotional space so you can start to see your story in 20/20 focus. From there they join the ride and help maintain that focus all the while helping you reflect, adjust and eventually get from where you WERE to where you wanted to BE.

Eye-level view of a man writing goals in a notebook

Here Are A Few Practical Career Growth Coaching Tips You Can Use Today

Here are some actionable tips that I have found effective:

1. Identify Your Strengths and Weaknesses

   Take time to reflect on what you do well and where you struggle. Write these down. Make a 4 corner balance sheet and populate the strengths .and weaknesses in the following: one corner for "I'm nailing this area", one for "I'm nearly there", one for "I could use some more insight" and one for "I'm totally lost".

   This awareness helps you focus your efforts where they matter most.

   
   

2. Create a Learning Plan

   Now you can actively choose skills to develop that align with your end goals.

   By using the balance sheet you can prioritise which skills need to be addressed first and so on so you can move ever closer to your goals.

   Set a schedule for learning and stick to it.

   
   

3. Build a Support Network

   Connect with people who inspire and challenge you. This network can offer advice, encouragement, and opportunities. Don't allow fear to get in the way. Most people are or have been or will be where you are. So reach out and get what you need. You'll be surprised at how willing people are to lend a hand.

   
   

4. Practice Self-Reflection

   Regularly review your progress. Ask yourself what worked, what didn’t, and what you can do differently. Reflection is a skill I often practice. Question everything. Once you get good at this you can watch your ego balance out and your humility become healthy. Be careful though, you'll start to catch yourself laughing at your silly reactions that used to be you. :)

   
   

5. Stay Consistent

   Growth takes time.

   Small, steady steps add up.

   Keep your focus and don’t get discouraged by setbacks.

   Change is not linear! You'll progress then, suffer a setback, you'll dust yourself off and move forward again and repeat. The important metric here is that you are constantly moving the needle forward.

   
   

These tips are simple but powerful. They create a foundation for lasting change.

I hope you enjoyed reading this,

Let me know what you think.

Kindly

Franck