#CareerDiaries: Managing the mental ping-pong of a career pivot

One thing that all of my career coaching clients have in common: Whirlwind minds.

Everyday, they're playing a game of mental ping-pong, trying to figure out what the heck they want, how or if they can make it happen, and whether they deserve it.

One day, a possibility sounds promising. The next, they're...not so sure.

Navigating career questions is confusing and lonely. You can't be open with everyone around you about your dreams, doubts, and desires.

When you do share your dreams with others, you get advice and guidance that is often well-meaning but misguided.

Even within your own mind, it's a constant dialogue of tamping down the self-doubt.

It can make you feel like you're out of your mind.

Here's what I need you to know: You're in good company.

It's perfectly normal to wrestle (or as Brené Brown would say: rumble) with confusion as you create your own career path.

To prove it to you, I'm starting a new series called #CareerDiaries—a week inside the mind of one of my coaching clients.

Here, you'll get an inside look at what real career navigation looks like. It's confusing. It's messy. It's...relatable.

You expect that other people out there have it all together—a clear vision, a linear path planned out to get there, and the confidence to take them forward.

But really, we're all figuring this out one step at a time. One week at a time.

This week, we'll hear from a volunteer manager at a museum. She's 41, and she's been at her current organization for 16 years. It's time to consider what's next, and how she can take the skills she loves most and pivot into a new field. Here's a peek behind the curtain as she considers the possibilities...

——

Day 1
I realize: Ohh learning and development sounds great for me. I know all about adult learning and it sounds a lot like coaching. That's what I should do.

Separate conversation: my husband says: You should go into the private sector and make a lot of money and we can pay off our mortgage. Then you can go do whatever you want.

Me: Hmm.

Husband: You should go into tech, tech is big, that's the place to be says this message board that I read made up of Dave Matthews band fans.

My husband up until now has said I should do whatever I want with my job provided I don't quit without another job in place and we can stay in our house. Now, this online message board that he reads has become a barometer for the entire country.

He says: You could be making so much more money with your skills. You can do anything. You could do my boss' job and his boss' job, etc. etc.

Who knows, there may be a useful nugget in there.

Day 2
Met with a friend who works as an editor for an advertising company. I've always been a little jealous of her command of writing and how she has a job where she copyedits all day, makes a lot of money, and is well respected for her work. She's been at three different companies doing the same work. She asked me how my search was going. I mentioned learning and development. She said they have a LD person on staff at her company.

After we spoke, all I could think about was, learning and dev doesn't sound as exciting as I thought. It's the same reaction I've had to HR in the past. LD is a branch of HR, I believe. My qualm is that LD isn't dreaming big enough. I don't want to JUST support other people who are doing interesting things, I want to do interesting things.

Day 3
I need to be in charge. I need to lead. Let's think about it. I can't help but lead. Every time I join an organization whether it's work or volunteering I end up being on a committee or the board or whatnot. My graduate school professors got together and decided that of the 6 graduate students I should be the head TA. I managed my peers which was tricky but I didn't struggle that much with it.

Day 4
Upon waking up: I want my boss' job. I should be the director of education. I can help my co-workers do projects they've been asking to do for years. I can loosen the reins. My boss makes that job bureaucratic but it doesn't have to be as much as she makes it. I'm excited about this.

What I cannot do is wait around for her to retire. She's 67 but she has piles of paper up to the ceiling that she has to sort through, and she will sort every paper. She has given no indication of when. It could be a year, it could be 5 years. I should go do something else until she retires and then go back. Why Can't I Just Leave? Why does this place have its hooks in me?

Day 5
I need to do something fun, something low stress. Ohh, my church is hiring an office manager. Maybe I could do that. My family would freak out. (Looked it up online). Oh, it's part time and only for the summer. Maybe they'll hire a full time person in September.

Day 6
Email: You have an Indeed.com job alert for Senate - Chief of Staff. A state senator nearby needs a Chief of Staff. Oh, this sounds very interesting. I could be moving and shaking. So much variety, troubleshooting, advising the senator. This sounds fun. If I do that and then go back to my org, that could work. I'd still be in the politics arena and getting some more management experience at the same time.

Day 7
Last thought: Learning and development will be my fallback.
Last last thought: See what Carole Ann has to say. You're forcing the process. Go finish your coaching homework. :)

——

So, there you have it. This super-smart, super-talented, super-driven professional is figuring it out—just like you. Sorting through the advice, following the leads, trying different career paths on for size, and looping back again.

I'm honored to be her sounding board in this process—so that instead of spinning in circles, she has a clear process and support to gather all of this data, make meaning from it, and strategically act on it.

It felt messy at first (it always does), but then we uncovered the common themes that kept coming up and used them to create her personal Strategic Career Compass—so she can truly own her unique professional identity and make aligned and intentional decisions, free from all of the "shoulds."

If you're ready to get out of your head and into action, I have just two 1:1 Career Navigation Coaching spots left in 2021. (I can't believe I'm typing that!)