The number one reason people seek career coaching
The most common reason clients come to me for career coaching is – they want to find more meaningful work.
It doesn’t matter to them that they have worked for years and reached the top of their profession if what they have become expert in doesn’t provide them a sense of purpose. Expertise is no longer enough to keep them satisfied.
Inevitably there’s regret too – regret they hadn’t thought more deeply about their initial career choices. But that’s not a particularly helpful track to go down. For one thing, when we’re younger we don’t necessarily know what matters to us. For another, sometimes life events change how we think about what’s important.
Therefore, if you want to find more meaningful work, it helps to reassess your values. Not just career specific values, but whole of life values (because you can’t easily separate the ‘work you’ from the ‘home you’).
Some people get a sense of purpose when the work they do interacting with customers every day aligns with their values. For others it might be a sense of alignment with the purpose of the organization. For others, it’s a bit of both.
It’s a uniquely personal thing. What is meaningful for one person is not necessarily the same for the next person.
So, what drives you?
Knowing the answer to that question will help you make better career choices. You’ll be better placed to assess opportunities when they come up – which is pretty important in the changing world of work where many of the jobs available in the not too distant future haven’t even been dreamed up yet.
If you need help to answer that question, feel free to get in touch.
About the author: Lucy Sanderson-Gammon, MBA, is a a Wellington-based career coach helping mid-career professionals to advance their careers or find meaningful work. Find out more about Lucy's coaching services here.
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