Career Refresh Digest #41
Welcome to the latest edition of the Career Refresh Digest.
One of the most useful distinctions I help clients see is the difference between what they're capable of and what actually energises them. It sounds obvious once it's named. In practice, very few people have separated the two before we do the work together.
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WORTH THINKING ABOUT
Being good at something doesn't mean it energises you
It's entirely possible to be good at something without enjoying it. Plenty of people are skilled at tasks that drain them every time, simply because they've done those tasks long enough to be competent.
The risk is treating capability as the only filter for career decisions. A role can list requirements you can clearly meet, and still be a poor fit, if the skills you'll use most often are ones you tolerate rather than ones that energise you.
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WORTH REFLECTING ON
How you position yourself and what you become known for
There are two common traps people fall into when they don't distinguish between what they are capable of vs what they are energised by. The first shows up during a job search. People assess roles by asking "could I do this?" rather than "would the skills I'd use most often be ones that energise me?" Those are different questions, and only one of them predicts whether the role will be sustainable.
The second shows up early in a new role, often in the first few months. Keen to prove they were the right hire, people demonstrate everything they're capable of – without pausing to consider what they actually want to become known for. The unintended result is getting positioned, by managers and peers, as excellent at exactly the things that drain them. Once that reputation forms, it's hard to shift.
Both traps come from the same gap: capability is visible and easy to point to, energy is not, so capability ends up doing all the deciding.
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WORTH DOING
List what you're good at, then mark what energises you
Take a current or recent role and make two lists side by side: the skills and strengths you use most often, and a mark against each one for whether it energises you or drains you.
If you're early in a role, ask a second question: of the things you've already been praised for, which ones do you actually want to keep doing? That's the moment to start being deliberate about what you say yes to next, before the reputation sets further.
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That's it from me for this fortnight. If you'd like support with some of this work, a 15-minute conversation is a good place to start. It's a chance to talk through where you are and whether coaching is the right fit for your situation. Book a 15-minute call here.
– Lucy
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ABOUT THE CAREER REFRESH DIGEST
The Career Refresh Digest is a fortnightly newsletter for mid-career professionals who feel stuck or out of step with their work. Each issue shares practical insights and tools to help you reset direction, make clearer decisions, and reshape your work to better fit your life – drawing on recommendations, research, and insights from client work.