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It's been a while, hasn't it? I've missed writing this newsletter but there's a good reason I've been quiet; I've been busy working on a book - more on that later... And with me starting to write the newsletter again, it's probably a good time to re-share with you my mission and why this missive is called The Career Activist. I'm a careers and executive coach and trainer who is obsessed with the idea of proactive career development, otherwise known as Career Activism. What the flump is Career Activism?If you're wondering what on earth I'm talking about, you're not alone. This term, for me, was born out of countless conversations with coaching clients who found themselves stuck, watching others zoom past them on the career ladder. I was noticing a trend amongst some of my coachees - they seemed stuck in 'career passivism' mode. Career passivists often rely on hard work alone, hoping someone will notice and reward them. They wait for opportunities to come knocking and whilst those opportunities have appeared and may again appear, they sometimes dry up around the mid career mark. Sound familiar? Action ArchitectsCareer activists, on the other hand, take charge. They: 🟠Consistently work on self-development 🟠Actively build their network 🟠Seek out opportunities rather than waiting for them 🟠Understand and leverage their unique value ​ ​
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I work with organisations to design career development that retains high-potential talent.
My co-author Dan and I were chatting with a colleague about the things that didn't make it into The Core Career Dials. Every book has them - every chapter in ours could have been a book in itself (and there are plenty of whole books out there about each topic). Creating a book was one of the hardest things I've ever done - all the decisions about what gets cut, what makes sense for the overall shape of a chapter - these all mean that stuff gets left out. And even beyond publication, there are...
My coaching client, let’s call her G, was talking about the things that are important in life, working through what a change of role could look like and how it could meet her values more effectively than the current one. G wasn’t unhappy in the organisation - their values of integrity, courage, and collaboration were genuinely her own too. These are what we might call the macro values. They’re often to be found in a company’s values statement (if there is one) and, more importantly, running...
If you're familiar with minimalism, you'll have heard of the idea that every object in your home consumes your energy and focus. That's why I mostly can't do ornaments or knick knacks - I'm not a fan of dusting. As a keen advocate of maintaining both energy and focus - understanding that losing focus drains my energy, I'm currently on a mission to apply minimalist concepts to my home whilst retaining cosiness. It's an ongoing endeavour but I'm enjoying the feeling of binning all the stuff I...