A client said something recently that I can’t stop thinking about. We were talking about a promotion she received last summer, from VP of her company’s sales team to becoming Senior Director of the entire department.
On paper this was very exciting. My client had been working toward this promotion for a year. She took on big projects and scaled them to great success, and she even created a new marketing strategy that was adopted by the entire department. She also gathered thorough feedback about her management style from her team, and the results were excellent. It all worked in her favor.
My client had been in the role for 6 months when we met for our first session. She was seeking Executive coaching because she wanted to continue her professional development and keep growing as much as possible. 6 months is enough time to get through the onboarding process and settle into a new job. Yet when I asked her how it was going, her face fell. “It’s hard to admit,” she said, “but I can just feel in my gut that this role isn’t right for me!”
When I asked her to elaborate, she thought for a long minute, then told me, “I don’t feel seen and heard the way I did before, and I’m not having the impact I was hoping to achieve.” My client knew what she was worth, and she realized that her value wasn’t going to be appreciated in her new role. By the end of our session she decided that it was time to look for something else.
A periodic career gut-check is crucial to your long term success. It takes courage to face reality, but if you don’t know what’s right for you, who does? Especially for women, who will eventually have to face the double-whammy of sexist and ageist discrimination on their career path, this is so important.
If you stay stuck in the wrong role, here's what could happen:
You could experience wage stagnation, and never earn more than a certain amount.
You could lose value in the job marketplace, and never be seriously considered for a better role.
You could experience serious burnout that leads to irreversible health consequences.
One indication that you might be in the wrong role is if you’re having the same experience as my client: you’re not feeling seen, heard or appreciated for your hard work.
If you’ve already done a gut-check and determined that you’re NEVER going to get stuck like this again, here are some actions you can take:
Review your finances and make sure that you’ll be able to cover at least 6 months of bills, in case there is a lag between your old job and your new one.
Start activating your networks and connect with people who genuinely love your work, and let them know you’re available to chat.
Get some coaching on skills that will help you increase your value in the job marketplace.
Many clients come to see me after they’ve done a thorough career gut-check, and realized that it’s time to move on from their current role. They don’t ever want to get stuck like that again. My job is to help them find their Executive Power Voice, and level-up their professional communication so that they can better advocate for their work during job interviews, performance reviews and work presentations/pitches.
Reach out to me with questions about all my Power Voice for Executives private session packages and group trainings.