Transition

This is part of a series of blogs examining why people come to Hattrick Advisory Services for executive coaching and/or mentoring services. Of course, few come to us for only one thing, but these blogs examine the most common themes that arise in our confidential services. You can read the second article in this series here.

Many clients come to coaching when they are in or shortly planning or being forced to undergo a career transition. Perhaps they are moving into a CEO role for the first time or taking up a new executive role. This could be within their existing company, or they may be joining a new one. Others may be thinking about moving away from their existing career path and doing something completely different. Some may even use the R-word, retirement, while others may consider it a dirty word. 

In our experience, about half of our clients come to us because they are looking to transition and find new pathways, and the other half either know or feel that their time is coming to an end at their existing place of work. This could be because, like many of our clients in the humanitarian sector, they are on short-term contracts or because they have a sense that the organisation (usually their line manager) is looking to move them on. 

We all experience uncertainty and anxiety in these situations. Coaching helps you develop a plan, establish priorities and work on what you need to do to transition successfully. There are plenty of generic guides for transitions, for example here and here and here and each one can be valuable in your journey. However, career transition is really about you, your identity, your values, your future and that of those around you. 

At HAS we like to invite our clients to examine themselves, the systems they live in and what they are trying to achieve both now and in the future. You may have multiple competing thoughts and priorities, but working with a coach can help you put them into perspective and move on. We also have Hogan-certified coaches who are skilled at unpicking Hogan assessments and working with you to build your strengths and follow your values, while being aware of your potential pitfalls when stressed.  

One thing sometimes overlooked is that decisions are not just about a new job. They are about your values. Your material needs. Your family. How you feel at the end of the day. Your career goals and where you want to go in the short and medium or even longer term. 

Let’s briefly look at the different types of transitions mentioned above.

• Looking at new opportunities

This could involve an upward or sideways movement in your existing workplace, or you may feel it is time to move on and look elsewhere. Some are just looking for a change, to breathe new life into their careers, while others feel undervalued and not supported in their career development. 

At HAS, we see clients who are often saying to us things like:

‘I’ve been in this role for four years now and need to move up.’

‘I’ve been here a while, but it doesn’t really suit my values and desires.’

‘Can we work on career planning for the next ten years?’ 

‘I just need more money.’

‘My boss is leaving soon, I want her job.’

Sometimes a number of these, often conflicting. We will work with you, the client, first on trying to unpack your true desires and goals and then by setting your path to achieving them. We will invite you to consider the ‘why’ of change. Is it the current culture? Your team? The sector itself? The daily commute? You just want something different? 

Change is hard. It creates ambiguity and uncertainty, even for those who embrace it. We will invite you to chart your own path, one that really matches your values, desires, and needs. What really matters to you? What comes first? Is it you, your career and status, or your family? How do you manage conflicting priorities? 

Coaching works with the whole person, not just parts of the whole. It may be time to discover that whole and it can be challenging at times. We may invite you into an exercise mapping the conflict within, seeking clarity in the complexity. Ultimately what we want for you is what you want for you; a good coach does this without judgement by asking, probing, providing you with an opportunity to reflect. 

A very common reason to come to coaching, either within or outside your organisation, is promotion into a C-suite role. This will bring with it joy, uncertainty and a range of emotions from imposter syndrome to ‘about time’. We really enjoy working with those in this kind of transition, exploring possibilities through your goals and desires. We recognise there are usually gender dimensions, age considerations, and industry-specific factors. Ultimately, this is about you as a leader, how you show up each and every day and adopt the right mindsets and habits for success (remembering that success isn’t some objective condition but revolves around you and the systems and people you work and live with). 

• Forced Change

If you go through your career without this happening to you, you are the exception. It is normal, and part of so many career journeys. Often there is a passive aggressiveness about this as you are pushed out over time. We know the signs, and you will likely notice them too. Coaching can help you work out how you will handle this. Continue until the end? Negotiate an exit? Prepare a legal challenge? Practical steps for a new role, sorting out the CV and preparing for interviews? 

Or sometimes a contract is ending, because it is fixed term or the employee has no intention of renewing. This comes with different sets of emotions, but usually you have plenty of time to plan and chart your way forward. At Hattrick, we have coaches who can help you focus on the next step. You may want to look at quiet quitting, going out with a successful completion of a project or something else. The choice is yours.  

Your ego and self worth may be challenged by this. We can help you understand these emotions and find coping strategies as you plan the next steps. 

We also work with clients who have faced instant dismissal, sometimes with good cause, and sometimes without. Yes, we know organisations occasionally invent reasons, even frame people just to move them out. We know this can be very painful and we find clients in this situation often have raw and potentially unhelpful emotions which a coach at Hattrick will work through with you. Again, this is very individual. 

• The ‘R’ word

For some retirement may be something much looked forward to, a desired state where you transition from career to following a passion, spending times with friends and family and doing those many things you haven’t had time to do. That’s great and we have a lot of experience working through this retirement strategy with clients.

But equally there are many for whom retirement is forced because you have reached an arbitrary age, or because your company ‘offers’ you early retirement or simply because of ageism and the fact that you simply can’t find another job.

One of the most common words we hear as people move through their careers is ‘legacy.’ What am I leaving behind? What do I need to do in the next five years to cement a legacy? We will work with you as you think more about these issues and decide what most matters to you as you navigate, or ignore, the ‘R’ word. 

For whatever reasons you are or may be moving into a new role, gaining a promotion, avoiding moving up, being passed by, ambition, financial prospects, ‘retirement’  and so on, coaching can help you understand what it is you really want, how it may impact on the people and systems around you and how best you can navigate whatever comes next.