Is This You?

I coach professionals working in the field of international development. My clients are employed in a variety of organizations – multi-lateral development banks, private sector consulting companies, bilateral donors, nonprofits.

I’d call them pragmatic idealists. They went into the field of international development to make a difference.  Yet they are also savvy and smart, and understand how the world works.  They want to have careers that make an impact, that give them the chance to do work they thoroughly enjoy, and enable them to live the kind of life they want.

The people I work with have encountered professional success, and are very good at what they do.  Yet lately, they find themselves “stuck” in some non-technical aspect of their work, as described below.

If you are trying to figure out “what’s next?” in your career and your life, are any of these statements true for you?

  • “I want to be totally clear on what is the right job for me rather than just taking the next job that comes along.  I’ve been in my job for a while now, and I’m starting to look for my next opportunity.  Every job I’ve ever had seemed to have just fallen into my lap – I was at the right place at the right time.  In most cases, it has worked out okay.  But this time, I’d like to be more strategic about my job search.”
  • “Should I stay or should I go? My current job started out okay, but recently, things have gotten worse.  There are a lot of things I am unhappy about, but also many reasons to stay.  I’ve been thinking about leaving for a while now…I’m just not sure what to do.”
  • “I enjoy my job, and it’s going well, but I’ve been living overseas for a number of years now.  Is it time to go “home”?”

If you are sticking with the job you’ve got, but struggling in some way, do any of these statements resonate with you?

 

  • “I was recently promoted, which is great – but now I have to manage people who do the technical work that I used to do.  I admit that I’m better at doing the work myself than getting other people to do good work. I need to figure out how to be a good manager.”
  • “I like my job, I just wish there were less of it! I’ve got a too many meetings to attend, too many staff management headaches to handle, too many deadlines to meet, too many emails to answer.”
  • “My job used to be more fun – but now it just feels like work.  I want to love my job again.”
  • “Work is crowding out the other stuff in life that’s important to me, like relationships with family and friends, exercise, even sleep.  I keep saying I’ll get my act together once this busy season passes…except once it does, another busy season always starts up.’”

Clients are likely to be successful working with me if…

  • You are passionate about your career and want your work to make an impact on an issue or area that you care about.
  • You want your work to energize you and bring you satisfaction and meaning.
  • You believe in having a full and rich life outside of work.
  • You like to work collaboratively and in partnership.
  • You are willing to examine your patterns of thinking and behavior.
  • You are open to feedback.
  • You are motivated.
  • You are a person of your word.  If you say you will do something, you follow through and accomplish it.  If you know you won’t get to it, you will say “No” to a task.
  • You have a great sense of humor and believe that work should be enjoyable even if there are serious aspects to it.
  • You are ready to make an investment in order to discern your vision for your career and make it a reality.

Next, click on this link to learn more about How I Work.