Often my clients feel unclear about what kind of work they would feel passionate about. For example, Sue came to me for private coaching because she felt confused and stuck.
Sue explained, “When I started this career, I thought I really liked it. But every day I have to make myself go to work. I wrestle with boredom, I hate my boss micro managing our department, and I resent working long hours. I don’t feel passionate about anything.”
“Let’s take a closer look at what you do want. If you could redesign your current job to suit you, how would you do that?” I asked.
She started by clarifying what she didn’t want, “I work with clients over the phone. I solve their problems and if I have done a good job, I never hear from them again. I don’t get to see how things worked out so I don’t feel any sense of accomplishment.”
“ Sue, I understand. Would you feel more satisfied if you could have a longer-term relationship with your clients?”
“Yes, I would feel more satisfied if I could see the results of the work I do. And, I don’t want my boss telling me how it should be done, she said.”
“What I am hearing is that you would like to work more autonomously and have more opportunity to think for yourself?”
“That would be wonderful,” Sue said. “I have so many ideas but don’t feel like I have permission to use them. I wouldn’t even mind working the long hours if I just felt like what I do matters.”
“If you could work more creatively and autonomously with clients with whom you have longer-term relationships would you want to stay in the same line of work?”
“I am not sure. Besides, my boss would never let me change things like that. The company doesn’t operate that way and I could never ask him for more time with clients.”
My conversation with Sue revealed good information about why she is so unhappy. By taking Sue’s complaints and turning them around we have identified three fundamental things that Sue needs in a career; autonomy, longer term relationships with customers, and contact with the conpletion of the result of her work. Since Sue is not clear if the problem is with the line of work or the condtions that bother her first piece of career research needs to focus on that question. She needs to find out if there is another career opportunity within her company where she could use her skills and product knowledge and meet her other newly stated needs. For examle, if Sue had some interest in sales her product and customer knowledge, need for autonomy, longer term relationships with customers and contact with her work results might be a good match for an account representative position.
