By Sylvia Hepler, Career Development Specialist for Executives and Managers, Launching Lives, LLC
There’s nothing worse than feeling stuck. Professional “stuckness” comes in many forms: failing to solve an ongoing problem; neglecting to leverage your greatest strengths; ignoring the need to acquire a new skill; lacking time for priorities, misinterpreting situations; drowning in stress; excusing certain behaviors; floundering amidst conflict; avoiding reasonable risks; minimizing the impact of personal limitations; losing self confidence; taking the easy way out; missing ideal opportunities; sabotaging individual and/or group success, and deliberating about staying or leaving– just to name a few. Being stuck hurts both you and your organization. Intuitively you sense this. Maybe it’s time to do something about it.
Over the course of thirty-five years I’ve never known an executive or manager who isn’t stuck in some area or other. The good news? There is a way through and a way out of whatever your quicksand appears to be. My “Conscious High Caliber Career Acceleration System”, created exclusively for executives and managers, is specially designed to meet you where you are, release you from the real or perceived trap, and advance you to a better place. It supports your efforts to maximize your career potential and achieve deeper satisfaction. In short, this step by step system reveals possibilities that are right FOR YOU and then empowers you to claim them. How great is that!
Comprehensive, intentional, and focused, the “Conscious High Caliber Career Acceleration System” positions you to upgrade your current job performance now, pursue and land a future promotion, and/or plan and navigate a total transition. Persons who choose to engage in this three to six month fluid (non linear) program benefit from a bundle of goodies including individual phone coaching, email support, document review, tangible and downloadable products, free reports, relevant articles, and various additional resources. Of course the essential accountability partner—yours truly– is naturally built into the package. I’ve never had a client who didn’t win.
Winning looks different for different people. But it always involves greater clarity, bigger results, and more freedom. Those are significant outcomes, aren’t they? If you’re honest, you realize it’s tough to put a price tag on even one. So how exactly does the magic happen?
The system consists of three parts, beginning with ASSESS. During that initial phase the client and coach explore what is working and not working, identify feelings associated with unwanted circumstances, and discuss short and long term career goals. Conversation around the client’s unique characteristics, traits, talents, and skills also occurs. From a substantial collection, the coach custom selects several easy- to- complete assessments that provide a quick and useful snapshot of who the client is as a human being and as a professional at this stage of life. Well rounded self discovery lays a solid foundation for the rest of the process.
APPLY, part two of the system, is the integrative phase that assimilates and synthesizes all that is learned about the client in the assessment phase. Quite simply, this is where both client and coach look for noteworthy themes and trends that must be considered while moving forward with the work. For example, if the client desires a career transition but is typically afraid of new experiences, the coach must help the person to deal with that kind of fear. If the fear is not addressed, the client cannot succeed in securing another job. While she may take all of the standard actions associated with a credible search, this individual is bound to sabotage herself directly or indirectly so that she never receives an offer. Developing a written plan of action for attaining one’s goals is another important piece in this second phase.
Once a viable plan is in place, the client is ready to ACCELERATE by living the plan. In the case of a manager who puts staff friendships before leadership, acceleration may mean signing up for an advanced supervision course, hiring a private coach, and examining underlying reasons behind his emotional need. An executive who’s burned out after twenty years? Acceleration could mean marketing herself in a completely different field.
It’s true that growth, evolution, and change occur over time. But you can start that process today. Why would you want to wait to increase your competence, align with your values, and connect to work that showcases your best self? Why would you wait to build—or rebuild—your career and your life?