Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Being clear about your career


Ask any executive coach in London about what their main topic of conversation is and most will reply ‘being clear about your career’. It’s a pretty general desire, but the specifics of a person’s progress through their career is as unique as their fingerprint. There’s no right way to move on or up, there’s no guaranteed formula for success, there’s no defined path to get the professional and personal balance in life you’ve been dreaming about. 

The main thing every executive coaching client benefits from though is clarity. If she says ‘I want to shift from a regional to a national position in the next 3 months’ that’s great; if he says ‘I want to be able to influence the board to see that they need to update their methods by the end of the year’ that’s perfect; if they say ‘ I want our team to have a shared vision, to work together with respect and to each have interests outside of this company’ that’s clear. 

As well as being a trained executive coach and working with leaders and change for over a decade, I’m also a qualified Human Givens psychotherapist. My coaching clients don’t seek me out because they have issues – they’re already high performers in their fields – however I do know that each one has unreleased potential. The psychotherapy piece in my exec work really only comes into play from a brain function point of view. When I spot a client who says something to me like ‘I want to be a Director in the next 2 years’ – it’s my job to make sure that those aren’t just words. Clarity is the starting point – it’s where the conscious mind has decided what it wants to experience next; reality is what I’m seeking for each client though- the manifesting in real life of what they’ve been holding as their intention – and that requires the sub-conscious to be convinced. 
When your sub-conscious is convince and working in alignment with the goal you’ve defined, the brain will begin to filter the infinite amount of information available to it in a different pattern. A colleague’s conversation may no longer be random, but can shift to having helpful elements in it. You’ll filter in information from what you hear, see and sense in a new way. You’ll begin to pay attention to new doors opening, moving you closer to the people and situations that are where you want to be too. That’s clarity shifting to reality. 

The clearer you can hold yourself in every moment of every day the faster your brain will find you the pathway to the solution you want. Things that will help you keep clear are:
  • talking out your vision regularly (to yourself in affirmations and selectively to other people)
  • seeing your vision (are there pictures or images of what the goal would look like – keep them with you (in your wallet, on your phone, on a vision board) and look at them often)
  • meditating – it’ll turbo your results because it combines the thought of the outcome with the feelings that go with it, therefore re-convincing the sub-conscious to be onside
  • spending time with others who have what you want, or want what you want – shared wisdom and motivation are key
  • eating well, drinking lots of water, exercising and getting quality sleep. Your physical self is going with you on this journey and it’s in partnership with the health of your mind, so remember to treat your body with the greatest respect.
The journey you take from here to there will be unlike the journey any one else has taken. Intend to stay light and upbeat every day. Be kind to yourself. Speak with respect to others. And smile as you open your eyes in the morning – it just sets the tone for the day.

About Author:
Jennifer Broadley is one of the UK's leading executive coaches. She works with corporate leaders, business directors and successful entrepreneurs. She specialises in CEO coaching, prosperity coaching and providing the most cutting-edge and intuitive leadership and personal success programs in the UK. Jennifer is passionate about the ongoing self improvement of the world's future business leaders – the way-showers for our precious next generation. She coaches, speaks, writes and runs workshops on 'The 7 Steps to Personal & Professional Freedom'®. You can buy her book You can call, email or message Jennifer from www.jenniferbroadley.com