Career Success Starts With Your Well-Being

Taking better care of yourself can have a deep impact on your career. My clients are women who are committed to their professional goals and who want to live a fulfilling personal life. I often work with women who are early-to-mid career; they want to continue to contribute professionally in the way that feels valuable to them.  

Often, that desire and effort to “have it all” means they are the ones that suffer. For example, one client came to me burned out and clearly not taking care of herself. She had placed high importance on professional achievements and taking care of family, but consistently gave herself a lower priority. In working together, she gained ways to build her own energy and created strategies to place self-care at the forefront. As we’ve heard it said, “self-care is not selfish”. By focusing on the betterment her own well-being, she ignited the energy to take control of the other aspects of her life.

Everything is interconnected – if you focus your energy on one thing, the dynamics of everything else naturally shifts. Change in one area of your life radiates outward to other areas. This is why I use a holistic approach in coaching my clients.

The Feeling That Something At Work Is Not Working – Now What?

For some people, we experience a sense that “something” must change, yet uncovering exactly what that is, and how we can make changes seems unclear or daunting. Things aren’t working out the way we want, we’re working hard yet feeling unfulfilled. That discovery alerts us it’s time to shift something or investigate a new path.

With a recent client, she felt it may be time to leave her position. She was comfortable in her role, enjoyed her co-workers and working environment, and felt supported by her management. She had been working hard, her performance feedback was good, and she strongly believed that a promotion would be an acknowledgement of her achievements and an opportunity to learn and grow.

There were some truly good things here, but it seemed there were organizational limitations to obtaining a promotion. What to do – stay or leave? Together we developed a strategy for exploring and advocating for a promotion. She came to the realization that she needed to leave for her own betterment. But then what would her ideal role look like, and what are the things she would no longer accept when taking a new position? It could have been a scary time if she maneuvered this major life change on her own. After all, she wasn’t totally unhappy where she was–but not feeling fulfilled. She decided that leaving that position was to her best advantage and had the clarity to pursue a new role that would allow her to expand her horizon. 

Getting Feedback You Don’t Like – What’s Next?

Receiving feedback, both requested and unrequested, is a given in the workplace and we have to hear it whether we like it or not. I encourage my clients to take feedback as a piece of data and help them put it in perspective - who is it coming from; what perspective might this person have; and do I want to shift something because of it.  

We want to listen to feedback yet not make such drastic changes as to betray who we really are. I help you flesh out your initial ideas and elaborate on ways to use the feedback to make adjustments that feel right to you for your circumstance. For one client, everyone on her team gave her the same feedback and she didn’t want to accept it for fear it required her to change at her core. I helped her explore it fully, to see where she could adjust without denying her identity, and to manage those changes so that her personal life would benefit as well.

Hearing feedback, making adjustments, analyzing career decisions – all of these thoughts and changes around your professional life affect your personal life and your overall well-being. It’s easy to allow changes to overwhelm you so that you’re left overburdened and confused. This is why I believe in a whole person approach. Your professional choices have a much bigger impact on your life than your paycheck and work routine.

Ready to step away from a daily work and personal life that is not serving you? I’m here to help you and take it step by step. Reach out to me at Kara@holisticwellnesswithkara.com