There’s something I see happening all the time to professionals who are stuck at some sort of career crossroads. It’s especially common with seasoned professionals and ‘wanna-preneurs’. But you can make this mistake at any time.

Here’s what I mean…

The professionals who get struck struggling are attempting to consume a lot of free information and then piece it together themselves.

They are well-intentioned. They’re successful, highly-competent people. Sometimes they’ve been gathering knowledge and working on themselves already.

They are trying to get started on making change happen. They use the logic of ‘I can’t afford…’, or ‘I don’t need outside support’, and work on sorting it out themselves  instead.

But they chew through a lot of time and energy trying to figure out how to realign what they do with the life they want to lead because they’re doing it on their own, in a vacuum.

No amount of reading can give bespoke guidance for your next career step 

Of course, that doesn’t work well. Because the logic is flawed. Why? Because your situation is unique to you. No article (or any amount of reading / learning) can give bespoke guidance for your next career step, because action needs to fall from applying that advice to you.

Here’s what happens when you try to make change happen from free information alone:

  • Information overload takes hold
  • None of what you consume is personalised to you, so if it’s good quality, it provokes thought but then you get stuck again
  • It’s free, so you don’t act on it and you have no way to stay accountable even if you do take a first step
  • The barrier to investing in proper support grows ever bigger because you’re losing money all the time you try it on your own
  • You feel less and less aligned because you feel ever more certain it is critical to make change happen, but you aren’t willing to invest in yourself

Unless you change something, nothing will change. So, in most cases, the people who tell themselves that they can’t justify investing in support are actually the very people who need it most.  

Working with seasoned professionals, who are smart and already successful – I see too often that they fall victim to this mis-step.

Being really candid, if you feel stuck at any sort of crossroads, you can’t afford NOT to get support. Ironically, the tipping point to getting support is recognizing you haven’t been able to accomplish what you want on your own. You’re stuck…circling…despite your best efforts.

The only reason I say all this is because I used to be in the same camp. I couldn’t stand to invest in my business idea, my coaching – myself actually for the longest time. It slowed me down by literally years.

The best investment I ever made was in coaching. And I’d already invested in my 2nd psychology degree, and (rigorous!) coach training after that. Even though it was deeply uncomfortable, scary really, I just knew it was time. Time to put my money where my mouth was. Time to stop trying and do it. So, I pressed play, finally. And then, having already accrued lots of knowledge and done much ‘work’, getting the support of my own coach was what helped me get into action and saw that change stick.

Fast forward to today and now I’m fortunate enough to have a successful business where I get to help people optimize themselves every single day.

That’s why I created my coaching programme for seasoned professionals who want – and are truly ready – to act on a plan realigning work they love with the life they actually want to live.

Since I’m so passionate about helping professionals make that change, I wanted to make sure you knew about it.

But here’s the thing…

My business is limited to my own capacity – and because I hold myself accountable for delivering only high quality coaching. I will only have 10 high-end clients on my rosta at any one time – max. At the time of writing this, it’s half full.


If you feel ready to get the support you need to get into action, apply for your space in the programme now.

And if you recognize someone you know as you’ve read this piece, please help by sharing it with them. Another way to help is to share within your own network so others may recognise themselves. Thank you in advance.

I’ll be screening all applications and get back to you if it seems like we might be a good fit. I’ll send you a link to my online calendar to book in a time that suits. We’ll have a complimentary Clarity Conversation, so we can get clear on what your next steps are and decide whether or not I’m the right person to help you act on them.


Originally published at www.helenhanison.com

Author(s)

  • Helen Hanison

    I'm a leadership coach helping seasoned professionals who are at a crossroads, with a growing need to redesign their career but feeling blocked. And worried about that. Together we make a plan realigning work they love with what matters most so they can finally make aligned, confident transformation instead.

    If you'd like to receive actionable advice about redesigning your career, I'd love you to sign up:http://bit.ly/ambitionstothrive

    My story could be called 'from career to motherhood and back again'! With a 20 year 'tour of duty' in the worlds' largest PR firms, I came to a career crossroads after I transitioned from woman to mother. I got lost for some years and having moved country (and back again), and tried a bunch of different ideas both sides of The Pond, I went back to University for a second time - to do psychology. My efforts were well rewarded with first-class honours, an energy ‘reset’ and clarity about the fresh career ladder I wanted so badly. I had found Leadership Coaching and subsequently completed a (rigorous!) programme of training with the world’s largest coach training institute – CTi and have since become a narrative therapist too. Now I love that my commercial edges and marketing savvy work alongside my brand of positive psychology coaching, and know the integration is a powerful one for my clients. I passionately believe we only get to feel as alive and aligned as I do today, if we shape work we love around what matters most and that has synergy with the life we want to be living. In some ways my story represents the hard way to figure what work-life synergy looks like. And that's what I help others with now. If you feel stuck and wish you knew how to make a plan to change that, I'm happy to offer a complimentary clarity conversation. Just email me - [email protected] - and we'll organise that.