By Joanna Lott, who specialises in supporting Career Coaches to successfully grow their own business practices.

There is more to starting a business than being a great coach. This blog post will walk you through the 10 essential steps to gain your first paying clients and help turn your passion into a career.

1) Get a career coaching qualification 

A coaching qualification is a great way to continue learning and developing your skills, even if you’re an experienced coach.

The benefits of getting a qualification include: 

• Gaining credibility with clients especially corporate clients 
• Being able to set yourself apart in an unregulated industry
• Increasing revenue through increased opportunity in this competitive industry 
• Gaining referrals when people know you’re qualified 

Career Counselling Services offers award-winning accredited career coach training, career coaching and career management services to employers and individuals.

2) Create a vision of what you want from your business

Building a business can feel like you’re lost in a sea of overwhelm without a clear vision. Your vision will help you to make decisions and to know what you stand for. 

Where to start

Write on a blank piece of paper ‘I’d love it if…’ and continue writing in as much detail as possible. What will you see, hear, feel, smell, touch?

3) Identify your niche = Target Market (WHO) + Your Solution (WHAT) and how to say it simply!

This is often a tricky one for coaches as it’s our natural inclination to want to help everyone.

I’d encourage you to be courageous and choose a niche as I’ve seen the success this creates in my clients’ coaching businesses. A niche helps to elicit the thought ‘this is exactly what I need’. You’re already positioned as the expert who has the ‘solution’ to the exact ‘problem’ they have.

Where to start

Ask yourself ‘What do I want to be known for?’

A ‘70% there’ niche is good enough to take to market and know that it will evolve as you do and there is no ‘right’ answer. Then complete the following statement: 

I help WHO with GOAL so that RESULT

4) Create and price one coaching package and a way to take payment

Creating your own signature coaching package is a brilliant way to position yourself as an expert in your field and to make the intangible (coaching) into something more tangible so that people can understand it’s value.

It also helps you to price on the value you create rather than for your time in the session.

Where to start

• What is a big enough problem that they will pay to fix? 
• What do they think is stopping them from solving it? 
• What do you think is stopping them from solving it? 

• Working from the destination they want to be at, what journey will they need to go on to solve this problem? 
• Where they are now?
• Where they want to be?

Map out the 3-6 high level steps they would need to take.

You can display this journey on your website or talk to people about it in person. 

5) Put in place a basic coaching agreement

You’ll want to outline your agreement prior to starting out with a new client.

The Association for Coaching and the ICF have examples on their websites.

6) Tell your network about your coaching speciality

Your lowest hanging fruit in terms of gaining your first clients will be through people in your existing network. It’s worth being super specific as they need to clearly understand exactly what you do to refer people to you.

Where to start

Here’s an example script to share with your network:

“I was wondering if I could ask your help in something… It’s my goal to help [target market] to [solution and result]. I was wondering if you knew of any other [target market] who could use my help? I’d be very grateful for your support. And, of course, I promise to treat your friends like gold”.

7) Collect testimonials

You know you can help masses of people, yet you’re not gaining the traction you deserve.

Maybe you’re thinking it will get better when you gain more testimonials. And it’s true. But if you’ve done any coaching at all, I can guarantee that you already have more testimonials than you think.  

Where to start

Contrary to popular belief testimonials aren’t about us. Your potential clients want to see the journey of someone ‘just like them’ to believe that it’s possible for them too.

Here are some questions to help:

• Where you were before the coaching?
• Why you signed up and if you had any worries about joining?
• What has been the main outcome for you?
• What would you say to anyone considering signing up?

This blog post contains more information on collecting highly converting testimonials even if they don’t want anyone to know they’ve had coaching.

8) Write your LinkedIn profile

It’s easy to get distracted by creating a fancy website though your website will not generate leads for a very long time as your chance of getting found on google when you’re starting out is extremely low.

LinkedIn served me very well when I had a career coaching business and is the most successful in generating clients for the coaches who currently work with me.

Where to start

Update your photo, headline, about section and cover banner (Canva is a fantastic tool for your cover banner).

9) Identify your 2-step marketing system

Don’t just think that by having a coaching qualification you’ll get clients right away. You need to do some marketing too. Marketing and selling yourself and your qualifications can be a real challenge.

There are many ways you could sell your wonderful coaching – from creating different journeys which you could take potential clients on that match their needs, to building trust with initial unpaid coachees to gain referrals.

The possibilities are endless; however there is one way in particular that works well. Be prepared to listen intently to the potential client’s pains and desires so you can summarise these at the end of the call. You need to link their needs to your signature coaching package or create a simple outline to take them from A to B. 

This might change as the coaching progresses but as coaching is intangible you will gain paying clients from helping them see the likely value to their immediate needs and desires.

Where to start

1. What do you like doing – eg writing, talking, video?
2. Where are your potential clients hanging out?

10) Provide an outstanding service

It’s important to create an optimal experience for your clients so it feeds into the ecosystem of your business.

Where to start

1. Show enthusiasm when they say yes! It’s a huge moment for them to decide to invest in themselves and it’s worth celebrating.
2. Have a very clear onboarding process so they know their next steps
3. Consider ways to wow your clients and overdeliver on expectations. Ask yourself the question ‘How can I make success inevitable for my client?’.

For example, when I ask myself this question I see that my clients need to build the belief that their coaching is valuable and worth shouting about! So in addition to marketing and sales training I incorporate several ways to build my clients belief in themselves so they feel worthy of all the success that’s coming their way. For example, you might like to send a welcome gift in the post. Perhaps provide voice note or/and video support in-between sessions. Maybe send a personalised card when they hit an important milestone.

Your clients are the people who will recommend you and of course their success will bring you fulfilment and joy.  

If you’d like more help, there are 3 further ways I can help you grow your coaching business:

1. Download the 12 Quick and Easy Ways to Get Clients now.

2. Want to connect with other women coaches to learn, grow and connect as you build your business? Join our awesome private Facebook Group Women in the Coaching Arena. 

3. If you’d like to work directly with me to build your business so you get paying coaching clients book a call. We’ll talk about your business and where you want it to be. If we seem like a good fit, we can talk about how I can help further.

All coaches qualified through CCS gain a 10% discount on my Business of Coaching mentoring programme.

The pandemic and post-pandemic era has shifted the way we work and our attitudes to work. Whilst these changes will not be fully understood without the benefit of time, it is important to reflect in real time on the most recent transition: that of returning to the office.

The last 2 years has been a series of non-stop transitions, and the ‘return to the office’ is perhaps the latest one being experienced as individuals and organisations try to find a way to navigate a new ‘modus operandi’.

This ‘Return’ has been a gradual work-in-progress for many in the past 12 months, with several false starts as Covid continued to disrupt. It seems however that for most organisations employees have returned to the office in some shape or form in the first half of 2022.

So what does this mean for our health and well-being?

Several studies in 2021 tested employer and employee attitudes to how people would wish to work post-pandemic. Unsurprisingly it was a mixed picture with differing views emerging amongst employee groups as well the ‘organisation’ and employees.

On the one hand, the picture was encouraging.  Ben Willmott, Head of Public Policy at the CIPD, heralded the post pandemic world as a successful new era with “more employers now looking at how to embed hybrid and other flexible working arrangements into their organisation in the long term.”

On the other hand, sensational headlines suggested some of the major tech firms such as Apple, Google & Microsoft as well as some Investment banks were mandating returns on a ‘full time’ basis. Alarmingly, there were also reports of organisations penalising those who continue to choose to work at home by reducing pay.

What were the key themes of the studies?

I have collated a few key themes that I believe are likely to be significant issues when we consider how this topic might be impacting on well-being at work:

A gap between the views regarding office-based working of those in leadership roles and employees

• 96% of employees want flexibility when they work and 76%  where they work. Only 17% of employees want to return to the office every day compared to 44% of executives (Survey by Slack, 2021)
• 25% of employers planned to ask employees to return 3 days a week, and only 14% said they would offer complete flexibility (Ellis Whittam).

Assumptions that employees working in the office full time pre-pandemic, will resume that mode of working

• Of 448 employers, 33% said that they expected staff who previously worked full time in the workplace prior to the pandemic to return every day post-pandemic (source: Ellis Whittam 2021).
• A YouGov poll found that one in five (19 per cent) businesses would not allow any remote working after restrictions were lifted (down from 35 per cent before the pandemic).

A lack of consultation with employees over the ‘return’ and a feeling of a loss of control by employees

• Of those planning to introduce hybrid working, only two thirds of employers had consulted their workforce in relation to the patterns that they would like to work. (Ellis Whittam)
• 66% of executives say that they were designing return to work policies with full transparency to their employees, compared to only 42% of employees noting this transparency (Slack).

A ‘return’ that is much too soon

• A YouGov survey of 1,061 business leaders found 24 per cent would allow all their workers to work from home at least one day a week once the last of the coronavirus restrictions had been lifted, expecting them to be back in the office 4 days a week.
• A survey by McKinsey highlighted employee concerns about childcare issues, busy commutes and health issues.
• Simon Blake, chief executive of Mental Health First Aid England, encouraged managers to act with caution when returning to the office, warning against a “pendulum swing” between full home working and a permanent return to office working.

So how is this playing out in terms of well-being at work?

Of course, there will be employees who have welcomed the return to the office with open arms. For those who struggled with well-being and loneliness issues due to working at home in the first place this has been a huge and welcome relief. And we know that there were many, when allowed, who have been going into the office by preference for well over 12 months.   McKinsey found 37% of employees reported positive impacts on mental health on their return.

However it is those who haven’t chosen to return or been able to return ‘on their terms’ that is much more of a concern. According to McKinsey, one out of every three employees surveyed said their return to the workplace had a negative impact on their mental health, citing feelings of anxiety, depression, or general distress.

This is worrying at a time when we are already acutely aware of the mental health crisis currently being faced. The same study indicated that 40% of younger workers would leave rather than be forced to work full time in the office.

Organisations should rightly be worried about these issues in terms of caring for their workforces and not to mention the knock-on impact on productivity, retention and engagement. Research from Slack also highlighted that minority groups such as women and ethnic minorities were also likely to be adversely impacted by the return to the office.

So how can employers continue to navigate this in the best possible way for the well-being of employees?

These past few months have been a perfect way to test the model. Many of our clients, anecdotally, do seem to be offering a level of choice in at least which days employees can be in the office. Many are adopting the hybrid model – where teams can design their own days in the office versus at home. And what is working now, does need to be constantly reviewed.

Policies that have been designed and implemented should now be reviewed in full transparency and in collaboration with employees.

As Simon Blake, CEO of Mental Health England continued; “let’s not enforce rigid boundaries and instead of thinking forever, take a whole-organisation, fluid approach to workplace wellbeing.”

Let’s not assume it’s all working just fine but instead create an ongoing dialogue between managers and teams about what can work. We need to stay fluid and nimble. If this is done well, genuine flexibility is a key part of an organisation’s mental health and well-being strategy.

Rather than making decisions based on assumptions or the view of the minority, this is a true chance to create employment environments that take full account of the diverse nature of teams and workforces and empower them to design their own work and well-being strategies. This will have far-reaching benefits in terms of positive career management for all.

Kate Mansfield, Programme Director, CCS

Resources list

https://charliewaller.org/mental-health-resources/coronavirus-mental-health/return-to-work-anxiety

https://allwork.space/2022/03/returning-to-the-office-will-largely-have-a-negative-impact-on-mental-health/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2022/03/15/get-ready-for-the-return-to-office-showdown/?sh=2670f41d195d

https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-study-finds-50-percent-of-leaders-have-plans-for-a-full-return-to-the-office/

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/08/return-to-office-mandates-will-soon-be-very-outdated-atlassians-head-of-distributed-work.html

https://fortune.com/2022/01/21/amazon-ceo-andy-jassy-omicron-return-to-office-remote-work/

https://www.pwc.com/us/en/services/consulting/business-transformation/library/workforce-pulse-survey.html

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210618-the-workers-pushing-back-on-the-return-to-the-office

https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/healthcare-systems-and-services/our-insights/returning-to-work-keys-to-a-psychologically-safer-workplace

https://www.ajproducts.co.uk/blog/improving-the-work-environment/the-psychological-impact-of-returning-to-work-a-guide-for-employers

https://hbr.org/2021/11/dont-let-returning-to-the-office-burn-out-your-team

https://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/article/1745142/one-in-four-firms-continue-allow-working-from-home-poll-finds

Who created the term “The great resignation”? It was Anthony Klotz, a psychologist and professor of business administration at Texas A&M University who coined this now somewhat hackneyed phrase when he said the great resignation is coming in an interview with Business week (May 2021).

Like any catchy phrase it caught the imagination of many a headline- seeking journalist, so that what started out as an indication of what might be happening led to a broad generalisation that it was in fact happening.

The situation is far more complex then the implied description of droves of people seeking a new life outside conventional employment channels as a result of the pandemic. Yet there are factors, pre- and post-pandemic, that are driving people to consider the possibility of making changes (not necessarily resigning from their jobs). Alistair Cox CEO of Hays* says there are several reasons for this apparent desire for movement. I have extrapolated from some of his points:

Burn out

Burn out and exhaustion have affected many people: home schooling, the shrinking of human contact outside the home and the sheer volume of online activity have left some people craving alternatives. And people have had enough of constant and relentless Teams calls.

Remote working

The taste of remote working has been great for those with a strong autonomy driver and/or the need to balance family considerations with work demands. An employer who requires the return of workers to the office may just tip the balance for some people.

Effects of Covid

The pandemic has affected many of us in profound ways. We have lost friends and family, been unable to visit sick loved ones, and know at least 1-2 people with long Covid. We have suffered a collective and individual shock, and we realise that life is too short. As we know, how are you a shock can lead to reflection on what really matters in life.

Career management confidence

Over many years employers have moved from a top-down career management model to one that fosters self managed career development. So perhaps this has worked and consequently workers are taking the initiative in their own interest, not necessarily in that of their employer. Whilst lockdown contributed to people wanting stability, there is a new energy and confidence for career development post-Covid.

Job seekers have access to better statistics about comparative salaries and their technical skills enable them to obtain that information quickly.

Pre-pandemic system failures

In some jobs, there were already signs of crisis pre-pandemic. Covid extended these systemic weaknesses, leading to a serious retention crisis among, for example, doctors, nurses and care workers. The situation is now so bad that the government has for some years operated a GP retention scheme to stop the rot and is importing thousands of nurses from abroad to make up the shortfall.

Health and wellbeing

There is an increased willingness of employees to demand, as a priority, consideration of their health and well-being. This is possibly a response to many employers highlighting the importance of health and well-being during the pandemic.

Rewards

Rewards come in many forms, including the sense of being properly rewarded financially for the work, and receiving recognition for good work from managers. Many of the jobs that people leave are poorly rewarded, such as those in the care and hospitality industries.

We know there is no general truth in the term ‘The Great Resignation’, but it does perhaps indicate a seismic shift in attitudes to employment, employers and career development, which began long before the pandemic. Covid has perhaps accelerated the pace and skewed the nature of this shift.

We know that retirement was increasing prior to the pandemic, especially among more highly educated older workers. But even that statement hides a more complex picture, as many people from their mid-40s are re-evaluating their life and work choices as they contemplate the possibility of working well into their 70s. (see ‘The Hundred Year Life’ by Lynda Gratton and Andrew Scott).

The pandemic has hastened a wake up call for employers – to take more seriously the desire of their employees to be treated as ‘whole’ people, with lives outside of work that need to be respected. One example of an employer which is doing just that is a fast growing tech start up that allows its employees to work whenever and wherever they wish, as long as they get their work done.

Even if the Great Resignation is not strictly true, the evidence suggests that many people are considering the possibility of making changes. To retain good employees, employers need to act on that, by recognising them as fellow human beings. That means getting to know them, understanding their needs, helping them define their ambitions and aspirations while respecting their whole life considerations.

*https://www.hays.co.uk/blog/insights/the-great-resignation-why-are-so-many-thinking-about-quitting

I’ve had several productive career conversations lately with clients and those within my network and many are in a reflective mood, myself included, especially as we are about to conclude another year. The common theme is that many of us are feeling overwhelmed by what needs to be achieved next year, regarding our career goals. The continuing uncertainty of the pandemic does not of course help when our energies are already depleted.

So where can we start?

We hear about the need to “future proof” our careers (John Fitzgerald, ‘Future Proof your Career: From the Inside Out, 2018). We also understand the importance of building a Personal Brand by finding ways to reinvent ourselves and remain relevant.

That’s the theory.

However, when it comes to taking the next steps in our career, the multitude of options can result in a complete overwhelm. Before you know it, procrastination sets in, and we somehow find ourselves practicing the art of “doing nothing.” Or simply focusing on getting through each day’s work based tasks.

Doing nothing in terms of our career planning in the long term is problematic though. Small planned action steps are crucial if we want to ensure we truly are ‘future-proofing’ our careers.

To help break free of this feeling of stagnation and to try to boost your energy for 2022, we’ve outlined some top tips, to make the career planning process a little easier.

Career Planning Tips

1. The holidays are a good chance to reflect. Once you’ve reflected on the past 12 months, outline what’s important to you in your career.
2. If you’ve encountered setbacks and challenges, what did you learn from the experience? What helped you move on? What lessons can you apply, moving forward? This definitely relates to a core idea of Career Resilience – our ability to bounce back and learn from setbacks!
3. Note down some broad career aims and goals – then write down just a few small action steps.
4. Identify who your “supporters” are. These are people inside and outside of work, who will hold you accountable and/or champion you to remain focused on completing your career goals. Think about how often you can arrange to meet these key people and make sure you get time booked in with them.
5. Identify your key skills and strengths. What is your key point of difference and how can you articulate and demonstrate this within your work, your business, your network or with a future employer?
6. Make a commitment to build on your professional and personal development. What new skill can you learn? How many “coffee chats” will you hold (virtual or face to face), to expand your knowledge? How can you keep up to date with the changes in your organisation and industry sector?
7. Create a vision board, (manual or digital), depicting your future career successes. This will help to inspire and motivate you, as you work towards your goals.
8. Be flexible. Review your progress regularly and be willing to adapt and change your plan as required.
9. Lastly, don’t forget to treat yourself to a small reward for every successful milestone! This will really keep up your motivation and energy.

To find out more about the CCS Resilience training, see https://www.career-counselling-services.co.uk/developing-career-resilience/

There is no doubt that the onset of Covid 19 has placed a disproportionate amount of strain and responsibility on Human Resource professionals who have been placed into unchartered territories with no choice but to respond to the ongoing challenges brought about by the pandemic.

Last month Rob Nathan and I ran a seminar aimed at creating some space for several HR, L & D and Talent professionals to reflect on their own well-being and to consider some ways in which they could better harness their strengths and energy to help them navigate the current challenges.

We called it ‘Care for the Caretaker’.

It had an overwhelming amount of interest.

So why was there so much interest?

HR professionals sit in the uniquely challenging place of having to represent their organisation’s best interests and those of the employee. The sheer pace of the crisis in 2020 left little time for much reflection or self-care.

Research suggests 93% of HR decision makers reported feeling more pressure than ever before (LHH 2020) and only 34% of HR professionals felt able to ‘switch off’ (CultureAmp’s HR for HR survey June 2020).

The CIPD suggested 63% of HR professionals said employee health and well-being was one of their top three priorities during the pandemic. Indeed one only has go google ‘what should HR be doing about mental health’ to see the focus on this debate.

Many have risen to this challenge but we wondered at what cost to them?

We couldn’t help but ask to what extent, ‘Was HR putting its own oxygen mask on first?’.

Our audience of HR professionals seemed to agree with this and shared some of the key challenges which had affected them in the last 12 months.

Key challenges for our HR audience

• Feelings of loss of control & stress of worrying for others
• High expectation on HR to be leading from the front
• Increased workloads and sense of always being ‘on’. Many employees working unusual hours and patterns which means HR email is constant. Also affected by different time zones.
• Enabling others to learn technology and new ways of working and as learning professionals themselves, an increased sense of expectation to help others to lead the way
• Loss of boundaries with permanent home working

Our audience wanted to quickly move to solutions and as Career Coaches we were keen to impart the value of reflection before moving to consider action steps!!

We shared some thoughts about the links between strengths and energy and how this links to more meaningful self-care. We wanted to offer the opportunity to reflect a little more deeply than surface level care tips. This created the chance for HR guests to think about what motivated them more deeply and to consider the links between self knowledge and career goals. In turn this prompted discussion on boundaries and self-management.

We shared our model of self-management:-

In conclusion our HR professionals felt that there were a number of important take-aways from our session that could enhance their current and ongoing workplace experiences.

Here are some of the key thoughts which might be useful to readers:

Ideas about ways to improve self-care for HR:

• Setting and following our own boundaries.
• Peer learning and peer support and setting up HR colleague networks.
• Focusing on strengths and drivers – concentrating on what raises energy and doesn’t drain you.
• Understanding the distinction between learned behaviours and strengths. Be clear on where your energy comes from – distinguish between what you are ‘good’ at and where you thrive.
• Communicating what our energy and boundaries are to others. Voicing out loud what we want to commit to.
• Arranging meetings that last 45minutes or 1hr15 meetings instead of 60 or 90 minute meetings with no downtime. 
• Seting an example of how as HR professionals we look after ourselves – lead in this way when it comes to well-being, mental health and self-care.
• Thinking about self-care as values-led – who you are and what matters to you. This becomes an attitude shift rather than surface level changes that are much more likely to be sustainable and systemic.

The mood was optimistic – it was clear that our group were incredibly purpose led and that the space to reflect on how they could continue to add such huge value to their organisations in a way that was both energising and sustaining for them was hugely powerful to see!

We finished with a quote from David D’Souza pre-pandemic, which resonated more than ever:

“The bravest most game-changing action that HR can take for the rest of the business when it comes to mental health is not role modelling perfection but imperfection; showing the workforce they are vulnerable…”

Immediately after the seminar, we were delighted to be invited to run a similar programme in-house for one international organisation.

If you would like to discuss anything in this article, please contact Kate Mansfield kate@career-counselling-services.co.uk.

It was only a couple of months ago that our world was different. We went to work, liked some things and grumbled about others, loved or hated our job, were stressed from an always-on culture, thought about starting a business of our own, felt secure but trapped by our pay and benefits, craved more autonomy or a creative outlet, wanted a better work-life balance and a lot more. But we had no time to make a change, and never a moment to sit down and work out what we really want.

That was then.

Now – some people have been stressed and stretched from needing to transfer everything online. Others have unfortunately had their jobs made redundant. Staff not furloughed have had to take on new responsibilities. There have been back-to-back meetings, but little of the usual face-to-face chat that can be both a distraction and a source of energy, information and fun. Key workers, parents of young children and many others have never let up. They have doubled their pace. Other people have had more time. For them, it has been an enforced slow-down, welcome for some , not for others.

At CCS we conducted a survey of attitudes to work as a result of Lockdown. What are the positives? And the negatives?

Some of the answers are summarised below:

The Positives

• It has been great to learn new skills (mostly IT)
• The slower pace has brought stress levels down
• There is more time to be creative and experiment- try out new things
• Liking the flexibility of working from home
• Having more time for ‘myself’
• Forging new online collaborations
• Realising there are new opportunities to consider
• Experiencing less interference from politics and bureaucracy

The Negatives

• Missing casual chats and ‘feeding’ off each other
• Not having the warmth of personal interactions
• Lacking a ‘culture of community’
• A dislike of working from home
• Anxiety about health and finances: own and family
• Feeling out of control and worrying about small things

It depends

• Taking on new or different responsibilities
• Having daily, rather than weekly, meetings

The sudden and enforced change of Lockdown is not dissimilar to the impact of a life crisis, when we may review what really matters to us. We have had to change our lifestyle, and we may begin to question whether our previous way of life is the one we want to continue.

Our work values, or priorities, may have changed.

We don’t have to wait until the next crisis to re-evaluate our priorities. We can use the time to think about what really matters to us. What has stayed the same as before Lockdown? What is different? What have I learned about myself and the way I would like to work since Lockdown? What three things will I commit to take action on – now and immediately after Lockdown ends?

Look at the following list of Work Values or priorities and rate below how important each one was to you before Lockdown, and how important that Value is to you now.

Use the 1-10 scale, where 1 = not at all important and 10 = of the utmost importance

Work Value	Importance pre- Lockdown (1-10)	Importance to me now (1-10)
To have autonomy and flexibility
To express my creativity
To have work that fits with other parts of my life
Working closely with others
Time to relax and switch off
Learning new skills
To do something useful for society
To be appreciated for my efforts
To lead and influence others
To embrace change

 

Now, mark with * those Work Values you want to ensure are realised in the future. Choose the three you can commit to taking action on now, and two you intend to action in the first month after Lockdown.

Our values inform our priorities, and so can guide our choices in order for us to feel fulfilment and satisfaction.

Any changes you make could range from tweaking the way you work to making quite radical changes in your career.

Questions people are asking are:

• Could I work more flexibly, working from home two days a week?
• In what ways could we work more effectively in our team?
• How professional is my online visibility?
• Could I use my creativity more in my current role?
• With whom do I need to network to build my Personal Brand or reputation
• Could I find a more creative role?
• What training or development would really interest me, and be useful?
• Could I do more meaningful work? Or work in a way which is more meaningful?
• Could I volunteer?

At CCS, we help people to re-evaluate their strengths, motivators and work values to better navigate their future career. Do contact one of us for a free Introductory Discussion about ways we can help