There is an innate impulse in the human spirit to want to live the integrity of our values.
As the founder of a right livelihood career change consultancy, an increasing number of executives and professionals are telling me that their job search opens up very real ethical explorations for them personally and professionally.
Most of us want our careers to be generating real solutions and meeting real needs. We want to be part of life’s regeneration – not the extraction of it.
If we work in an organisation that is not aligned with our values, it creates a lot of stress in our system. This is because when we don’t live true to our core values, we come out of integrity with our soul. Over time this can dilute our sense of self, our vitality, and our sense of meaning because the soul is an inherent and essential aspect of our whole person reality and wellbeing.
Most professionals engage my services to transition to a new approach to earning ones livelihood that is not ‘business-as-usual’.
When clients come to me and tell me they’re looking to transition to life sustaining work, I first guide them to re-orientate their career as a calling. As with any true calling, the first step is to realise – it is not about me.
I guide clients to listen inwardly with curiosity and sense into what the Source wants to live through you. There is a high cost to pay if you don’t take this initial time to enter into alignment with your highest intention for your career. If you approach your job change from a place of personal gain, purely for your benefit – then your work will be limited by the individualistic intention that you bring to it.
A real work calling is something you receive. It doesn’t arise out of a wilful ego perspective. There is an interplay of listening, willingness and participation that is needed – rather than trying to lead your career transition in a heavy handed way.
In real mindfulness you become aware of the silent dimension of being from which all of life originates, and you place yourself in service to the needs of the while.
The journey of regenerative livelihood is unique and individual for each person. Some peoples life situation requires them, at least for the time being, to continue working in corporations that are still serving the destructive extractive agenda.
Many professionals are aspiring to help the corporations they work for to transition into a more wholesome
co-operative model, others are improving diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, and/or or influence their CSR leaders to redistribute more of their corporations’ profits to grass-root organisations that are genuinely regenerating local ecologies and communities.
Some clients come to me when they have reached a point where they feel they are compromising their vitality by staying in their current organisation. They are urgently looking for a new job – especially if the company they are working for isn’t living true to their climate and social equality responsibilities.
Many of these people are looking to transition their jobs to work in organisations that are directly in service to a life sustainable future such as climate action, biodiversity, humanitarian, circular local economies, earth rights, technology 4 good, and integrative holistic healthcare.
Other clients are budding social entrepreneurs who are looking to create new forms of work that enables them to package their unique gifts and expertise into a business construct that empowers them to be in service to others, while also earning a dignified livelihood.
Every client I coach is unique, and I tailor my approach to the needs and goals of each person. As a coach, I’m notoriously pragmatic. I invite you to identify your personal priorities so that you are taking into account your unique life responsibilities, financial situation, family commitments, location, the jobs market, and the best timing for you to move.
I help you to clarify the outcomes you tell me you want to achieve, while engaging you in process of self discovery to help you more confidently navigate a work transition that is right for you. I support you to identify your strengths and transferrable skills, along with any gaps you may have now which can be bridged to help you make the transition into your desired role.
For professionals who are looking to change jobs I offer coaching on the themes of job transition strategy, CV and cover letter guidance, interview preparation, and offer negotiation.
The people I’m best able to serve are performing highly in their careers, have a genuine impulse towards service, and are committed to becoming more of the change they want to see in our world.
I tell all my clients that it can take time to transition to the right livelihood you long for, and that it is as much an inner as an outer journey. Changing jobs/careers is a big decision, but it’s also an exciting one. As you research and explore, enjoy this time and be kind with yourself.
I look forward to uniting with mission-led people and planting seeds together for a more beautiful and equitable world for future generations to come.