Sure, it’s important to be happy at work. But if we look to our jobs as our sole source of satisfaction and joy, we can end up very unhappy indeed. In this installment of the Happy at Work blog series, I share 3 reasons why getting a life outside of work can help you be more successful (and happier).

OK, I admit it. I am one of those people who will ask a stranger I’ve just met, “So, what do you do?” Maybe it’s because my formative professional years were spent in Washington, DC, where people tend to act like they’re walking resumes. (Part of what initially attracted me to my husband was that when I met him, in DC, he didn’t even mention his very interesting professional background — unlike so many of the guys I met in those days.)

My propensity to ask strangers about their work is probably also related to my deep interest in people’s careers. After all, I find the stuff so fascinating, that I became a career coach.

And yet, we are more, so much more, than our job titles or career paths or professions. It’s so easy to fall into the habit of defining ourselves that way – we derive our identity from our work, look to our jobs to fulfill or complete us, and ultimately, make us happy. I see this frequently with people working in international development or other “do-gooder” fields to which they are passionately committed.

Yes, I write (and talk and coach and train) a lot about how important it is to have work that we love. And how enjoying our work will not only make us happier, but more productive. But pinning all our hopes for happiness on our jobs is dangerous. Here are 3 reasons why:

First off, jobs come and go. Contracts end. The funder pulls the plug. We outgrow certain roles. We feel it’s time to move on. Our position is eliminated (or better, nationalized). Or maybe, for personal reasons such as caring for young children or following our partner to a post where we cannot work, we opt to take time out professionally. Whenever the ending or transition comes, it can hit us especially hard if our sense of well-being, happiness, and identity are all wrapped up in our work.

Second, piling all our expectations on any one relationship or single aspect of our lives is unwise — we are bound to be disappointed, or crush the relationship with the sheer weight of those expectations. (Think: needy girlfriend or boyfriend who looks to their partner to meet all of their needs. It’s a recipe for disaster.) My coaching client Viviana (not her real name) can attest to that. A self-confessed workaholic who truly enjoyed her work, she spent years logging long hours and thousands of business miles in her job. She was promoted to management, and was seen by peers and superiors as a star. Then her organization shifted, her job changed, and she was assigned a new boss, with whom she clashed. Suddenly, work became a source of misery instead of satisfaction. She told me that since her past commitment to work had crowded out other interests, hobbies, and relationships, she found that when work was unhappy, life was unhappy. There was no refuge to retreat to, because her work was her life.

Third, diverse interests and passions can actually make you more effective in your job. (Yep, being “well-rounded” isn’t just for college applications!) Knowing something about a topic outside the beaten path of your field can help you to bring a different perspective to your work. Plus, the mental and physical break from work can leave you fresher when you are on the job.

So. Enjoy your work. Optimize it to play to your strengths. Squeeze as much happiness, satisfaction, and fulfillment as you can out of it. And get a life, forge an identity, and look to a source of joy and meaning, outside of your career.

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What do you need to perform, work and/or be at your best?

A few years ago, pop singer Jennifer Lopez made news for reportedly insisting that the hotel suites where she stayed while touring conform to the following demands: bedsheets must be Egyptian cotton with a thread count of at least 250, walls and furnishings must all be white, and the room temperature must be set at exactly 25.5 degrees Celsius.

J. Lo was ridiculed for being a demanding diva, and later denied she’d made such demands.  Whether the specifics are true or not, it’s apparently common for performers and even politicians to use a document called a “rider” to specify how hotel rooms must be outfitted to suit their needs.  When I hear these stories, my first reaction is to scoff at their demands – but on further reflection, I think it may show an awareness (hyper-awareness?) of what it takes for them to be at their best.

Which sparks a question: what do YOU require to do your best work?

I’m not recommending that you inform your boss that you will only write that report he requested if freshly baked croissants are delivered to your cubicle every morning.

What I am suggesting, though, is that you take some time to think about how your current work – and life – situation is setting you up to succeed…or not.  What does it takes for you to perform at your best?  Do you have these “rider” elements in your life?  If not, what can you do to create those conditions, or, if you alone cannot create them, work toward generating them?  By not being clear about what your “rider” includes, are you inadvertently keeping yourself from performing at your best?

I gave it a little thought.  Off the top of my head, here are some of the kinds of things that help me perform at my best on the job:

• enough sleep
• realistic timeframes for projects
• work assignments that play to my strengths and that make a difference in people’s lives, even if it’s only in a small way
• enough time alone
• regular, meaningful interactions with people I care about
• autonomy and flexibility in choosing my work hours and blending work with the rest of my life
• the support, encouragement, and guidance of mentors I respect
• a stable Internet and Skype connection for coaching calls
• high-quality, trustworthy, and reliable childcare so that I can focus on my work without worrying about the welfare of my kids

I don’t ask for much, do I?  It’s not like I’m asking for a separate dressing room for my wigs or a pink podium and pink butterfly-shaped confetti.

In order to set yourself up for success, you need to know what you need to succeed.  A big piece of that is self-awareness: knowing yourself; being clear on your strengths, priorities, quirks; the ability to articulate what makes you miserable and what makes your heart sing.  This will help you to figure out how to get, create, and/or choose a situation that works best for you.

If you’re a sought-after pop star, you can simply put all your demands into a “rider” and a gaggle of concert promoters will jump to implement them.  For the rest of us, we have to find ways to make them happen.

Don’t wait for someone else – your boss, your organization, your colleagues – to make things work better for you.  It’s up to you to identify the changes you need, and work to put them in place.  Some will be under your control.  Others may fall under your sphere of influence, which is where you need to pull out your best advocacy, strategy, and problem-solving skills.

I’ve developed a downloadable worksheet that you can use to reflect on these questions, and hopefully, identify some concrete things you can do to set yourself up to succeed.  Go ahead – be a diva.

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Happy International Day of Happiness!

Today (March 20, 2013) is the first-ever International Day of Happiness, as proclaimed by the United Nations last year, “recognizing the relevance of happiness and well-being as universal goals and aspirations in the lives of human beings around the world.”

It makes me happy that there is now such a thing as International Day of Happiness. Not only do I personally want to be happy (who doesn’t?), I find that my work as a career coach and leadership coach is about helping people be happier in their work. Whether it’s helping people get clear on what’s next in their careers/lives, or coaching someone to be more effective in their current job, happiness at work is a core consideration and driver.

And being happy at work is not only about our individual happiness. Happiness can have a ripple effect. Did you know that happy leaders are more likely to lead teams of employees who are happy? Happiness is not just about feeling good — it can make a bottom-line difference in the performance of employees and organizations. Researchers in the burgeoning field of positive psychology (studying what makes people flourish and thrive as opposed to what makes them unwell) have found that happy workers are more productive, get higher performance ratings, receive higher pay, and perform better in leadership positions. Their job security is higher, they take fewer sick days, and are less likely to burn out.

If your work in international development and aid is all about making an impact, how can you afford not to think about happiness at work — for you, for your team, for your staff (if you’re a manager), for your organization?

In honor of the first International Day of Happiness, I’m launching an occasional blog series called Happy at Work. I’ll write about what contributes to our happiness at work, and what detracts from it. I’ll share what I’m reading about research findings on happiness, and how we can adapt these lessons in practical ways. I’ll write about engagement, positive relationships, and meaning. And of course, I look forward to hearing from you on these topics. Sign up here for my email newsletter, so you’ll be sure not to miss any of the Happy at Work installments.

To kick off the new series, I’d like to share one of my all-time favorite TEDx talks, “The Happy Secret to Better Work” by Shawn Achor, author of the excellent book, “The Happiness Advantage.” It’s a great introduction to the idea of how happiness impacts our work, and research-based findings on why our old formula about happiness and success is wrong. The talk is humorous, engaging, informative, and ultimately, very practical — totally worth your 12 minutes of time!

Happy watching!

 Photo by Jessica Tam

Did you start off 2013 with some New Year’s resolutions? And how are those working out for you?

If your resolutions have crashed and burned, fizzled out, or never got off the ground, you are not alone. Research shows that 88% of New Year’s resolutions fail.

What is wrong with New Year’s resolutions? Here are 6 reasons:

1. They’re too numerous. New Year’s resolutions tend to be a laundry list of things we’d love to do, have, or be in the new year. There are just too many of them. The length of the list overwhelms us, dilutes our focus, and keeps us from taking meaningful action.
2. They’re wishes, not plans. As the saying goes, “A goal without a plan is just a wish.” Without an action plan that identifies specific steps, takes into account potential obstacles (both internal and external), and brings in a measure of accountability, a resolution is merely a wish.
3. They’re based on what is wrong rather than what is right. Often when we formulate New Year’s resolutions, we are thinking about what is lacking in our lives. So rather than basing our resolutions on strengths, we base them on gaps, problems, and the assumption that there is something about us that needs to be fixed. Ugh – no wonder we are not very excited about actually doing the work it takes to fulfill our resolutions.
4. They’re too big. Sure, it’s great to dream big. However, if your resolution is to run a marathon this year, but you are currently a couch potato, you’ll need some interim resolutions and goals to get you to your ultimate destination. If our resolutions are dauntingly huge, we get overwhelmed, don’t know where to start, and end up not doing anything at all.
5. They earn us admiration, which hijacks us into inaction. As I’ve written about here, announcing our ambitious resolutions to the world may get us high praise from our circle of friends — which paradoxically keeps us from taking action. Accountability, rather than accolades, will help us reach our goals.
6. They’re made in haste. For most people, New Year’s is not exactly a contemplative time. It arrives on the heels of a frantic, jam-packed December, when we haven’t had time to process the year that has passed, much less reflect on what we really want in the new year. Rather than start off the new year with no resolutions or plans we hastily come up with a laundry list of resolutions that is not grounded in reflection and clarity – and that deep down, we’re really not all that serious about.

No wonder we can’t keep our New year’s resolutions.

I propose a new way of approaching the new year. A kinder, gentler way, if you will. And a much more effective one. And no, it’s not too late to change course and get yourself on track for a great new year.

You can do it in three steps: Take Stock, Get Clear, and Act. These three steps are simple yet powerful. I have seen them bring about amazing results. They are the same three steps that I guide my clients through in the “What’s Next?” coaching program (the new group is forming now and will start in March 2013).

In a nutshell:

1. Take Stock: Look back on 2012 and identify the high points and the low points. When did you feel most happy and fulfilled?  In what moments were you aligned with your core values and playing to your strengths? On the flip side, when were you the most miserable, stressed, or unmotivated?
2. Get Clear: Sift through the information you gleaned from the Take Stock exercise to identify what you really want in 2013.
3. Act: Choose one goal. Design some do-able actions to get you closer to it. Be sure to break down big projects into smaller, discrete tasks that you can get started on right away. Build in accountability.

I’ve designed a self-guided worksheet, Three Steps to a Great New Year, to help you work through this process. It’s a PDF with step-by-step instructions, prompting questions, and space for reflection. Everyone on the Development Crossroads newsletter list will receive it automatically. If you’re not on that list, I’d be happy to send the worksheet to you, too – simply leave your email address in the form below. I’ll also add you to newsletter list, where you can receive goodies like this worksheet, as I develop them, in your inbox.

You’ve been crazy busy this year with challenging work projects, plenty of travel, and family obligations. You’ve barely kept your head above water, so you’ve probably had to say No to certain non-urgent tasks– like keeping in touch with your professional contacts. You know you “should” do this, that it’s good for your career and that you never know when you’ll need to call on your network for help. You feel a bit guilty about losing touch with former colleagues, old bosses, and previous mentors, which makes you procrastinate even more about contacting them.

Well, you’re in luck: the holidays, or the end of the year, give us all a free pass to get back in touch, guilt-free, and no questions asked. It’s customary for many people to send holiday greetings or New Year’s wishes with a brief update. I urge my coaching clients to take advantage of this holiday tradition. If there is someone whom you’d feel a bit sheepish contacting otherwise (“I know you haven’t heard from me in six years, but…”) send them a holiday card or an email.

Make sure your greeting is not generic (I’m always disappointed when a card simply says, “Happy holidays” with a signature and no update or note). Instead, include a paragraph or two about what you are up to (professionally and/or personally, depending on your relationship), share what you are excited about for 2013, and inquire about their latest news.

For those people who are especially important to you and your career, your holiday greeting might even suggest meeting up for a coffee (or having a Skype video chat if they live in another country), in the new year.

And once you’re back on their radar, be sure to keep up the contact. Make a note in your calendar to be in touch about once every 3 months – not with everyone, but with your key contacts.

I am not suggesting that you take on a new, huge and overwhelming task, like writing an elaborate holiday update and mailing hard copies to 300 contacts. If you had not planned to send out holiday greetings this year, simply identify 3 to 5 people whose support, mentorship, or tips you feel would be helpful to have in 2013, and reach out to them.

Keep in mind that if December is too jam-packed with end-of-year work responsibilities and holiday preparations / celebrations, a New Year’s greeting in early January is perfectly acceptable.

There isn’t much anymore that is free about the holidays, so I encourage you to take advantage of this free pass. Happy re-connecting, and happy holidays!

Can you spare 5 minutes a week in order to boost your happiness, improve your relationships, and enhance your health? Then I invite you to join the 5-Minutes-a-Week Gratitude Challenge*.

All you have to do is write down, once a week, what you are thankful for. It doesn’t have to be a long list – up to 5 things. That should take about 5 minutes, don’t you think? Do it each week for 10 weeks. Then report back to share what improvements you have experienced in terms of health, happiness, and relationships.

While it may sound ludicrous that such a simple act could lead to all these positive outcomes, don’t take it from me, take it from the experts. Studies have shown that when people keep a gratitude journal on a weekly basis for a period as short as 10 weeks, they experience remarkable results. Read all about it here.

* Formerly dubbed the “10-Week Gratitude Challenge” I realized that the original name didn’t convey how ridiculously simple this endeavor is. Yes, it takes 10 weeks – but that makes it sound long and laborious. It’s actually only 5 minutes a week of your time, with the potential for important pay-offs in terms of more joy, improved sleep, and progress toward your goals.

Curious? Ready to join? Just let me know that you’re joining the challenge – either via email, in the comments below, or on my Facebook page. Every Friday we’ll start a thread on the Facebook page to share what we’re thankful for and whether we’re noticing any benefits from practicing gratitude.

Photo courtesy of creativedoxphoto / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Do any of these statements apply to you?

• You work in international development & aid, either in the field or at HQ
• You’d like to get better at your job, be happier at work, make a bigger impact
• You sometimes feel isolated or that your colleagues/friends/family don’t really “get” the work you do
• You are curious about coaching but are not ready to hire professional coach to work with you
• You wish your organization offered coaching to people at your level
• You’d like some support in setting and accomplishing professional goals in 2013
• You’d like the chance to discuss career dreams and aspirations with someone in your field
• You’d welcome some troubleshooting around challenges in your current job

If two or more of these sentences are true about you, then the Peer Coaching Pilot Program may be just the thing for you. It’s a no-cost, absolutely free program that I’ve been working on since February (on a pro bono basis) with the thought leaders at whydev.org.

There are 400 slots available in the program, and over 50% have already been taken — in just a couple days since the launch. Click here to sign up for your slot.

If you secure a spot, you’ll be matched with a peer coach somewhere in the world, also someone working in international development & aid, with a similar number of years of professional experience as you. You’ll receive guidelines and support on how to get started, and how to “peer coach” [yes, I’ve made it into a verb] your partner. Through peer coaching sessions via Skype, phone, email, or other, you’ll have a source of support, encouragement, accountability, and challenge.

If you’d like to know a bit more about the program and exactly what peer coaching is, click here.

Please feel free to share with colleagues or networks who may be interested. Again, this pilot is absolutely free, thanks to the support of 76 generous individuals.

If you have any questions, please contact me. I look forward to having some Development Crossroads readers in the new program!

Image courtesy of digitalalert / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Thanksgiving – that most American of holidays – is upon us. And although I have lived outside of my home country of the US for roughly 40% of my life, I still get a hankering for turkey with all the trimmings sometime around the fourth Thursday of November. (Shout out to my Canadian friends who already celebrated their Thanksgiving in October!)

Of course, Thanksgiving is about more than turkey and pumpkin pie. It’s about gratitude. Recently I’ve become intrigued by some fascinating research findings on the benefits of gratitude. It turns out that practicing gratitude has been shown to have all sorts of health benefits. I was surprised to learn that:

• Gratitude can cause you to exercise more. One group of participants in a study was asked to write down things they were grateful for once a week. Another group was asked to write down hassles or annoyances they had encountered. Those in the “gratitude” group spent, on average, 1.5 hours more exercising per week than those in the “hassles group.”
• Gratitude can help you get better sleep. Study participants oriented toward gratitude fell asleep more easily, slept longer, and felt more refreshed upon waking.
• Gratitude can lower your blood pressure. Robert Emmons, professor of psychology at the University of California, Davis and “the world’s leading scientific expert on gratitude” says that people who keep gratitude journals “show a 10 percent drop in blood pressure compared to persons who are not keeping these journals.”

Researchers affirm that gratitude can also boost our mental health and well-being. They found that people who kept notes on what they’re thankful for have reported higher levels of positive emotions, more joy and pleasure, more happiness and optimism. They felt more alert, alive, and awake than others who did not practice gratitude. Notably, people who are focused on things they are thankful for are less depressed and less angry. In fact, researchers have found that gratitude can increase your “set point of happiness” by 25 percent.

Practicing gratitude can also enhance our relationships with other people. For example:

• Gratitude makes you more empathetic and less aggressive.
• Gratitude can provide a “booster shot” for romantic relationships.
• Gratitude can ward off envy. Robert Emmons points out, “You cannot feel envious and grateful at the same time. They’re incompatible feelings. If you’re grateful, you can’t resent someone for having something that you don’t.” His research has suggested that people who have high levels of gratitude have low levels of resentment and envy.

Gratitude can even help you attain your goals. Participants in a study who were asked to keep gratitude lists were more likely than those in control groups “to have made progress toward important personal goals (academic, interpersonal, and health-based) over a two-month period.”

A Simple Way to Tap Into Gratitude’s Benefits

How do you tap into some of these great benefits? It’s simple. At the end of the week, take a moment to think back on the week that has passed, and write down what you’re grateful or thankful for. Write one phrase or sentence per each gratitude, up to five. That’s it! Participants in studies who have done this have reported significant benefits after just ten weeks.

Join the 10-Week Gratitude Challenge

Are you willing to accept a little challenge? Let’s join together in keeping gratitude lists once a week for 10 weeks, and let’s see if we experience any of the benefits I’ve listed above. If we make our first gratitude lists on Friday, November 23 – the day after Thanksgiving – and then continue for 9 more weeks, we will complete the 10th entry on Friday, January 25. Let’s plan to touch base at that point and see if we are healthier and happier.

Let me know in the comments below, or on my Facebook page, if you plan to join the challenge. And feel free to list something you’re thankful for this week!

Photo by woodleywonderworks

“Remember to stay on your own yoga mat,” the yoga instructor said as I, and the members of my yoga class, held the “warrior” pose. “Don’t compare yourself to others. This is your yoga practice, not someone else’s.”

After that comment, I made a concerted effort to avoid sneaking a peek at the super-fit, super-flexible (and of course, drop-dead gorgeous) yogini student to my right. I had a feeling that whatever I saw would cause my jaw to drop in awe and envy (perhaps in a new yoga pose – “Dropped Jaw”?) Instead, I spent the rest of the class dutifully focused on my own positioning, breathing, and intention.

Of course, we can’t go through life studiously ignoring other people who may cause us to “compare and despair.” As we think about our work, our careers, and especially when we grapple with what’s next for us, we can’t help but notice what other people have accomplished, the dream jobs they have landed, the kind of lifestyle they have attained. We may find ourselves feeling envious.

Rather than pretending that envy is an emotion that never afflicts us, I find it’s helpful to make friends with envy. It can be very useful.

What is envy telling you?

Envy usually has a hidden message for us:

• It can be a message about what is lacking in your life, career, or job.
• It can help you discern what you really want.
• It can be a reminder that you are capable of more, better, or different than what you are doing/being right now.

And yet, envy does not tell the whole story. When we envy something that someone else has — be it a job or career path, a house, a relationship, material wealth, a vacation, an award, an adventure  — we are usually fixated on the object of our envy, and not looking at the whole picture of that person’s life. Sure, they have a high-profile job that they’re great at, but do they have a fulfilling personal life, good health, and/or work/life balance? And even when people seem to us to “have it all,” we usually have no idea what is truly going on behind the scenes.

From “compare and despair” to “admire and aspire”

So rather than get caught in a downward spiral of “compare and despair,” I suggest we try to “admire and aspire.” When you see something that someone else possesses or has attained, here are three things you can do:

1. Figure out what it is about the thing that you envy that is so attractive. Get specific. For example, if you envy a former colleague’s promotion, identify what exactly is enviable about it. Is it the prestige of the new position? The higher level of authority to make decisions in the organization? The larger budget? The opportunity to make an impact? The ability to work with a certain type or group of people? The more flexible hours, promising better work/life balance? The salary and benefits package? The travel opportunities? The executive assistant?

2. Having honed in on the specific aspect of what you envy, think about how exactly you would like to have that in your life. Chances are, you don’t want an exact replica of the situation of the person you envy. Adapt that desired element to your own life situation.

3. Ask yourself, “What are some actions I can take to begin to bring this desired thing into my life?” Rather than getting stuck in the feeling of envy, turn that into action. Shift from envy to inspiration. Brainstorm some baby steps that you could actually take this week, and this month, so that you don’t get overwhelmed and see your goal as unattainable. For example: interview the envied individual about how they got to where they are and how they like it; do some Google research on the thing you aspire to; identify what strengths you have that align with your goal.

Photo by Average Jane

It’s okay to dip your toe in the pool, and then decide whether you’d like to dive in.

It’s okay to go on a first date — or 50 dates – before you decide whether you want to marry that person.

It’s okay to test-drive a car before you buy it.

In fact, not only is it “okay” to do all those things, it is recommended!

Because if we don’t test and try first, we may end up in a situation that, ultimately, does not work for us.

Sometimes there is no way of knowing that a path is all wrong, not until we fully experience it. And yet, many times, some testing and trying might have sent us some red flags that this was not the best path for us.

Testing and trying is the missing step in most international development job searches. I see this often in my work as a career coach to international development professionals.

When it comes to our careers, sometimes we just aren’t sure what we really want. We aren’t fully clear on what our strengths are, or what we need to be at our best at work, or what we will not tolerate in a job. And yet, we aren’t patient enough to wait (and struggle) for clarity to come to us. Or the not knowing is too uncomfortable. Or the end date of our job contract is nearing and we are nervous about paying the bills.

So we skim the job listings for openings in aid work, humanitarian assistance, development. We start applying for jobs. Some of them seem pretty interesting, and besides, what can you tell from a job description anyway?

And then we get the first interview, and then the second, and then we start hearing about the compensation package and the travel opportunities…it’s pretty exciting. It’s a confidence boost. And it’s better than not knowing. Better than waiting. So we go for it.

And later – whether it’s weeks or months or years later – we realize that this is not the right place for us.

Could we have saved ourselves some grief if we had tested and tried a bit first, before taking the plunge? I believe so. This is what I help my coaching clients do in the “What’s Next?” process. Once they become clear on what they bring to the table and what is important to them, testing and trying is the next step.

What does testing and trying look like?

The best approach is one that is tailored to your particular situation. However, generally speaking, it may involve something like:

• Having coffee with someone who works in the field/position/organization you are interested in. Asking them a bunch of questions about what they like and dislike about their work, what a typical day is like, what the main challenges are, what the office politics are like, etc. (And if the person you want to meet with is far away from where you are, do it over Skype. Don’t let distance get in the way.)
• Doing other forms of research — Googling counts — to learn as much as you can about your target topic(s).
• Taking on a side project in your current job that will expose you to the new subject matter/role you are contemplating (even if that would be outside your current organization).
• Doing a short-term internship or temporary assignment (TDY) in your proposed new field, organization, or location.
• If you can’t quit your current job to do an internship (and I understand that most mid-career professionals would not be willing to do so), and if a TDY is not practical, consider doing volunteer or pro bono work in your area(s) of interest — after work hours, on the weekends, and/or even on your vacation.
• If you’re considering striking out on your own as a consultant or other self-employed professional, starting up a “side hustle” first, before quitting your job. See if there is a demand for your services, get a few clients in your “spare time,” experience what it’s actually like to do the work as a freelancer.

Basically, it’s dipping your toe in the water, going on a first date with a prospective new job, taking a “test drive” with a new employer.

Reflection required

Reflection is the key ingredient to mix in with any of these forms of testing and trying. Take a step back from the learning and experiencing to ask yourself:

• What is my gut reaction? Am I more excited, interested, and intrigued as a result of testing and trying? Or am I feeling ambivalent, anxious, or dubious?
• How might this play to my strengths?
• How would this type of work fit my personality and temperament, and how might it be a poor fit?
• How would this align with my core values?
• How might this fit with my personal and professional priorities at this stage in my life?

And then keep testing and trying until you are sure this is the “pool” for you. And I will be the first to cheer when you dive in.

P.S. If you’re contemplating a career transition, but feeling stuck, there are two spots left in my upcoming “What’s Next?” online group coaching program. Registration is open until Wednesday, September 12 at 8 pm Eastern time. Click here for more information.