My client, a director in her organisation, felt overlooked in strategy-level conversations.
In spite of her seniority and 25 yr career, she felt invisible. Her confidence was eroding.
In our 1st session she mentioned, in passing, an opportunity: a well-respected organisation was seeking a Board Chair – a role all about strategy. She had the right background but, she shrugged, the deadline was Sunday and there wasn’t time to apply. We were talking on the Friday.
How long do you need? I asked
4 hours, she said. I don’t want to sell myself short. But I don’t have 4 hours, I’ve other deadlines, and my teenagers need my time this weekend.
If you were the recruiter, I asked, and someone with a career like yours applied, would you want to meet them?
Yes I would, she said. It’s not easy to find good people.
Noticing a more confident tone, I asked: What if you didn’t write an amazing application, just an OK one? Enough to show your career – how long would you need?
She thought for a minute. Maybe 2 hours. Actually I could probably find 2 hours this evening…
You can guess what happened next. That evening she wrote the application – not a work of art, but good enough – and they asked her for interview. We had a coaching session before it. Then they appointed her as Chair. We had a session for the first Board meeting too.
Importantly, her self-esteem grew. A few weeks later, she was head-hunted by a competitor organisation for a director role. She accepted but with a condition – she’d need a voice in organisation’s strategy discussions. They agreed enthusiastically!
Furthermore, the organisation that she left offered her roles on various committees to persuade her to stay. Unconvinced, she said no – which made her feel even more empowered.
My reflections from this:
• For a person wanting to change their situation, actions build confidence, and confidence can be transformative. Consider barriers you may be imposing on yourself, like my client needing 4 hours to write a strong application when an OK one was good enough. The adage, 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥, might apply here.
• For me, the coach, a reminder that a throwaway remark can open doors to revealing thought processes. My client had clocked an opportunity and almost dismissed it. Almost, but not entirely. When she mentioned it, it seemed significant so I presented it back to her.
• For the old employer – they lost someone good! It probably cost thousands to fill the vacancy. If 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘥 provided the coaching she would have felt valued and her growth in confidence would have brought convincing return on investment.
• For everyone: a coaching conversation can enable you to reveal to yourself a path for doing the things you are struggling to figure out.