“What am I good at?”
This question is most frequently asked during my coaching sessions by people who find themselves in a moment of career crisis or career shift. With their well-crafted CVs glowing with impressive experience, many individuals feel the need to guide their career steps based on their feelings, not only on what their CV shows they are good at. There is nothing wrong to this approach, although it makes the journey to the solution more complex.
I have found myself in the situation of my clients several times so far during my career and I can relate to their struggles.
I had my first career mentor in my late twenties. I was already an entrepreneur for about eight years, but I had a strong feeling I was missing out by not having a corporate job experience. My business was doing well and growing organically, but not towards a size that could bring me the perspective of big teams culture. My first skills assessment confirmed my entrepreneurial personality, but I was so used to this kind of result that I could not see the sparkle in it anymore.
My mentor explained to me how valuable my skills were, especially related to my age, but I could find no excitement. He insisted that solution focused behavior, critical thinking, and structured mindset were skills that had contributed to my success so far. I believed him, but I could not feel any emotion. I did not know how to explain what I was looking for, but I was searching for the overlap between what I was good at and what I would love to do; this was a fact unknown to everyone, me included. I was hoping for an answer from the inside by asking a question from the outside.
The whole process transformed for me when I understood that I was in search of something beyond just a career. I was searching for something deep and meaningful in my occupation, not in search of my strengths as a professional. It is true that they are connected, but the connection makes sense later.
“What is meaningful work for me?”
I used many methods to bring some clarity into this process. I started with what brings me joy from what I do, then what is non-negotiable in terms of “must-have” in my next venture, then what I want my professional legacy to be.
During my process, I structured my insights into four pillars. These have become my easy check for any activity I do to analyze and recognize its contribution to a meaningful career to me.
- Intellectual Challenge. I love doing what I am already good at. What increases my excitement is to discover new things and face unexpected situations that improve my skills and help me develop intellectually.
- Multidimensional Growth. I love growing professionally, but I want to bloom as an individual and as a woman as well. What helps me progress in my career has to also provide me space for a lifestyle that allows for inner growth. For me, this refers to quality relationships with both others and myself, balanced lifestyle, including wellbeing activities like time in nature and time to workout, and finally, time for introspective questions and meaningful conversations.
- Education. This works both ways: my own education as a lifelong learner as well as my contribution to the education of others, mostly informal programs. I love being a learning facilitator through the events I create in my mastermind groups, programs for women, or my coaching sessions.
- Being Surrounded by Inspirational People. Inspiration fuels me into action and I get it the most from peers I appreciate. For me, growth happens through experiences where other people mirror parts of myself that I don’t see otherwise.
Clarifying and applying these four pillars helps me make decisions more efficiently. Before, I used to start projects based on only my strengths and expertise, hoping they would also bring me fulfillment together with my results. Now, I start the other way around: I check if a project brings meaning by touching all or as many points as possible from my four pillars. After I make the decision, I go all in using my experience and skills to make it happen.
What I am good at and what is meaningful work for me are still very relevant questions in my work today. The only difference from my own process is that I would make sure I always start with the tasks related to meaning. I also believe that magic happens when I consciously use my strengths and my experience to bring more meaning into my work, both for myself and for others.
How do you feel about the process of using your skills to bring more meaning into the work you do?