Alison: work that expresses her deepest values

Alison* is an example of someone using a job crisis to spark an extensive look at herself, unearthing patterns of behavior and attitude that had been limiting her possibilities. On the surface, she was a multi-talented young woman whose job history read like a seven-day tour of Europe. She came to coaching because she couldn’t decide whether to take the promotion being offered her, and she was worried about her indecision: "It shouldn’t be this hard!" She was bright, and quick with responses, but the one coaching question that consistently stymied her was, "What do you want?" When she heard herself say, "I don’t know. I feel like a hostage to my talents!", she discovered she had been afraid to make career choices, defaulting to the agendas of others. She had never fully occupied her own house of talents.

With that discovery, she decided to turn down the promotion, give herself three months off, and slowly start a job search in which her feelings and values would direct her decisions. She knew she might face difficult tradeoffs as she explored what was available, so she requested that her coach continue to hold her accountable to herself with questions like, "How will this serve you?" and "What is motivating you here?" To date her search is on-going. She experiences all the highs and lows typical of looking for work, but she is sustained by the certainty that in doing work that truly expresses her deepest values she will be a more creative and productive professional.

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*These stories are composites of many different women’s stories. Actual stories of real clients are held in strictest confidence.

Nina Ham, CPCC, LCSW | Success from the Inside Out
Email Coach Nina | Telephone 510-526-7377
all contents Nina Ham © 2002