by admin | Feb 4, 2019 | career change, Coaching
According to Gallup and their ‘State of the Global Workplace’ report, 85% of employees are not engaged, or are actively disengaged, at work. SAD (Seasonal affective disorder) particularly affects people at this time of the year (with 1 in 15 people affected between September to April*).
Whatever the reasons, feeling disengaged at work (losing your mojo) brings with it feelings of lethargy, and a ‘can’t be bothered’ attitude to work. In fact, all you want to do is stay at home in bed, with the duvet pulled over your head, or throw a sickie.
So, when it feels like everyday is a slog and the world is getting you down, here are some simple steps to getting yourself back on track, and to ‘Reclaiming Your Mojo’:
1) Make a list of the things you like/love to do outside of work – We all need things to look forward to, so make sure you fill your diary with plenty of ‘twinkly’ moments; a weekend break away every 3 months, tickets to the theatre or a night out at your favourite restaurant.
2) Make a playlist of songs you love to sing or can’t help but dance to– Research shows that the fastest way to change our emotional state is by listening to music that puts you in a good ‘space’ so, put some on, turn it up loud and dance like no one is watching!
3) Create a vision board – Get a load of magazines, put your playlist on, grab a glass of veg juice/prosecco (whichever you prefer) and create a vision of what you would love in your life right now, however wild. Pull out gorgeous images and uplifting, inspirational words, put them on your vision board then place the board somewhere you will see it (and be inspired by it) every day.
4) Connect. Put your phone/iPad down, turn the TV off and be around people – As human beings we are meant to connect with others, not be alone or isolated in our own world all of the time. It is important to talk to others, to interact, to laugh, to enjoy being in the company of friends or family. After all, they can be a great source of inspiration and motivation when we’re feeling less than radiant.
5) Exercise – I always thought you needed to feel energetic in order to do exercise. Turns out it’s the other way around! – Aerobic exercise (a fast walk, running, cycling, dancing, sport) is brilliant for destressing and clearing the mind. Serotonin floods the body with ‘happy hormones’, cheering you up and giving you the energy to get your Mojo back.
Here’s a 6th one just because I like to give added value…think about the vision you have for your career (maybe you have one maybe you don’t)– Have a bit of fun and write (with no limitations!) a 5 year plan. Then work it back to a 3 year plan, then to one year. Can you see this being a possibility, where you are currently? Make a list of things that need to happen to reach your one year plan, and see how your current environment shapes up – if it doesn’t then it’s time to make some changes.
*Source www.mentalhealth.org.uk
Nicola Lyle is the Managing Director of Fired Up Careers and an Executive Coach & Leadership Trainer. She started her career in the drinks industry where she worked for over 15 years in sales and customer marketing. She has been a qualified and practicing coach since 2005, was a trainer for the Ministry of Defence for 3 years in Germany and currently works as a leadership and management trainer working with Executives in a wide range of industries.
Nicola is hugely passionate about helping people to have the career that fulfils and empowers them to live their best life. She offers Executive coaching, group coaching programmes and occasional retreats. Just drop her a line, she’d love to help you get your career on track.
You can contact her at Nicola@firedupcoaching.org or find Fired Up Careers on Instagram or take a look at www.firedupcareers.org
by admin | Jul 26, 2018 | career change
I was 39, I’d had a little girl and then we’d been living in Germany for 6 years with my husbands job, now we were back in the UK and it was time to re-start my career.
During those 6 years I’d had a coaching practice and lovely clients that had moved with me as we’d gone from Germany to the UK and back to another part of Germany, but with the 2nd move back to Germany I’d decided to park my business. It felt too much moving it all of the time and I had this need to be around people more on a daily basis, so I was a trainer for the MOD for a few years and worked in the leadership team of a school for a short while.
What wasn’t happening for me as a 39 year old woman, was a sense of identity, of understanding who I was anymore and what I had to offer (even Career Coaches have their off days!). All I knew when we landed back in the UK was I needed my independence again. I wanted to work in an office with other people, where I didn’t need to think about house stuff and I wanted a sense of having a traditional career that was going somewhere. Basically I wanted to feel like my best career years weren’t behind me.
So what did I have to offer I wondered. Well before becoming a mummy and then Germany I had worked in the drinks industry in Customer Marketing, and I was very experienced. However I’d now had a break of 7 years from the UK workplace and I didn’t really know how to position myself. Plus, I was a year off 40 and that had to matter, would they even want me in the drinks industry at that age I wondered.
I decided to hedge my bets and apply for a role at the same level at which I’d left, maybe even slightly lower. Luckily for me, the guy who was supposed to be interviewing me on the day was sick and his boss saw me instead. After reading my CV he asked me why I was applying for a job at this level, I was honest and told him I hadn’t known how to pitch myself. He asked me to go away and consider a more senior role he had coming up and a month or so later, I started.
Without realising it, my confidence in my abilities in corporate life had hit the floor. I couldn’t tell you when it happened, it just did and I don’t think it took very long either. My sense of identity was shot. I remember waiting to go in for the interview and watching all these beautiful people waft by in their trendy clothes….when I lived there German fashion was slightly dated…..I felt out of step, old fashioned and when I took the job, I then wondered whether I was out of my depth. Imagine the changes in technology in 7 years, there’d been a few. And yes of course I’d used computers in the interim but not to the same level as was expected at work.
If I’d stopped and thought about all or any of these things that were bothering me – the lack of confidence, unclear on my direction, skill fade, feeling out of place, not sure I looked the part – I’m not sure I’d have made it out of the door to the interview. But I did and one thing I can tell you, is that all of these concerns fade, as quickly as they come they go when you’re taking action.
My first month was a massive learning curve where I was adapting at work, but also at home. I just couldn’t do everything I’d done before now I had a full time job, so some changes had to be made and that was difficult for everyone, my 6 year old and husband included. Was it wrong, selfish of me to want this job? I don’t think so. It was my route back to myself and I grabbed it like a lifeline.
Within 5 months I’d been promoted and given a permanent role to lead the team, and with my confidence back in full flow I knew I deserved it and was capable of doing it too.
So if you find yourself in that space where you’ve had a significant career break, what are my tips to you?
- Write down everything you’ve done or achieved, including things outside of work. Put it up on the wall at home where you see it everyday and make yourself look at it to remind you of how capable you are
- Hire a coach to support and guide you in understanding the right type of work for you, don’t waste time flitting from one job to the next
- Have your CV updated by a professional
- See a clothes stylist if you can to update your wardrobe, John Lewis have personal stylists you can book. If you look the part you’ll feel the part
- Have your hair and make up refreshed
- Get your family on board in reassigning responsibilities around the home, before you start the job!
- Concentrate on what you can do, what you’re good at in interviews
- Believe in yourself
Good Luck! If you need any help getting your career back on track, drop me a line, I’d love to help you.
Nicola Lyle is the Managing Director of Fired Up Careers and an Executive Coach & Leadership Trainer. She started her career in the drinks industry where she worked for over 15 years in sales and customer marketing. She has been a qualified and practicing coach since 2005 and was a trainer for the Ministry of Defence for 3 years in Germany.
Nicola is hugely passionate about helping people to have the career that fulfils and empowers them to live their best life. She offers Leadership Training & Executive Career Coaching, plus occasional retreats. Just drop her a line, she’d love to help you get your career on track.
You can contact her at Nicola@firedupcoaching.org, or find Fired Up Careers on Instagram as firedupcareers or take a look at www.firedupcareers.org
by admin | Apr 20, 2018 | career change
Deciding on a career change is a big decision and it takes time too as these things don’t happen overnight, especially if you want to do it properly. Getting support to ensure you’re making the right move might seem a bit indulgent and you might find yourself thinking ‘I can do this myself, how difficult can it be?’. Well yes you can do it on your own, though you might find yourself making a move now and then another and another, because you still don’t feel you’ve hit on the right career for you. So here are 13 reasons I believe you should work out the right career for you, with me.
1.You’ll Have A Map
Rather than drifting from one career to another, willy nilly, you’ll know why you are where you are, and how it does or doesn’t fit into your career plan.
2. You’ll Feel Aligned
The role you’re doing will feel right. You’ll get up in the morning, go to work and feel like you’re in the right place for you.
3. You’ll Know Yourself So Much Better
How often do we take the time to think about what we like, what we don’t like, what lights us up and what we want in our future? Defining your dream career will give you the time and space to think about this.
4. Your Confidence Will Sky Rocket
Simply by taking the time to get to know yourself better and what you want, your confidence will soar, especially as you start taking action and doing what you are committed to do.
5. You’ll Have A Renewed Vigour For Life
Don’t ask me why or how, this just happens when people take the course and get clear on what they want in life and where they’re going. They start getting Fired Up in all areas of their life!
6. You’ll Be More Organised
With a plan to work to you know what you have to do and when, and even better you’re motivated to actually do it! By the end of the programme you will be raring to go.
7. You Become Uber Focussed
All other distractions simply fade away. No more pursueing 2/3/4 potential ideas. You know what matters and what you need to focus on, everything else is just noise.
8. You Might Feel A Teensy Bit Smug
You’ve done the work, you know what you’re doing and where you’re going, this suddenly makes you very aware of how scattered others are around you, or how they’re just drifting…..
9. You Feel Fulfilled
This feels great, finally you’re working towards doing a job you have set out to do, one you know hits all the right points for you (location, type of work, environment, even what you want to wear to work!) and it feels good.
10. You Feel Your Career Is Going Somewhere
At last. No more feelings of drifting or just going through the motions in a job you hate. You have a purpose and a plan, and you’re on the right track.
11. You Might Feel Annoyed With Yourself
Sometimes clients Define Their Dream Career and the career that comes up for them is the one they were dreaming of 10 years ago. Does this mean the programme was wrong? No. It means you’ve wasted a lot of time. Realising this can be annoying and frustrating.
12. You Have Support
This isn’t you at home, alone, trawling through the job ads, desperately looking for something, anything, to inspire you. You have me, your coach, supporting and guiding you through the process. I’ve got your back and I’m going to do my best to help you find the career to light you up.
13. It’s Fun
Yes, honestly. You really will enjoy Defining Your Dream Career. Whether you go through the programme 1-1 or in a group you will enjoy the process and look forward to your next session, everyone does.
If you would like to know when the next Define Your Dream Career Programme is taking place you can email Nicola@firedupcoaching.org
Nicola Lyle is an Executive Coach & Career Strategist. She started her career in the drinks industry where she worked for over 15 years in sales and customer marketing. She has been a qualified and practicing coach since 2005, was a trainer for the Ministry of Defence for 3 years in Germany and currently works as a leadership and management trainer working with Executives in a wide range of industries.
Nicola is hugely passionate about helping people to have the career that fulfils and empowers them to live their best life. She offers Executive coaching, group coaching programmes and occasional retreats. Just drop her a line, she’d love to help you get your career on track.
You can contact her at Nicola@firedupcoaching.org, find her on Instagram as firedupcoaching or take a look at www.firedupcoaching.org
by admin | Aug 29, 2017 | career change
It’s a given that every business needs to have a strong brand in order to be recognised and identified as quickly as possible, wherever they may be seen around the world. But did you realise it’s just as important for you to have a strong personal brand too in your own right?
Why?
- To help you stand out in the crowd – does anyone want to be that person whose name other people can’t remember? If you want to stand out professionally people need to bring you to mind easily, for whatever reason that may be (more on that below)
- To build your network – having a strong brand will help you to develop both a professional and personal network
- To give colleagues a deeper insight into you personally and professionally
So how do you go about creating your own brand?
First things first, you have to actually think of yourself as a brand and consider if you are a brand, what message do you want to send out today and any other day? Is it professional, creative, relaxed, for people to think of you as an expert in your field or is it for how you dress (Lady Gaga…)?
Try googling yourself and see what comes up. Is it pictures of you on Facebook out with your friends on Saturday night? And if so are you happy for people to see you in this way? Remember, whatever you put on social media can be accessed by anyone, anywhere.
Just as you may want to be known for being an expert in a particular area, think about what value you provide for others. What can you give your colleagues that is unique to you? It might be as simple as delivering reports a day earlier than agreed; always giving more on delivery of projects or even the smile you greet everyone with. This isn’t about being too helpful, it’s about giving others more than they expect from you and becoming known for this.
Think about what you say and how you say it – it all matters and is noted by others.
Did you know who you spend time with impacts on how people perceive you? Jim Rohn said ‘You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with’. Think about that. Who do you spend your time with and what impression might that give other people of you, and more importantly does that tie in with the brand you want to portray?
And finally, what’s your story? Everyone has a story and a strong story equals a strong brand (think Richard Branson, Oprah Winfrey), what does your story say about you?
Let’s go back to the beginning, if you want to stand out in a crowd you need to be known for being you, so grab yourself a piece of paper and start writing down your vision of how you want others to see you…. then take it from there.
by admin | Aug 27, 2017 | career change
I know all about Reinvention. I’m a military wife with a fair few house moves under my belt, two stints in Germany and a return to the UK job market having been away for around 7 years.
Every time we moved I’d take a look at my current job and think can I take it with me, and do I even want to?
My main career has been in the drinks industry in Customer Marketing, but that’s only part of the picture. Clearly, at some point, I retrained as a Career Coach. I can’t believe over 10 years have passed since that time when I was feeling disillusioned with my chosen career and consciously chose another path – I remember feeling excited and optimistic about the future and the opportunities ahead. Then came our first move abroad and I thought well I can’t take my regular, known career with me because I don’t speak German and I have a new baby, so I’ll use this as an opportunity to get my coaching business off the ground, which I did.
Now if you’d asked me if I thought I could have a business in Germany coaching expats I’d have said no way. But I did and it’s incredible how resourceful we can be when required.
Two years in meant another move back to the UK, to a town I’d never lived in before and having unpacked the boxes, a phone call to say we were going back abroad again – so no time to get settled into a new career. I’d brought my coaching clients back to the UK with me but there was no time to settle into any other regular work so I used this time to train as a consultant delivering back to work courses for the MOD. When we returned to Germany I was able to use this and continue working.
The biggest challenge for me was eventually returning to the UK job market to a role I’d previously known well but had been away from for 7 years. I still had to reinvent myself even though I knew the market and the role. I had to take on the persona of someone who was confident in their role, update my pc skills, learn about social media, get back up to scratch on movements within the industry, adjust my mindset back into full time work and the self organisation required when you have a small child and husband dipping in and out of the country at short notice. But I did. And that is the point about Reinvention.
We can all do it, nothing is impossible.
However it’s all about mindset. If you think about it too much, the implications/hurdles, the hoops you might have to jump through, the size of the job at hand, the arrangements that will need to be made, well yes you might just stumble. It might make you pause and think have I really got it in me to start this business or to join this company or to change career entirely. It might all feel a bit too much for you. Before you know it your Gremlin will have come up with a thousand and one reasons why you should probably just sit tight and carry on doing what you’ve always done, or better yet just put it off for another couple of years.
In other words it will keep you small.
And here is the beauty in Reinvention. Every time you plunge into that business idea or strive for the next rung on the ladder or move countries or even change career entirely you become MORE adaptable, MORE resourceful, MORE confident, MORE able, MORE resilient, MORE attractive to employers, friends and partners and MORE skilled. You simply become MORE than you already are. Because you are actually doing it.
While others around you are still thinking about their dreams, you’re reinventing yourself and making it happen, just getting on and doing it.
Don’t be the person sat thinking about who you could be, be the person making it happen.
Don’t over think it, just take the first step, one today and another tomorrow and another the day after.
And when you’ve done it, reflect on the journey you’ve taken and give yourself a pat on the back, you’ve just Reinvented Yourself and you are MORE Today than you were yesterday.
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore. Dream. Discover.
Mark Twain
If you’re ready to Reinvent yourself, contact Fired Up Coaching on 07876 594991 or email Nicola@firedupcoaching.org
