Over the past few weeks, we've explored some important career and life questions.
We've reflected on why success can stop feeling like success, why changing jobs isn't always the answer and how our careers are often shaped by a series of sensible decisions that gradually become our default path. If you've recognised yourself anywhere in those conversations, then you've already taken an important first step. You've paused long enough to pay attention.
For me, that's where every meaningful career conversation begins.
One of the greatest privileges of my work is walking alongside people as they think differently about their careers. Sometimes they arrive wanting help to find a new role. Sometimes they're considering a complete career change. Others simply know that something isn't quite right but can't yet explain why.
While every story is different, I've noticed one thing they all have in common.
Very few people have ever been taught how to think intentionally about their career.
We're taught how to write a cv (maybe), prepare for interviews, negotiate salaries and build technical expertise. We're encouraged to work hard, seize opportunities and keep progressing. They're all valuable skills, but they're not the same as intentionally designing a career.
As a result, many people spend decades building successful careers without ever stepping back to ask a simple question: Is my career still supporting the life I want to live?
I don't ask that question because I believe everyone needs to change jobs. Quite the opposite. Some people discover they are exactly where they need to be. Others realise that small changes in the way they work, the conversations they have or the boundaries they set create the shift they've been looking for. And for some, the answer is a bigger career move.
The important point is that the decision is made consciously.
I've often thought about the way we approach other important areas of our lives. We regularly review our finances, our relationships and our health. We adjust our plans as our circumstances change because we understand that life doesn't stand still.
Yet many people spend years, even decades, following a career path they haven't consciously reviewed for a very long time.
Perhaps that's because careers have a way of gathering momentum. Opportunities arise, responsibilities increase and before we know it we're moving forward simply because that's what we've always done. Momentum isn't necessarily a bad thing, but when it replaces intention we risk building a career by default rather than by design.
That idea has stayed with me throughout my own career and throughout the years I've spent coaching leaders and professionals. It has shaped the conversations I've had, the questions I've asked and ultimately, the reason I decided to write my next book.
I didn't write it because I believe everyone needs a dramatic career change.
I wrote it because I believe every person deserves to have a career they've chosen with intention.
A career that reflects who they are today.
A career that supports the life they want to create.
A career that continues to evolve as they do.
Over the past four weeks, I've invited you to pause, reflect and perhaps ask yourself some different questions. If those questions have sparked something in you, then I hope you'll continue with me.
Very soon, I'll be sharing the book that brings together everything I've learnt from years of coaching, my own career journey and the countless conversations I've had with people who wanted more than success alone. They wanted work that felt aligned, meaningful and sustainable.
I can't wait to share it with you.
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Reflect
I'd like to leave you with one more question.
If you were designing your career today, knowing everything you've learnt about yourself over the years, what would you choose to keep, and what might you choose differently?
Sometimes a more fulfilling career begins with nothing more than giving yourself permission to ask a better question.