PART 2: Finding the strength and courage – a leap of faith toward life fulfillment

Life Coach Tina Woosley overcomes her fear of transition through an approach that can be applied by anyone looking to shift into more meaningful work.

Tina Woosley decided to hold onto her day job despite becoming a life coach after the life-altering wake-up call you read about in Part 1. This decision was made out of loyalty to her employer, one she’d spent nearly three decades of her life working for. But it was also the result of fear, specifically the fear of rocking her personal and professional boat.

This is the point that holds up many new and aspiring coaches – fear of transition. If that’s you, know from the outset: it’s perfectly normal and completely understandable.

Here you’ll find another thing that makes Tina’s story so pertinent. Her approach may represent a preferable segue into a coaching career for many new coaches. That approach being: gain the skills first and, once you begin to see firsthand the results of your good work, confidence in yourself and your abilities will follow.

Tina was searching for a connection to others that was personal, intimate and passionate. Unfortunately, she hadn’t found that in the grocery business. In fact, she was frequently faced with just the opposite.

“As hard as I tried to shine a light, the negativity sapped me,” she says. This despite a wide range of lifelong friendships with fellow employees and a superior level of customer service honed through 28 years and a variety of professional roles within the business.

It’s worth noting at this point that, even though Tina’s employer didn’t recognize the value of her newfound skills, many employers do. This boost to your personal and professional profile can lead you onto one of two paths:

1. Your employer promotes you into a position that enables you to use your new skills, and them to capitalize on your success (win-win!). In this role, you often work with the human side of change, helping people become more effective in their role as a whole person, and creating better workplace environments. These roles are often referred to as “internal coach” or “people developers.” RECOMMENDATION: this scenario can provide opportunities for reward and growth depending on your role. If you love a corporate environment, you’re home!

2. Your employer does NOT promote you, keeping you stuck in the same position for months or even years if you allow it. If they recognize the benefit of your new skills, they know they’re getting a deal by keeping you exactly where you are (sinister!). If they don’t recognize or acknowledge your coaching abilities (often due to a blind adherence to job description), they’re probably not that focused on the happiness and development of their people to begin with. RECOMMENDATION: It may be time to jump.

Start small, then build

Let’s get back to Tina, who is now looking to satisfy her coaching craving and use her newly-acquired skills. Yet she’s still not at the point where she feels comfortable making a clean break with her career of 28 years. So as a compromise, she starts by adding part-time client work onto an already exhaustive schedule, coaching her coworkers after hours.

The work is so energizing, she is gladly willing to forgo a few hours of sleep to finally get the opportunity to do something that truly matters to her. And the fruits of her labor aren’t far behind.

In August 2016, three short months after receiving her coach certification, Tina runs into her favorite coworker who says: “Thanks for coaching me out of here Tina. I just gave my resignation.”

This is followed by another favorite coworker a month later (who has been with the company for 30 years). She turns up in Tina’s office one morning and says: “Tina, your encouragement has given me so much that I’m movin’ out of here. I’m done.”

Change is happening all around Tina. More exciting than anything else, it’s change she has helped facilitate. Her story concludes in Part 3.

More of Tina’s Story

Watch Tina talk about her experience and where she found the strength to keep moving forward, even in the face of uncertainty: https://youtu.be/smqM7jsBVw0.