Enable Others to Act

My former colleague Mary left a position in our company over two years ago and she has struggled finding her way since that time. She is an excellent professional but she lacks confidence. She left her position in our company following a difficult year of reporting to a new leader who she did not get along with. Her leader was very dominant and overbearing and that was not a good match for Jenny's very quiet and gentle style. Rather than be terminated she choose to leave the company thus negating her chance to receive unemployment benefits.

Her next position was not a good fit for her either and she ended up leaving that role after just a few months. The position was focused on web based training design and her process and skills did not match up to what the company owner wanted her to be able to provide. Following this her confidence was as low as it could get and she could not see a way for her to grow and find ongoing employment again.

We discussed several options and strategies for her moving forward including career counseling/coaching, looking for full-time permanent work and spending a few months or years working as a consultant. Consulting really seemed like the best option to me - she could target positions that would specifically update her skill set and not have to invest herself as fully as she had done as a full time employee.

We made a list of what she needed to have in a consulting role - the experiences that would update her skills, the type of culture and leadership she knew she could thrive in and what type of business sector she was interested in working within.

She took this list of criteria and she was able to find a consulting role that was a great fit. It was a long commute but when she came back to what she needed to update her skills she decided this position offered her the right opportunity. She performed very well in the role and ended up being extended two times over the course of her contract there.

She now has updated experiences to include on her resume and she has improved her skills in the area of web-based training design and she has a positive reference now as well.