Is this a dance (it is in fact the quickstep) or is it a familiar dance that those in a recruitment and selection process are finding themselves in? As a career transition coach so many people are sharing their horror stories around badly run recruitment processes. 

If you’ve been leading people for any length of time, you’ve probably encountered this situation: someone on your team is clearly overwhelmed. They’re working too hard, taking on too much, and showing signs of strain but they keep saying yes, and you keep benefiting from it.

Maybe you’ve noticed it and felt uneasy. Maybe you haven’t noticed it yet, because they’re very good at not letting it show.

Setting boundaries for me has been a work in progress that has taken place over many years.  After a lengthy corporate career I was far more skilled in how to work hard, be helpful, say yes, and not make things difficult. The Covid months made it easier to forget my personal boundaries as I was working from home all the time and had nowhere else to be. It was easy to fill my hours with calls.  Calls at 10.30pm or at 6.00am were easier to accommodate and I was used to being accommodating.  Then I set up my own business and realised that the boundaries were all mine to set. 

Purpose has always been central to how I approach life and work.

For those who know me well (and for those who have worked with me) that probably won’t come as a surprise. It is one of the core beliefs written on my own purpose on a page, something I return to often and which forms the foundation of the way I live and work.

When I work with clients who are navigating a career transition, establishing their personal purpose is often one of the most powerful places to begin.