3D Juggling 471: Seven Years On

Claire writes: "I had coffee last week with John who I had met for a ten minute conversation in 2003 after his job had been made redundant. He wanted to talk then about career change and finding the right fit... or at that stage, any fit. We've exchanged occasional emails and this was an opportunity to talk more.

He was hardly recognisable. The diminished and downtrodden man has transfomed into someone who, two jobs on, is confident and has begun to use skills he didn't know he had. It was a privilege to catch up on some of the missing parts of the story. Seven years ago he had no idea this kind of job existed and he has found something which is for him, truly vocational, working in a public sector organisation and having influence internationally.

For John, what had been important was being clear about skills that would make money and being willing to take a job which used them and provided for his family. And he held the vision. It was the second job which has harnessed his talents and passions.

Are you clear about what your skills are - and what are strengths and what are passions? Is your job harnessing these?'

If you want to explore these more, we are running a one day Masterclass on 5th June in Bletchley for anyone looking at beginning their career, or changing career. It will be a chance to gain clarity around what your vocational job might look like and how to begin to look for it. We've run similar events at One Life and Spring Harvest and this is a chance to invest in yourself for a whole day."

Love this? Do us a favour and send it to five people. Who thinks like you? You could send it to someone who is feeling diminished and downtrodden.

Discuss this week's juggling at http://www.3dcoaching.blogspot.com/


© 2010 3D Coaching Ltd
May be distributed freely. Please retain contact details: www.3dcoaching.com and send a copy/ link to info@3dcoaching.com

Follow us on Twitter 3dclaire
Facebook 3D Coaching

3D Juggling 468: Hole in The Wall

There's still a space on Wednesday's Action Learning Set Facilitator Training Course in London. Call us today on 01462 483798 if you'd like to come. Happy to negotiate on price.

Claire writes: "I was with a group last week talking about finding the right fit job. Too often, I think, we imagine that a new job needs to be either the perfect fit or simply OK because at the moment any job will do.

It may be that finding a job that pays the bills is enough. But if you're going to find a role which can be an opportunity to use your strengths and passions and get paid for it, you may need to find a better fit. Once you've done some work to identify your skills and begun to explore which you are good at, which you are passionate about, and more importantly which are both, then it's time to find what might fit.

So how do we find out what will fit? Remember that the job doesn't have to be an exact fit - in fact that would mean there was no room for you to grow and develop. Your next job needs to be a good enough fit. It's rather like Hole in The Wall, the BBC entertainment show (if you're interested!). when the teams have to move to fit the shape of the hole coming at speed towards them. If they don't adapt to fit through the hole, they get knocked into a swimming pool. If they have to adapt too much, I imagine that it's both painful and unsustainable. On the show, you would not want to have to put your left leg by your right ear to fit. The same is true with a job!

So what is a good enought fit, for you?"

Love this? Do us a favour and send it to five people. Who thinks like you? You could send it to someone who is trying to find the right fit.

Discuss this week's juggling at http://www.3dcoaching.blogspot.com/


© 2010 3D Coaching Ltd
May be distributed freely. Please retain contact details: www.3dcoaching.com and send a copy/ link to info@3dcoaching.com

3D Juggling 454: X Factor

We're about to set dates for Coaching for Excellence in 2010. Do let us know if you're interested in finding out more. Whether you're a beginner or experienced, it's a great way to improve your coaching. Simply and effectively.

Claire writes: 'The X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing on UK TV every weekend have caused more furore this year than ever before. What is talent? Why do the untalented go through and the more talented get voted off by the public? Who are Jedward anyway... you can tell I'm a Strictly fan!

Whatever the talent shows suggest, talent is more than being good at something. I think that to grow our talents we need to be both good at them and passionate about them. We meet plenty of people every week who are good at their jobs - but it doesn't fit them any more because there is simply no passion there. So where are the organisations who will pay us to use our talents? It may be time to start window shopping http://www.3dcoaching.com/php/news.php?id=336&item= . And if an organisation will only pay you to do things which you're good at, and not passionate about, where else can you use your talents? George Lucas said: "Everybody has talent, it's just a matter of moving around until you've discovered what it is." So if you're not sure, start moving - even if that's into using skills in a slightly different way at work, asking your manager if you can get some different experience, or testing out some volunteer work.

Love this? Do us a favour and send it to five people. Who thinks like you? You could send it to someone who needs to start moving

Discuss this week's juggling at http://www.3dcoaching.blogspot.com/


© 2009 3D Coaching Ltd
May be distributed freely. Please retain contact details: www.3dcoaching.com and send a copy/ link to info@3dcoaching.com

Follow us on
Twitter: 3dclaire
Facebook: 3D Coaching

3D Juggling 440: Destinations

Claire writes: 'On our holiday last week with only 20m visibility in the Dorset fog, we had to hold on to the hope that we would end up in Dorchester. And we did! I had been reading 'Woman on the Edge of a Nervous Breakdown' a hysterical novel by Guardian journalist Lorna Martin. The lead character says "If you don't have a destination, you can never fail to get there, but you will end up drifting along forever."

Look around, and those who know what they are working for tend to be much happier and more fulfilled at work than those who don't. Purpose is really important. In his book 'Path to Purpose', academic Patrick Damon's research supports this. He expands to say that purpose also needs to include other people. Which is what Aristotle said all along: where your talents and the needs of the world collide, there lies your vocation.

Where is yours? Or are you still in the fog?

If you would like to talk to someone to help explore what your purpose might be, do email us info@3dcoaching.com

Love this? Do us a favour and send it to five people. Who thinks like you? You could send it to someone who is looking for a purpose.

Discuss this week's juggling at http://www.3dcoaching.blogspot.com/

© 2009 3D Coaching Ltd May be distributed freely. Please retain contact details: www.3dcoaching.com and send a copy/ link to info@3dcoaching.com

This is a great resource with a good book list if you're exploring vocational questions:

http://www.aftersunday.org.uk/vocation