Allow That Challenging Boss to Move Your Career in the Right Direction

A career coach can give you an assessment to help identify both your occupational interests and skills. This will help you get some clarity regarding what kind of a career you might want pursue.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Berryville, Virginia, United States of America (Free-Press-Release.com) March 24, 2011 --By Chris Daniels, Career Coach

Have you ever had a job that would have been perfect if you could just change one thing – perhaps your boss? Just about everyone has had an insufferable boss at some point in their career. Often our reaction is to try to make the best of the situation and tough it out or to be covertly or openly antagonistic. All of these strategies are counterproductive if the goal is to enjoy what you do for a living. Accept and embrace your challenging boss as a part of climbing the career ladder and allow him or her to move you in the right direction.

My experience with a challenging boss was not all bad but it was difficult nonetheless. We did accomplish a lot working together, and she was very talented in many ways. The challenge was that we did not see eye-to-eye when it came to business acumen. In retrospect, perhaps I could have lightened up a little. However, a lot was on the line financially, and I was early in my career as an executive with a lot to prove. The longer we worked together and took on increasingly larger projects the more my anxiety level continued to mount over some of the decisions she was making. It got to the point that I would have a strong physiological reaction every time I saw her. It would be best described as a gut wrenching knot in my stomach that would put me in a funk for the remainder of the day. I even went as far as having my office moved to a smaller space at the opposite corner of our floor, so that I would not see her as often. Fortunately, she travelled a lot, which made the situation tolerable long enough for me to plan and implement an exit strategy.

So, how did I allow this challenging boss to move me in the right direction? I sought out the support of a career coach. My first priority was working with my coach to identify what I wanted to do next. I had no idea! At that point, all I knew was that I wanted to get out of the situation I was in. My career coach gave me an assessment that helped identify both my occupational interests and skills. This helped me get some clarity regarding what kind of a career I might want to transition into, which turned out to be a chief executive officer (CEO). Next, my career coach helped me map out a strategy for making a successful career transition. In my case, this meant going back to school and getting my master’s degree. After completing my degree, I made a successful transition into my new job as the chief executive officer of another organization.

Even though I was well prepared for my new role, working as a CEO is always challenging. Expectations are high when you are “it,” as is the pressure you put on yourself to meet those expectations. This is particularly true if you take on the role because you want to be a different kind of a boss as was the case with me. My goal was to attract the best people and to create a culture in which they would thrive. I was successful in doing so, but not before shepherding the organization through a lot of difficult changes.

What I learned during this transition period is that what they say about it being lonely at the top is very true. As a CEO or any other senior staff member, you want to be a strong leader for those who report to you, which makes you reluctant to share with them the things that keep you awake at night. You also want to handle the details of operating the organization, so your Board of Directors can focus on more important things. Hence, you don’t feel comfortable discussing daily challenges with them either. You also don’t want to discuss them with your loved ones at home because they likely won’t understand and no one wants to take their work home with them anyway. What you need is someone who has worked in a similar setting and understands the pressures that come with the position. That’s where an executive coach comes in. An executive coach can act as a sounding board to help you think through issues in a nonthreatening and confidential setting. An executive coach helped me get through some of the more challenging situations that I faced as a CEO.

If you are unhappy in your current job and feel stuck, you too could benefit from working with a career coach. If you are already in the right position but you could use some support in handling challenges, you could also benefit from working with a career or executive coach. A coach can help you map out strategies for tackling tough issues, including work/life balance concerns.

After having several positive experiences with career and executive coaches, I made a decision to become a coach and provide the kind of support to others that I received during my professional career. When people ask why I am a coach, the answer is simple: “coaching gets results”.

If you are interested in learning how coaching can take your career to the next level, contact Career and Executive Coach Chris Daniels at CoachChris@CoachingGetsResults.com. For additional information, visit www.CoachingGetsResults.com.

More information can be found online at http://www.CoachingGetsResults.com

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