Shifting dreams and time to leap (My career change announcement)
I am a dreamer and planner; and I fill my work days supporting people to dream and by helping them with their plans to put those dreams into place. I am also a realist and am learning more and more that we can plan but often things will never go quite as we think particularly in our life’s work.
Last spring, a few events took place that made me begin to examine what I thought I wanted. The internal change started very small and slowly – what I valued in my life and my work had started to shift. I wanted to have freedom to be with my family but found being self employed had me working many evenings, early mornings and weekends. I began to fatigue creatively. Then I attended a Women in Leadership lunch in December and it forced me to examine what I thought about transformational leadership, who I wanted to be at the table with and who I wanted to be in the world. As I set my goals and intentions in January, things began to slowly rise to the surface. I wanted to step up and step out and use my skills to lead in a new way. I wanted to focus my energy into one channel as opposed to the multiple streams of business I had created.
One of my favourite books is the Alchemist. It’s author, Paulo Coelho, says, “There is one great truth on this planet: whoever you are, or whatever it is that you do, when you really want something, it's because that desire originated in the soul of the universe.... The soul of the world is nourished by people's happiness.”
He thereafter adds, “When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”
Over the last few days I have been offered an opportunity – my response was a resounding YES! So, as of April 3, I will be moving into VP Operations with WCG Services. WCG offers employment and vocational rehabilitation services across Canada. This new position aligns with my desire to continue to do great work in supporting people to find and maintain meaningful employment and lead with a team who shares my values of transparency, creativity and a commitment to respect and compassion.
As with most major changes we make, on the heels of the heady excitement about my new work came sadness for what I will putting aside: my flourishing independent consulting business. I have been successfully self-employed for five years and cherish all the relationships and every opportunity that has come my way. It has been my dream come true. It’s just that now my dreams have shifted a bit and it’s time for me to leap (good practice for someone who makes a living encouraging others to do the same).
And so now it’s about where I am going and not where I have been, and where I am going is into a bright future with WCG. I will be suspending all other work and taking a blogging break while I settle into my new reality.
Eventually I will return and plan to pick up my blog and continue posting on brave work, leadership and all good work such as that.
Until then,
Jocelin