What does the expression your ‘true North’ mean?
‘True North’ is like an inner compass. It helps you to direct your decision making, to make the right decision for you, not the wrong decision for you. A compass naturally points to the North Pole.
‘True North’ is a metaphor for staying aligned with what is most important to you, not what is important to others. This isn’t selfish, it is wise.
People often describe themselves as ‘having fallen into’ their original career. They use the phrase ‘I find myself….’
Often my career coaching clients chose their career because their parents thought it was a good idea, or their teacher at school, or they followed in their parents’ footsteps. All had inadequate careers advice, both at school and at University.
How does Energise career coaching help you find your ‘true North’?
I get my career coaching clients to do deep thinking and reflection using a combination of creative, analytical and experiential career coaching exercises.
Together we explore their:
- Purpose
- Values – what is important to them
- What motivates them
- Their career needs (must have) and wants (nice to have)
- Their ‘no nos’ – what they don’t want
- What environment they thrive in
- Beliefs
And much more.
The outcome is that they find their ‘true North’ and then make a career change informed by insight resulting in a role and career that fits them perfectly.
Benefits of finding your ‘true North’
- More fulfilment at work
- Greater happiness
- Inner peace
- Less stress
- Saying no with inner conviction
- Reduced risk of ‘career potholes’
- Better decision making
- Clarity of direction
- Less likely to be pushed around by other people’s agendas
- Getting back on track quickly after external ‘storms’ – regardless of external pressures
- Increased confidence
- Greater self-expression from a natural place – their ‘true North’
- Actions with consistency and integrity
- Greater self-awareness
Examples
Me – I remember working in Marketing and whenever I thought about becoming a Marketing Director, I just couldn’t picture myself doing this role. It didn’t feel right. It didn’t appeal.
This was the point in my career when I switched to the agency/consultancy side as a strategist/brand planner, which was much more ‘me’. It appealed because it was about insights and you had lots of variety, rather than just working on one brand as I had when I worked in marketing. Variety is one of my values which is why I have chosen to have a portfolio career. Newness is another.
I interviewed some professionals for a chapter I wrote recently, and I thought this comment was ‘spot on’.
“I wish I hadn’t compared myself so much to others and had focused more on my own path. Early in my career, I often measured my progress against where my peers were, which sometimes created unnecessary pressure. Over time, I’ve learned that everyone’s journey is different, and success doesn’t follow a single timeline. The moments when I trusted my instincts and followed my own direction have been the most rewarding, both professionally and personally.”
Some of the career changes we have helped our clients to make
• From project management to running cheese holidays in France
• From human rights lawyer to dance therapist
• From educational lawyer to CEO of an orchestra
• From account manager to photographer
• From business development to setting up a charity
• From commercial lawyer to therapist
Are you following your ‘true North’?
7 self-reflective questions
Bill George wrote a book in 2007, ‘True North’ about authentic leadership.
These questions below are adapted from his book.
- What do I want my legacy to be?
- If money was no object, how would I spend my time?
- My life is a quest for …….
- What is my biggest regret? If I could ‘rewind the clock’, what would I change?
- What skills or qualities do people compliment me on?
- Imagine it is 20 years into the future, what is the one thing if I never pursued it, it would be a lifelong regret?
- What is my purpose?