Is Your Career in Focus? Coaching and Procrastination

As a career coach, my client’s needs differ, with common themes being career change, professional development coaching and also coaching to become experts in their field. There are always personal coaching techniques built into my sessions, as some clients have road blocks which prevent them from obtaining the results they desire. This is not only common for career coaching, but also within business, sport and life coaching.

Each client I have worked with, will have a “script” which will prevent them from reaching their full potential. A “script” is subconscious internal dialogue or behaviour which prevent a client from moving forward. These beliefs may have started as a young child, or developed through adulthood. For example, a client script may be that they believe they are not confident enough to make a career change or obtain a promotion. My goal is to work on fixing these scripts with my clients once establishing a relationship with them. This can set them up for success, build a defined focus and outcome, and clear their mind from any negative thoughts preventing them from reaching their full potential.

Without focus, it is difficult to get a result. We can use certain coaching techniques to guide our clients on the right path, we can show them a blueprint to get there, but without focus, clarity and a desire to make change happen, our role as a coach will stop there. Within career coaching and specifically for career change clients, usually the client would need to provide the evidence that they must satisfy the requirements of a position to an employer. It is all about “knowing your market” principles. The career change process takes a tremendous amount of focus and dedication as it can propel a client out of their comfort zone. It may mean taking a pay cut or going back to study. Once certain behaviours are embedded, and when making a significant life change, it can cause discomfort and uncertainty. These emotions may cause a client to retreat and go back to what is comfortable for them.

Procrastination can impact our clients’ focus and clarity. But, how do we stop clients from procrastinating when we they are meant to be doing something important and we know that they have certain goals and objectives to achieve? In order to continuously develop ourselves professionally, we need to build momentum and be able to move our clients along to the next stage of possibility.

Procrastination can arise when a client is attempting to do something that they are not clear about, is not right for their skill set or they are too tired to attempt. This is where having focus for the client is crucial to get the results they want. There can also be a lack of alignment with their values, motivations and lifestyle. The impact of lack of focus can include withdrawing from their colleagues or becoming quite negative towards their role/company. This in turn impacts their performance and the cycle begins again, leading to negative effects on general wellbeing.

The two biggest issues in career change coaching are fear of the unknown and lack of confidence in ability. Using the Coaching Focus model can assist clients to work through these problems. The exact technique used will differ depending on the training of the coach and the needs of the client. This technique was taught through my training with Thought Leaders Global.

This coaching model explores 9 areas of the client-

• Vibration
• Feelings
• Actions
• Frequency
• Values
• Conversations
• Resonance
• Beliefs
• Thoughts

The three pillars in the areas surrounding these topics are energy, emotion and mindset. These areas define the coaching focus for a client to explore. Each area can impact the focus of a client, and depending on their needs and resilience levels, be life changing. I use this technique in partnership with affirmations. When affirmations are used consistently, they can change negative thoughts into positive thoughts, and over time, increases confidence which then develops greater focus.

If you wouldn’t do what you are doing for free, then you are on the wrong path

As a career coach, I say to my clients, if you wouldn’t do what you are doing for free, then you are on the wrong path for a fulfilling and rewarding career. This statement often provides a light bulb moment, because often, we get so busy that we don’t focus on what truly makes us happy.

The time and effort that it takes to look into what you would love to do is worth every moment. It is a journey of self-reflection, a time to revisit your values and goals and start fresh. We invest lots of time into our health, fitness and social lives, but our careers and what we truly want sometimes gets forgotten. When a client makes the time to focus on their self, they see a shift towards a more productive and fulfilling career and life.

Goal setting and Focus

I see people wander through their life in a daze hoping for a miracle that one day they will have an “AHA!” moment and that their perfect career or life will miraculously appear in front of them. With each client I emphasize the importance of focus and discovery before their ideal path becomes clear.

To discover what we want, we start by identifying the limiting self-beliefs that are stopping us from reaching success, and create a plan to work towards our goals.

A client, let’s call her “Sarah”, is a clear example of trusting the process, focusing on the bigger picture and following my guidance to get to where she wants to be. Working in food science was a career she thought she always wanted to do. After many years working within food product development, she decided it wasn’t for her and contacted me for help. As we worked together over many months, utilizing the above techniques, finding out her motivations, values and exploring potential pathways, she is now on the road to a new career within nutrition and health and is looking at starting her own business in the future. She is happy, her lifestyle has changed, her relationships are better and she now wakes up every day knowing she is doing what she loves.

It is important to teach our clients to focus on the macro “bigger picture” ideal, rather than get caught up in the micro elements that become obstacles which can get in the way of an ideal result. Goal setting is important but more important is putting these goals into an action plan which accelerates the results. By mapping out a clear path, our clients can see the bigger picture and know the steps required to get there.

Developing the Power of Focus

In order to gain success in elements of our life, we need to be able to focus our mind and calm down its relentless tendency to constantly shift from one subject to another. When working with clients, it is imperative to have a clear mind. We are required to focus on the session and not get distracted by our own day to day thoughts. Every act that we take as coaches needs attention for successful client performance. We are not born with the power of focus. Like a muscle, it needs training to be developed over time.

Concentration exercises like simply by focusing on each task you are doing throughout the day will turn an everyday action into an ability to improve your focus. In this way, you will not only strengthen your focus, but everything you do will be done better, more efficiently and even faster. In time, as your focus becomes stronger, thoughts will lose their power to distract you, and you will find that you can absorb yourself in whatever you do. This will increase your efficiency, improve your performance and allow you to enjoy whatever you do.