Self-Coaching: 40 Questions That’ll Reveal Your True Career Calling

Are you feeling bored, stuck or frustrated in your current role? The past two years have been unsettling (understatement) and you may feel it’s time for a change. If this is the case, here’s how you can use self-coaching to make the shift into a new future reality. Julia Kerr Henkel, MD of coaching consultancy Lumminos, is here to guide you through it.

The purpose of this self-coaching exercise

• To gain clarity and to set a deliberate intention regarding your plans, actions, hopes, fears, needs and expectations for your future.
• To articulate this for yourself in order to be able to articulate and “sell” it to others with clarity, confidence, conviction and authenticity.
• To set aside conscious time to focus on what you want and need (prioritise your needs first).
• To get focused on a strategy ie: Why? What needs to happen, be actioned, delayed, or re-prioritised.

Ready to set a brand-new intention? Let’s get started…

Set aside a few hours to work through these three categories of questions, imagining these are three different lenses through which you will look to gain a broader perspective.

Read through all questions first and then begin. It’s not about trying to finish all questions in one go; nor is it about getting the answers “right”. It’s about paying attention to what is.

READ MORE: 5 Game-Changing Affirmations For Women In Business

Reflection Questions # 1: 

In terms of my next step/future job/role…

• What’s my why? (Tip – watch TED Talk Simon Sinek’s “How great leaders inspire action”.)
• Why do I do what I do? Write down the first things that come to mind. Do they fill me with a sense of purpose?

• Why is a change necessary or desired?

• What is it that I’m running from?
• How sure am I that it won’t follow me?
• What is it that I’m running towards?
• How sure am I that it will be there when I get to it?
• What is my role in the “problem”? How have I contributed to the way things are?

• What is my high dream (best hopes and expectations)? 

• What do I really want for myself in terms of the kind of role and responsibilities I would like?
• When I think back on my current or previous roles, which activities gave me the most energy, and felt natural and largely effortless?

• What is my low dream (least favourable outcome)? 

• When I think back on my current or previous roles, which activities felt like the most “hard work”?
• Am I closer right now to my high or low dream? What supports this?

• What are the qualities/strengths in me I can recognise as being valuable?

• What skills can I own and bring to the fore?
• Which skills/characteristics do others feed back to me which I can remember to bring to the fore?

Reflection Questions #2: 

In terms of my future job/role…

• Who else is involved (significant others)? How might they be impacted, positively or otherwise?
• What kind of professional culture do I want to work in? What would it feel like? What would I see and hear people doing or not doing?
• What kind of boss do I want to report into, if at all? 
• What kind and size of team do I want to manage or lead, if at all?
• What kind of team do I want to work and partner with?
• What is my hope in terms of the quality of culture i.e.: relationships and values this new organisation will offer?
• Who else needs to be part of this decision? How will I involve them?
• What support is available to me?
• What kind of support do I need? How will I go about getting this?
• What networks do I belong to? How am I connecting and reaching out to them?

READ MORE: This 5-Day Manifestation Challenge Will Help You To Actually Live The Life You Dream About

Reflection Questions #3: 

• What are my financial realities and commitments for the next 3, 6 and 12 months?
• Have I got savings/investments to draw on if necessary – for how long? Have I drawn up a budget of likely costs and expenses?
• How much would I like and need to earn after tax? 
• What industry/sector might it be in?
• What kinds of products and services might it sell/offer?
• What might its overall vision, strategy and structure be?
• Where do I hope to be physically located in this new role?
• How far am I prepared to travel/commute?
• What kind/type of projects do I want to be involved in? 
• What further information do I need? Where will I get this from?

Consider these options

Transitions involve three distinct phases: letting go (endings), navigating (the “in-between/disorientating” space) and new beginnings…

• In order to begin this transition, what do I need to start letting go of now?
• What do I want to carry forward into my next phase?
• How will I prepare myself to enter this next phase?