Few years ago, I was having a career breakdown but no one knew, no one saw, no one understood. Let me take you back there.
When I first joined that company, I loved it. I genuinely enjoyed every part of my training over there. Every single part.
I got to learn things I'd never learned before. I learned Excel, something I'd been missing my whole life. and I learned how to code, something I'm using everyday now. I loved it so much. And then I landed in a role that I also really, really loved.
I worked in sprints. Every now and then I'd manage to lock in for four hours straight, knock out all my work for the week. And then the rest of the week? I'd just mess around, do nothing, enjoy my time (my working style).
I did some great work. My manager loved me. They wanted to promote me into a leadership position after just three months in that junior role. I was really young, and they were seriously considering it, they kept bringing it up here and there. And indeed, it did happen after six months. Which was very, very fast. That almost never happened in my department.
So here I was, on the leadership track. It was another six months of intensive training. And then I landed in one of the most prestigious roles in the entire department. Super desirable. One of the best positions you could get. Like, really.
Everybody wanted that role, and I got it.
BUT
it was in a completely different division. Doing completely different things from what I was strong at. A whole other world. Truly something else entirely. No more code.. now it was all about research. Different people. Team members with a completely different personality type than what I was used to.
The role was prestigious. It was desirable. And they even set me up with a long handover with the guy I was replacing. That guy I was replacing.. he was considered the best person ever in that role. Every single person I talked to during the handover told me the same thing: "Wow, you're stepping into some big shoes."
And that's exactly how I felt.
It added so much pressure. On top of that, I was a very young leader, and my team members were way more experienced than me. More senior. They'd been on the team much longer — both in this specific team and in the organization overall. And they really loved their previous manager. They didn't exactly want me coming in and replacing him. But he'd moved on, so what could anyone do?
After a long handover, I stepped in.
And it was the most stressful period of my life. I had stomach problems from the sheer pressure. I remember - even now as I'm writing about it - my shoulders would rise up to my ears from the stress.
I ended up doing great work. I was in that role for a year and a half and I absolutely crushed it. But those first months? They were brutally hard.
There were clashes with team members. Real friction. Tension with peers at my level. Pressure from above, from my boss. Pressure from below, from my team. I had this constant feeling that I wasn't good enough. That I wasn't doing enough good things.
And of course, after a year and a half, at some point I was the veteran. I was the one everyone knew. But in those first months? It was the hardest thing I've ever gone through.
I'd stay in the office for hours and hours, but not necessarily knowing what to do. I didn't fully understand what my team members were doing or what their work even looked like. And I had to present all the time, show up all the time, and I was really... I want to say I suffered but it feels strange to say that, because I'd been given such an incredible promotion, such a meaningful and powerful role. But it was really, really hard.
Here's the thing though, the difficulty wasn't psychological. It wasn't that I was low-functioning. I was still high-functioning. I was efficient, I was sharp. It wasn't a performance problem. The problem was that it was a massive career shift. A huge transition between fields, at a very intense level.
So What Would Have Actually Helped?
A coach. That's what would have helped me.
In the Co-Active method I use (ICF certified) a coach doesn't give you answers. A coach doesn't even need to know the details. They just fully listen. And they help you find the most precise energy levels within yourself — whether that means going lower, going higher, whatever it takes. They reach the parts of you that are alive. They help you focus on yourself as a person, and grow the person inside you. You grow that person - not the coach. You do.
And then you can see beyond all the problems. You can see exactly where you need to go. You can see exactly where you want to steer your ship. And that matters so much. So much.
For people in these serious positions, people who've landed a big role with massive responsibility, where everything is different, where you need to learn everything and carry everything at the same time - a therapist just won't cut it. These aren't things a therapist can help with. There's no psychological problem here. There's nothing broken. There's nothing to "fix."
Only a coach can help. Only a coach can help in situations like these. And I'll say it specifically: only an ICF Certified coach can help in situations like these. There's nothing else like it.
I'm Writing This From Real Experience
I'm writing this because I'm here for you today.
I help senior leaders in high-stakes positions. Those who got the big role and feel like they're faking it. Everything looks great on paper. Their CV résumé is impressive. But inside, something isn't working.
It is possible. It is. It's possible to put you in a completely different position within your team. To shift the dynamics between you and your people. Between you and the people above you. To lead from a place that's truly yours - from your real place. To amplify your ability to see things clearly.
I'm here to help. If you need it, I'm here.
Talk to me. Let's do a sample session. I'll hear more about your specific pain, and I'll see what I can offer you to make it better fast and sticky. So you get closer to solving it.