Supporting women to give them a voice in such a way as to realise their future dreams is a genuine joy.
Katya Veleva, Director of Blush Cloud, and myself recently ran a series of career coaching workshops for Women in BIM’s (WIB) Mentor Scheme and, over the course of these four workshops, it was inspiring to see these incredible women develop a new-found awareness of their strengths and witness how their confidence grew in their own self-awareness in such a short space of time.
As part of the workshops, the women were motivated to set out a series of plans to take their careers forward. Being part of a group to receive career coaching can be extremely fulfilling; each person has the opportunity to learn from each other, as well as sharing their own thoughts and experiences.
The steps we go through with each of member of the group is to first know myself and second to know my opportunities. We encourage everyone to think about both the present and the future, and how the actions they take today will influence their tomorrow.
An exercise I find extremely effective is the “world as I would like it”. This allows us not only to imagine what is possible, but to believe anything is possible!
What I have learned from these sessions is that we all struggle with the same self-doubts and lack of clarity sometimes, which is why doing this as a group is so important – to draw on each other’s strengths as a conduit for inspiration and empowerment.
During these sessions we are able to challenge each other’s assumptions on the limits we place on ourselves. The value of talking these things through with others, and actively saying our ambitions out loud, has enormous value in moving us forwards.
A great career is something to be enjoyed as a key part of our lives. It is important to reflect on the skills we have and how to use them to our best advantage, capitalising on these skills to shape the future we want for ourselves.
Change can happen quickly: we just have to own it and take control of our future.
These workshops are incredibly rewarding for all who take part, and I look forward to hearing how our group’s plans develop over time.
Find out more about the WIB Career Coaching and Mentor Scheme here.
