Creating a Clear New Career Plan Through Coaching

Murdoch Maclean

Senior Director, Edgewell Personal Care

Meeting Nikki at a CIMA event, Murdoch knew almost straight away that she could help him.  At the time, he was working for a large global organisation when, out of the blue, it separated into two smaller ones.

Sudden Change

As the shock of the organisation’s split hit, Murdoch realised that he had been working with them for a long while – around ten years.  In that time, he hadn’t done any networking or personal development with regard to his CV.  He felt unready for job hunting if the need arose, and felt at a disadvantage for securing a new role at this stage of his career.

Murdoch realised that decisions were being made that were not beneficial to him, and that he had no control over the organisation’s changes.  It was a time of uncertainty, so he arranged to meet up with Nikki to gain some clarity.

Taking Action

Nikki helped Murdoch to identify how to define his strengths, and to create a career plan to help him look for opportunities.  Working together for around three months, Nikki suggested a number of tools and processes for Murdoch to work on, including DiSC®.  A personal assessment tool, DiSC profiling asks a series of questions to help understand what behaviours you use in certain situations, what motivates you or causes stress, and lots more.  DiSC also helps to improve team working relationships.

Each week, Murdoch would consider certain aspects of his situation and review his thought process with Nikki, mainly to do with career progression. During their time working together, Nikki would help Murdoch clearly define what was important both to him and in his decision making process, mapping out where Murdoch needed to make changes.  “She even gave me great advice on the format and wording of my CV and LinkedIn profile,” commented Murdoch.

Objective View

Murdoch found talking to someone who had been in a similar senior finance role, as Nikki had been, particularly beneficial.  The fact that Nikki wasn’t a colleague, friend or family member, had no vested interest in the organisation and could therefore be impartial, was extremely helpful.  He said, “It was very useful having an independent person working with me.”

Result!

Achieving clarity and focus helped Murdoch to determine certain aspects of the role he was in at the time.  It also helped him to feel more comfortable and prepared should he decide to leave.  Instead, he was offered a promotion in the existing company.  Murdoch said, “The new role fitted with my goals.  It covers global projects and responsibilities in North America and Europe, which was what I wanted.  I would have thought about the role differently if I hadn’t spoken to Nikki – she helped me to make up my mind and push to make it happen.”

Do you need a clearer plan for your career? Call Nikki Wild on 07766 004 964 to talk about how she can help you to achieve this.