Nice Work: The first step to change

Hey there,

Jen here, with some really exciting news: I’ve joined Active Voice as a full-time coach! For the past few years I’ve been balancing two careers: one as a content strategy director and the other as a coach. After years of wondering if I would ever get the courage to shift into coaching full-time, the answer is: YES. I’m still pinching myself to confirm it’s all real.

And while it’s fresh, I want to share with you how it all happened—and how small choices can lead to big changes, even when the process itself feels agonizingly slow.

March 2020 sparked a moment of awakening—maybe you had one too? It wasn’t just Covid. The same day my office officially closed, I got news from my doctor that I had cancer. In the blur of the weeks that followed I learned some important things:

• Puzzles make me anxious

• I’m no good at making sourdough bread

• I was really unhappy with my life

I’d been on autopilot for a long time, trying to keep my head above water at work. I felt useless. Spending day after day scrolling through news of people suffering as the world burned compounded that feeling. 

In June 2020, I took medical leave for surgery. My recovery was easier than expected, so I used some of that time to prep for a class I taught every summer. Updating my bio slide, I was surprised when I added an about-me bullet purely on impulse: it read “aspiring coach.”

I’d worked with coaches through my own moments of burnout and lost confidence, and I was really inspired by how much they had helped me. So that line didn’t come out of nowhere—it was sparked by years of thinking: “If I could pick any job to have, coaching would be it.”

Once I’d moved that thought out of my head and onto my slides, I realized I better make it true. I signed up for a coach training program the same day. At the time I thought of it as a way to be of service—maybe as a volunteer?—but I know deep down I hoped this would lead to something bigger and bolder.

But the story doesn’t end there—that was only the beginning. All the moves I made between then and now presented opportunities to experiment, learn, fail, and grow.

My initial client roster of friends and colleagues slowly became peppered with referrals and strangers. I changed my talk proposals from content strategy how-tos to coaching themes. I found ways to “sneak” coaching into my job, first by moving from being an IC to a people manager, and then by joining my company’s internal coaching practice as an individual and group coach. And then Sara invited me to collaborate with Active Voice, and I started taking new clients and leading workshops. 

Still, a part of me wondered if I was just playing at being a coach. Luckily, I had folks like Sara in my life to remind me that I was doing the work, even if I didn’t have the title.

When I realized I had reached a point where I could truly make this shift, I got scared. I’d spent 15 years developing my expertise as a content strategist—was I about to throw that all away? At 40, did I have the energy to fully reinvent myself?

As coaches, we often ask our clients to start making sense of what they want and need by checking in with their feelings. And the truth is, I would leave my coaching calls feeling absolute joy. When I coached people on weekends or PTO days, I’d tell my clients: “It’s my day off!” And I’m sure that was confusing for them, as people working with me, but the truth is this work never felt like work.

So after three years, here I am: entering into a new world—one that I made real through trial and error, patience and impulse, passion and care. On my first day of this new chapter, I wrote a note to Future Jen in my journal. It said: Remember next time when progress feels slow, in hindsight this all happened really freaking fast.

Maybe you’re feeling a little like I felt back in March 2020: that it’s time to turn off the auto-pilot and see what happens when you’re fully present at the wheel. 

If so, I’d love to talk with you. (And I have lots of room in my calendar for new clients now!) Here are a couple ways we can work together:

90-minute strategy sessions

Get clarity on your most pressing challenges—whether it’s making a career move, transitioning to a new role, or solving a problem that’s been kicking around in your head. You’ll leave feeling energized and ready to move forward.

To celebrate my new role, we’re offering $100 off for clients who sign up with me from now through June.

1:1 coaching packages

Get long-term support making meaningful change in your life. We’ll meet biweekly for three months, so you have time to get clear on your goals and start taking action. We’ll begin by aligning on an agenda for coaching—and then spend each session working towards it.

Wherever you’re at, I want you to know this: Big shifts can come from making small changes. And the first step is letting yourself believe that your circumstances can change, that you can change, and that however it plays out, you have everything you need inside to find your way through. 

And after you take that first step, celebrate every step that follows, however small. They’re all meaningful. They all matter. And they will bring you to places you could only dream of before.

—Jen

EPISODE 3

How do I handle this person’s bad behavior?

Toxic behavior takes many forms—from harassment and belittling to…fart noises?!? Listen in for all the YIKES.

Upcoming workshops

Leading Content without Losing Yourself
July 13 from 12-2:30pm ET. 

It’s been a hard year for content teams—from layoffs and reorgs to demands to “prove your value” and “do more with less.” Learn to find new calm and focus—for yourself and your team—in this workshop.

Create Your Leadership Canvas
Two-part session. Meets August 8 and 10 from 12-2pm ET. 

Uncover your leadership values, gain confidence in your strengths, and establish the growth areas that are most meaningful to you right now. Leave with a complete personal leadership canvas you can use for both day-to-day decisions and big-picture career planning.