I Signed Up for Career Coaching. What I Got Helped Me Find My Professional Purpose
Even if “visioning” isn’t new to you, this method might be
Generally, I turn up my nose when people turn nouns into verbs, like sunsetting, friending, or, for that matter, verbing. But I make an exception for visioning, as in, figuring out your future, because of Priya Parker.
Priya’s probably best known for her book The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters. But, in addition to being a writer and researcher, Priya’s a conflict resolution facilitator. She coaches people to calmly lead their organization, political party, or country, through a tough transition. Years ago, she helped regular people, like me, figure out what the heck to do with their lives, through a process she called a “Visioning Lab.”
My second child was out of diapers and I was trying to figure out what to do next with my journalism career. Was it possible to put myself on a professional path to being both well paid and morally satisfying? In addition to being a mother of two, what was “the purpose of my human,” as Hannah Gadsby asks in her excellent TED talk?
I found Priya through an acquaintance who, after listening to me describe my state of mind over coffee, said, “I know just the person you need to see.”…
