The mid-career multiplier effect: When 20+5+4=29²
Sometimes in mid-career (approximately 15-25 years into a career), after the inevitable knocks, it can be challenging to see with fresh eyes what about our own career path makes us unique and the potential impact we can still have.
However, if we can find clarity in assessing our journey and connect to our passions, this can be a very rewarding time. By now we’re competent, we know our strengths and we’ve learned how to work with others. We may even have more than one occupation under our belt.
Also by mid-career, there are secondary areas of interest and competency in our lives. This may be music, carpentry, floral design, cooking, teaching yoga or martial arts, coaching little league, serving on a non-profit board. This secondary pursuit is typically values or passion-based and may or may not be income generating.
What’s rewarding about being in this phase of our lives and careers are the possibilities that emerge when we connect the threads together to create unique opportunities.
Now, back to the math at the top of this post (The mid-career multiplier effect: When 20+5+4=29²)
Those numbers are my numbers!
20 represents number of years I spent developing my first successful career in media (film, television and digital).
4 represents my second career, now 4 years old, as a professional certified coach (PCC) with more than 600 client hours under my belt.
5 represents the years I have served as a board member at the non-profit BAYCAT. (BAYCAT tackles the lack of diversity in digital media)BAYCAT is changing not only the stories that get told but who gets to tell them, by tackling the lack of diversity in digital media.BAYCAT is changing Adding those years up, 20+4+5 gets us to 29.
So, what about the ² part?
Recently I launched a program that weaved together the multiple threads of my own career, and that’s where the multiplier effect comes in.
The new program brought Coaching (my second career) to the Young Adult Internship program at BAYCAT (where I serve on the board). I’m committed to the Internship program because as an Executive Producer (my first career) I hired interns of a similar age and experience. I know what it takes to stand out and be hired in the competitive media world, and I know the mix of hard skills, soft skills and support these young adults from diverse and often underprivileged backgrounds will need to help them succeed.
Through my coaching community I was able to secure 10 professional coaches to partner one-on-one with the interns to support them through the completion of their internship. Factors like unstable housing have caused some of our youth not to make it through to graduation in previous years, which is hugely disappointing for the individual intern and for the whole BAYCAT team.
My multiplier effect
My 29 years of career and service are being multiplied as I write. The amazing coaches who are taking part in this program are dedicated professionals, doing great work pro bono. The young adult interns are experiencing something new in partnering with a professional coach. Foremost my vision for the coaching partnership is to ensure successful completion of the internship program. Beyond that, the interns are being encouraged to dream big while at the same time building the resourcefulness, resilience and self-discipline it will take for them to succeed in the workplace. It remains to be seen what the true multiplier effect will be but the program is already having an impact on the lives and careers of these young adults.
Here’s some feedback from three interns:
(my coach) “has helped me solve a lot of issues I was struggling with, both personal and career wise. And it has been amazing to have her as my coach.”
“I really enjoy my relationship with (my coach) and having someone invested in me to keep me accountable and motivated.”
“The coaching sessions have been helpful to me, and (my coach) is very supportive. I always look forward to the next time we can chat.”
What’s your multiplier effect?
So, what are the skills and competencies you’ve built in your own decades in the workplace, and how do these connect with your current values and interests? What would be meaningful in your life and at the same time have a positive impact on the world around you? What support will you need from your partner, friends and community to help you give your time to something significant in this stage of your life and career?
This isn’t the time for the career blues– it’s a time to pull together all your know-how, savvy and experiences and make an impact in a way only you can!