Navigating a career crossroads: a coaching framework
I hear it often from clients:
“What I have isn’t what I want—but the roles I want feel out of reach.”
“I’m at a crossroads: I could open my own business, lead a team, or go into research.”
“I’m good at many things—but I don’t know what the best next career step is.”
If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. You’re likely ambitious, multi-talented, and driven—but also stuck in overthinking. And maybe also touched by the fear that by choosing one path, you’ll close the door to something else. That you might miss out on something important.
You probably also feel that your career is more than a title or paycheck. It fulfils many needs— everything from financial security, belonging, self-realization, impact to even your sense of meaning and legacy. Therefore it is important to you.
Context matters
Your career doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It’s shaped by your cultural, social, and technological context. Just for a moment, imagine:
What would you have chosen if you were born 100 years ago?
What might you choose if you were born in 2125?
This thought experiment can loosen your grip on “the one right choice.” It is rather about who you are and putting that in the context of our modern time and context. There is no one right answer. It is rather about finding an answer aligned with your current context, who you are and who you want to become.
A coaching framework for clarity
From a coaching perspective, here are two key pillars that support aligned career choices and that are valuable to dive deeper into:
1. Self-Efficacy
This is your belief in your ability to succeed—even if you haven’t done it yet.
It’s different from confidence.
Confidence is based on past success: “I’ve done this before, I know I can do it again.”
Self-efficacy is belief in your potential: “Even if I haven’t done it yet, I trust that I can learn and grow.”
Self-efficacy is a cornerstone of resilience, and it can be strengthened.
Coaching, reflection, and taking small aligned actions all help build this inner trust.
You might wonder how self-efficacy supports the right career choice. Here is how it works. By trusting your abilities you are more likely to take the vulnerable choice of pursuing something that you are really interested in, something that you like and maybe dream about.
2. Self-Exploration
The Ancient Greeks knew: “Know thyself.” Modern research agrees and shows that exploring your values, interests, strengths, and past experiences significantly increases your ability to choose the right next step. A recent study by Paixão & Gamboa (2024) shows also that self-exploration reduces hesitation in decision-making by increasing confidence in one’s identity and goals. Here is the link to study. You can also find free reflection tools and downloadable resources on my homepage to support your self-exploration.
Remember: crossroads are not failures
I hear from many talented professionals that they feel as if they were indecisive and even ridiculous who want to pivot, change, find something new or explore the next step instead of staying where they are. I want to normalise this and say that today’s working life is full of transitions. Pivoting or choosing something new is not a loss of your knowledge or past experience—it’s career development.
Want to explore your next step?
Download my free reflection tools or reach out for a 1:1 coaching session.