Is ‘money’ the elephant in the room?

Sometimes the subject of ‘money’ can be the elephant in the room in career coaching conversations.

Most of my clients seem to love the exploring stage of career coaching, where our focus is on personal self-reflection. However, it is often at the point where they have a much clearer idea of what they want to do and a good understanding of the actions they need to take to achieve it that the elephant appears.

Despite, money often being a big factor in our lives - and our career choices – it isn’t easy to talk about and, for most people, evokes a wide spectrum of emotions.

According to authors Arnold and Barrett, money is “possibly the biggest obstacle that holds people back from going after what they really want in their career”.

Personal career money worries can vary. For example, “Any career change will result in a reduction in salary”; “Work is what we do for money and no one really enjoys it”; “I can’t afford to retrain and change my career”; “I can’t start my career from the bottom again”; “We need my full salary to live, so I can’t afford to change”.

Nick Williams explains that in order to stop money from being a roadblock to making a career change, it can be helpful to examine our beliefs.

Step 1: Explore your own beliefs about money and its value:

1.  What are the earliest memories you have that relate to money?
2.  How much was money openly talked about in your family?
3.  What dreams do you have about what money could do for you?
4.  If money were no object, what would you do with your time?
5.  Who is your most positive role model around money?
6.  What do you think of people who are very wealthy or very poor?
7.  What are your deepest fears about money?
8.  How much is your sense of identity linked to financial success?

Maybe some of your beliefs about money are preventing you from exploring or taking opportunities.
 
Step 2: Understand your finances to make an informed decision:
Getting a full understanding of your own finances is a critical step in helping you identify your options going forward.

How much money do you really need? What are your basic requirements? What are the ‘nice to have’s'? What are your financial ‘dreams’?

Author Chris Budd believes that ‘financial well-being’ is really about having enough for the life you want.

Step 3: Get the professional support you need:
You could benefit from working with a career coach to help you explore and better understand your unique career (and life) wants and needs but, once you are clear about your goal and you know the career path you want to follow then you may also benefit from taking advice to help you to review your finances.

For most people wanting to make a career change, there really is no way around this subject. So, it’s worthwhile getting the support you need to consider the issues, research your options and make a plan – rather than hoping the elephant will go away!