“I’m actually not as lost as I thought I was!”
These are the words of one humanitarian professional at the end of her first coaching conversation with me.
A lot of non-profit professionals reach out to me because they feel lost. I can relate. I spent over two decades in the non-profit sector prioritising a mission to serve others over myself. I’ll admit that mid-career I felt rather lost.
So how did I, and how can you, change things up? First, we need to be honest with ourselves and acknowledge that things won’t change unless we create time and space to get clear about where we want to be and how we are going to get there. Many of us feel lost simply because we have not taken the time to figure out where we actually want to go.
It’s a bit like packing your suitcase and leaving the house to go on holiday without having a destination in mind. You probably won’t actually end up completely lost wondering the streets. You’d use your initiative and figure it out. You’d end up somewhere. But let’s face it, that somewhere is unlikely to be the holiday destination of your dreams, right?
Of course not. We all know that picking a wonderful destination is key to a good holiday. But too many of us don’t apply this simple logic to our professional lives. We continue to do worthy work, but we’re drifting. We spent too long putting up with jobs, duty stations and managers that don’t allow us to grow and which we don’t like. Why?
It’s pretty clear to me: Too many non-profit professionals prioritise the “greater cause” and mission over themselves.
Non-profit professionals know all about about missions and visions. We dedicate our working lives to them. We must, however, be as passionate about clarifying and pursuing our own visions and missions as we are the greater ones. When we feel lost we must create time and space to get clear about what our own mission is and how we fulfil it. For me, coaching was a game changer. When you get the right professional support it’s surprising how quickly you can get un-lost.
Find out how coaching can help you here.
Liz Griffin is an International Coaching Federation accredited Associate Certified Coach (ACC), mentor and honorary academic with 24 years of experience working in the non-profit sector for the United Nations, NGOs and academic institutions. Liz runs specialist mentorship and coaching programmes that are specifically designed for non-profit professionals and organisations. Find out more about Liz here.