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The scenario

Sara is a manager and Jacek has recently started working in her department. He is meeting with her to discuss assessment of his progress to date and what he needs to do next; talk turns to his feelings of frustration at not having moved ahead in his career as fast as he hoped and expected to.

• Sara: I sense that you're a bit frustrated, Jacek, in fact, you really don't sound very happy about your position here. Your work here over the past three months has been excellent, I've had no complaints from anyone and I see you as a valued member of our team. I know you were in Poland before you moved here and I guess our Polish colleagues maybe do things a bit differently, but what can we do to smooth things out for you?
• Jacek: Well, thank you, Sarah, it's good to hear that my work is appreciated. But you're right, it is all very different from back home in Poland. I'm not sure that I really fit in here, that I can progress at all.
• S: Do you think you might have progressed more back home? It's only been 3 months!
• J: I don't know. Maybe. But I think my real problem is that I don't know what I need to do to move on any further. Should I do some more courses, attend more conferences, speak up more at meetings ...?
• S: Hmmm, well, all of those things are useful, of course. But what do you want to achieve?
• J: That's another problem. I don't really know.
• S: Sounds to me as though you need a career coach!
• J: Aren't they for people searching for a new job? Are you trying to tell me that I should leave and work elsewhere?
• S: Oh goodness no! I think our company is big enough for all of us, I just think that a career coach could help you plot out where you want to be a year from now, 5 years from now, even 10 years from now, and then to establish what you need to do to achieve that. After all, you started with us fresh out of university in Krakow, am I right?
• J: Yes.
• S: And now you're here, in Edinburgh! So you've already made really good progress just in 3 years.
• J: I guess that's true.
• S: 3 months is really not long. Look, I work with a work coach, or career coach, whatever you want to call them. She helps me immensely in sorting out my thoughts, establishing priorities and goals and then plotting the steps to reach them.
• J: You work with a coach?
• S: Absolutely!
• J: Wow! I wasn't expecting that! But your career is going so well!
• S: Exactly! A coach is not just to offer help when things are going badly but to illuminate your path when things are going well, too, so that you can clearly see where you are headed.
• J: I feel better about the idea now. I had no idea that someone like you would work with a coach, I really thought it was for people who weren't doing well.
• S: So now you know. Look, it's important to find the right one, but I'm happy to arrange for you to get an initial six sessions funded by our department. I think that would really help you, it would see you through the next few months and ...
• J: Oh that's amazing, thank you! But the next few months? Don't you mean weeks?
• S: No, you only need to meet with a coach about once a month in my experience. So why don't you give it a try. I'll get my coach to contact you, she works with several others too and you can see who is the best fit for you. And then come back to me in 5 or 6 months and let's see if it's helped you!
• J: Wonderful, that would be great, thank you, Sara! And yes, I will, thank you!