Career Stewardship with Michael Melcher

Spending 20 minutes a day working on your career sounds so manageable. So why is it so gosh darn hard to do every day and how can you actually get yourself to do it? Michael is joined by internationally bestselling author Gretchen Rubin to figure this out! Gretchen Rubin is the host of the popular podcast "Happier with Gretchen Rubin" and is the author of numerous books on happiness and habit change, including "The Four Tendencies." In this episode, Michael and Gretchen talk about four types of personalities – Upholder, Questioner, Obliger and Rebel – and how each can best take on the project of working on their career. It's all about how to make progress while still being the person you actually are. An episode not to be missed!

In this episode, we examine the narratives that we tell ourselves about our careers, particularly in times of stress and change. If your career is the movie Star Wars, are you a side character at that weird bar? Or are you Luke Skywalker? We always have some default narrative­­—the question is whether it's doing us any good. Michael is joined by Leslie Hom, a coaching colleague from San Francisco. They talk about "the hero's journey" as it plays out in Star Wars, mythology and everywhere else, and examine what it means to cast yourself as the protagonist of your own story. This doesn't mean ignoring the ways that we are challenged by external events but it does mean thinking about what our own calls to action might be, and what types of responses we can create. Leslie shares an exercise for examining your own hero's journey, and Michael briefly recounts the plot of the 1990's business bestseller "Who Moved My Cheese?"

In Episode 2, we talked about decoding your values. In this Episode 6, we explain how to apply your values for greater satisfaction and success in work, leadership, and life. Michael is joined again by coaching colleague buddy Hanna Hart. They talk about using values to identify what you want in a particular job, using values to assess an organization's culture (and whether it's going to work for you), using values as to build your own leadership, and using values to identify what's not working in your life–and then taking action. They also talk about the relevance of knowing your values even when you feel you have no choice but to take or continue in a particular job. Hanna shares the eminently doable "value of the week" exercise, and Michael gives his younger self a stern talking to.

In this episode, we explore a big "ism" and investigate whether it's such a big deal: specifically, how to deal with your career when you are 40+, 50+ or beyond. Michael is joined by New York coach Sarah Stamboulie. They talk about myths people have about age and career change, how to deactivate potential landmines, and how to get what you want, even if your cultural referents skew more toward The Mary Tyler Moore Show than to Cardi B. (One tip: if you don't want to experience age discrimination, don't practice it–so no more trashing Millennials or Gen Z.)

Is it possible to make a big career change, even when you have a few years under your belt? The answer is a resounding YES . . . provided you keep a few key things in mind. Michael is joined by coach and fellow working dad Peter Gandolfo, and they discuss some of the ins and outs of making a major career pivot. We learn about the experimental method, how to deal with friends or family who don't seem supportive, and how to approach a big change when you aren't sure what you want.

Career fulfilment isn't really about following your passion. Instead, it comes from building something that is in tune with your personal values. We all have a set of core personal values, but we rarely take the time to identify what they are. Once we do, we have a magical decoder ring for adapting our career to who we really are (and also explaining why we loved, hated or were ambivalent about past jobs). Michael explains what values are and how they work, and then does the "Peak Experience" coaching exercise with his intern, Harrison Ross. Once you hear it done, you'll be able to do it yourself and with your friends.

Just because you don't have a big rolodex populated with powerful names doesn't mean you can't attain career success. In this episode, Michael and guest coach Hanna Hart talk about one of the most important ideas in careers, "the strength of weak ties," which means that people you barely know or have fallen out of touch with can be some of the most positive sources of career progress. We learn how Hanna turned an awkward cocktail party encounter into a career-changing opportunity, why being uncomfortable while networking is a good thing, and why it's always a good idea to write an amazon review for an acquaintance who has written a book.

To get what you want out of your career, it helps to have a framework. Episode 1 lays out what career stewardship is all about. Michael lays out a four-part model for managing your career over time, and introduces the life-changing "20 Minutes a Day" concept. More info at http://careerstewardship.com.