The Key Learning Points:

1. The power of vulnerability and creating that human connection based around compassion

2. The role of workplaces in creating physiologically safe environments that allow people to be authentic

3. Ways to connect to our intuition and its influence in driving career pivots and change

This week we welcome back Eilish Jamieson to the remote Risky Mix podcast. Two weeks ago, Eilish spoke to us about her impressive career and the difficult experiences she faced around burnout. Listen to episode 48 to hear more about this and her journey to setting up her own coaching business. This week we explore two important areas, and topics that Eilish often sees coming up with her coaching clients – vulnerability and career pivoting. Let’s get into it…

In episode 48, Eilish shared her story of burnout and today acknowledges that it probably took a year to “own it”. The thing she was most fearful of was being seen to be vulnerable. It was a big learning curve, acknowledging that the damage she’d done was as a result of punishing herself for something that wasn’t there in the first place: “All the things I thought I was hiding from the world, in many ways, were the things that I think connected people with me.” It’s vulnerability that people connect with. 

Eilish refers to the binary view of failure, something that she bought into fully: “You’re one or the other. You’re either successful or you’re a failure.” We’ve been brought up to believe that “you’ve got to be successful because if you’re not, you’re a failure!” Eilish adds that when she owned the burnout, she started to show herself compassion: “When I was energised and happy, all the people around me were energised and happy. The energy I created within myself extended to the people I loved.” The conversation moves onto what companies can do to create spaces that allow people to be vulnerable: “The most important thing is that organisations create physiologically safe environments for people to be human.” 

We talk about career pivoting, which, for Eilish, is about packaging the best of what you already have, recognising your needs and designing something that gets you from A to B, appreciating that that journey isn’t linear. Eilish refers to TheoryU by Otto Scharmer which says you must go deep before you start to plan out. First of all, explore into you - what got you to where you are today, what isn’t working and why it isn't working? Eilish believes that you need to intuitively connect to yourself. 

For individuals considering making a career change, Eilish recommends starting to reach out, building a support structure and connecting with people who do what you want to do. It’s through that expansion you can start to access your own instincts.