What happens to your professional identity when your career starts moving in a different direction?

In this episode of The Leadership Shift, I reflect on my own transition from more than two decades in technology into building a coaching and consultancy business, and why changing direction hasn't meant leaving my previous professional identity behind.

I also explore something much more personal: my lifelong difficulty with exams. There have been times when I've known the subject and had years of practical experience, but struggled to demonstrate that knowledge in an exam environment. Understanding my neurodivergence has helped me reconsider what those experiences actually told me about my ability.

Drawing on some of my earlier training in Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT), I look at the beliefs we can attach to results, rejection and career setbacks, while recognising that individual thinking isn't the whole picture. Assessment methods, workplaces and other systems can create genuine barriers too.

I also share some lovely news: I've been named a finalist in the Voice at the Table Inclusion Leadership Awards 2026, in the Inclusive Leadership Impact category. It has prompted me to think about external recognition from another direction and how much authority we give awards, qualifications, job titles and other people's decisions over the way we see ourselves professionally.

This episode is about allowing our careers to evolve without treating every result, transition or setback as a verdict on everything we've done before.

References and further reading

David, D. (2015). Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT). Wiley Encyclopedia of Clinical Psychology.

Gullifor, D. P. et al. (2024). The impostor phenomenon at work: A systematic evidence-based review, conceptual development, and agenda for future research. Journal of Organizational Behavior.

Ibarra, H., Wittman, S. & Smith, K. (2026). Career Transition and Professional Identity: Dynamic Processes, Multiple Selves, and Nonlinear Trajectories. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 13, 137–163.

Nieminen, J. H., Moriña, A. & Biagiotti, G. (2024). Assessment as a matter of inclusion: A meta-ethnographic review of the assessment experiences of students with disabilities in higher education. Educational Research Review, 42, 100582.

National Autistic Society. Making exams accessible for autistic students.
https://www.autism.org.uk/learn/knowledge-hub/professional-practice/accessible-exams

Hosted by Nicola Martin FBCS, Career and Leadership Coach for people in technology. Visit nmcandc.com to learn more about coaching, speaking and The Leadership Shift newsletter.

In this episode of The Leadership Shift, Nicola Martin reflects on how quickly the technology industry has changed, what that has meant for experienced professionals, and why simply holding on to a job cannot become our definition of career success.

Nicola explores the changing expectations placed on technology professionals, the challenges of recruitment and automated hiring, age and experience in the workplace, and why people need opportunities to progress throughout a long career.

She also looks at the difference between mentorship and sponsorship, why sponsorship matters when opportunities become harder to access, and what people can do now if they are beginning to feel uncertain about where their own career might take them next.

Drawing on her own move from technology leadership into building a coaching and consultancy business, Nicola reflects on how a career can change without diminishing the value of the experience that came before it.

Your place in tech might change, but that doesn't mean your contribution to it has finished.

Hosted by Nicola Martin FBCS, Career and Leadership Coach for people in technology. Visit nmcandc.com to learn more about coaching, speaking and The Leadership Shift newsletter.

In the final episode of the SHIFT in Action series, Nicola explores T - Take Action, the point where reflection begins to turn into something practical.

Taking action doesn't always mean making a dramatic change. Sometimes it means having a conversation, gathering information, asking a question or taking one manageable step that helps you understand what comes next.

This episode looks at the gap between knowing that something needs to change and actually doing something about it, why apparently productive thinking can sometimes keep us stuck, and why the action you choose needs to make sense for you and your circumstances.

Nicola also brings together the complete SHIFT Practice - Situation, Human, Insight, Forward and Take Action - and explores why SHIFT is better understood as a cycle that you can return to as your situation changes.

Next on The Leadership Shift: Are you building a career, or are you simply responding to work?

Hosted by Nicola Martin FBCS, Career and Leadership Coach for people in technology. Visit nmcandc.com to learn more about coaching, speaking and The Leadership Shift newsletter.

In this episode of The Leadership Shift, I continue exploring my SHIFT Practice with F - Forward.

By this stage, you've looked at the Situation, considered the Human impact and used Insight to understand what may be happening. Forward is about using that understanding to begin considering what comes next.

That doesn't always mean having a complete plan or knowing exactly where you're going. Sometimes moving forward begins with recognising the options available to you, deciding what you want to explore and giving yourself permission to change direction.

I talk about what Forward looks like in practice, why reflection needs somewhere to go, and how we can begin moving from understanding towards action.

The SHIFT Practice:
Situation → Human → Insight → Forward → Take Action

The Leadership Shift explores careers, leadership, technology and the human experiences behind the decisions we make at work.

Hosted by Nicola Martin FBCS, Career and Leadership Coach for people in technology. Visit nmcandc.com to learn more about coaching, speaking and The Leadership Shift newsletter.

What if the problem you’re trying to solve isn’t actually the problem?

In this episode of The Leadership Shift, Nicola Martin FBCS explores Insight, the I in her SHIFT framework: Situation, Human, Insight, Forward and Take Action.

Drawing on examples from modern technology teams, Nicola looks at what happens when people unknowingly become the contingency plan, why assumptions about AI adoption can hide what’s really going on, and why understanding the ‘why’ matters before deciding what to do next.

For people working and leading in technology who want to think differently about their work, careers and the challenges they face.

Hosted by Nicola Martin FBCS, Career and Leadership Coach for people in technology. Visit nmcandc.com to learn more about coaching, speaking and The Leadership Shift newsletter.

When a problem arises at work, it is tempting to move straight to the plan. But before deciding what to do next, we need to understand what is really going on for the person involved.

In this episode, Nicola explores the H in the SHIFT Practice: Human. She looks at what can be missed when we focus only on the practical problem, why the working environment matters, and how understanding the person can lead to more realistic actions.

Find out more about the SHIFT Practice and Nicola’s coaching at nmcandc.com.

Hosted by Nicola Martin FBCS, Career and Leadership Coach for people in technology. Visit nmcandc.com to learn more about coaching, speaking and The Leadership Shift newsletter.

Every good decision starts with understanding the situation. In this first SHIFT in Practice episode, Nicola Martin explores why slowing down and asking better questions can lead to better leadership and career decisions. 

Hosted by Nicola Martin FBCS, Career and Leadership Coach for people in technology. Visit nmcandc.com to learn more about coaching, speaking and The Leadership Shift newsletter.