On career alignment, becoming a beginner again, and finding new ways to grow.
After more than 30 years in talent acquisition, organizational development, and executive leadership, I recently found myself sitting in a classroom, studying for exams, learning an entirely new language, and wondering whether I had completely lost my mind.
At 56, I was training to become a flight attendant.
And here's the funny thing: I was doing exactly what I've spent years encouraging my coaching clients to do. I was challenging my own assumptions about success. Reconsidering what I wanted from the next chapter of my life while examining my strengths, my interests, and the things that genuinely make me happy. And taking a pretty significant risk to see what might happen.
Wait. What About Meraki?
No, I'm not abandoning Meraki Coaching Services. Not even close. If anything, I'm living it.
I love coaching. I love helping people recognize strengths they've overlooked, challenge assumptions they've carried for years, and find possibilities they hadn't considered. Not an ounce of that has changed, and I’ll continue to annoy everyone with outreach about my coaching business. :)
What has changed is that I'm now experiencing something from the other side of the coaching conversation. I'm the one navigating a career transition. I'm the one learning an unfamiliar industry, questioning my capabilities, and figuring out how decades of experience translate into something entirely different AND I'm discovering that the advice I've given others isn't always particularly comfortable to follow.
Turns out, being a beginner again can be humbling as hell, but can also be exhilarating. And frankly, I think this entire experience will make me an even better coach.
Maybe Success Doesn't Have to Look Like It Used To.
For much of my career, success came with fairly recognizable markers: increasing responsibility and bigger challenges. Leadership positions and the opportunity to influence organizations and develop people. I worked hard for those opportunities, and I'm proud of what I accomplished.
Somewhere along the way, I began asking myself a different question. Not "What am I capable of achieving next?", but "What would I actually enjoy doing next?". Those questions aren't mutually exclusive, but they also don't always lead to the same answers.
I've always loved people, learning, movement, new experiences, and the unexpected. I enjoy figuring things out, adapting on the fly, and finding connections with people whose lives look nothing like mine. None of those qualities are new. Honestly, they've been part of me all along.
Becoming a flight attendant wasn't an attempt to reinvent myself. It was an opportunity to explore parts of myself that hadn't always been given attention, by me or anyone else. Sometimes the roles we occupy just don’t leave room for the whole of us. Perhaps that's what the second half of a career can offer us. Not necessarily another rung on the ladder - maybe an entirely different view.
The Uncomfortable Business of Practicing What You Preach.
I talk with clients all the time who are wrestling with what comes next. Some have spent decades building successful careers but no longer feel connected to the work, their organization, or even the “why” behind it. Others are curious about something entirely different but struggle with the idea of walking away from the professional identity they've worked so hard to establish. Regardless of where they are in that journey, almost everyone wants some reassurance that they're making the right decision.
I understand that desire a little differently now, because I'll tell you something: sitting in that training classroom, surrounded by unfamiliar terminology, acronyms, and mechanical systems, studying material I absolutely had to master, I wasn't feeling particularly wise or accomplished.
I was nervous. Actually, terrified is more like it.
There were moments when I questioned whether I could do it. Moments when the sheer amount of information felt overwhelming. Moments when I wondered what on earth I'd gotten myself into. But I did it anyway. Not because I was certain of the outcome, but because I wanted to give myself the opportunity to find out. And…I found out there's something deeply satisfying about discovering that you can still surprise yourself.
Starting Something New Doesn't Mean Starting Over.
One of the things I've always challenged in conversations about career transitions is the idea that our professional experience somehow becomes irrelevant when we change direction. I would argue that it doesn't. I don’t leave my leadership experience behind when I put on a flight attendant uniform. I still bring the same curiosity, empathy, problem-solving abilities, adaptability, and appreciation for people that shaped my previous career. The setting is different, for sure, as are the responsibilities. There's an enormous amount I still have to learn. But I'm not starting from nothing. Neither are the people I coach.
Sometimes the challenge isn't identifying what we're capable of doing. It's allowing ourselves to imagine applying those capabilities somewhere unexpected. And sometimes we have to loosen our grip on who we've been professionally to discover what else might fit.
More Than One Thing Can Be True.
I can love coaching and love flying. I can be proud of my executive career and excited about being new at something. I can value stability and still want adventure. I can be experienced in one area and completely inexperienced in another. And I can make a meaningful decision without pretending it's uncomplicated. That's something I want my clients to understand, too.
Career alignment isn't necessarily about finding one perfect job that fulfills every need, uses every strength, and remains satisfying forever. Sometimes it's about creating a combination of experiences that makes your life feel more like your own. For me, that includes continuing to build Meraki, working with clients, speaking, and now, flying. It's an unconventional combination. Which, truthfully, seems about right for me.
What If There's More of You to Discover?
I don't think the second half of our working lives has to be about slowing down, settling in, or simply making the most of what we've already accomplished. It can be about curiosity. Questioning definitions of success we may have inherited rather than consciously chosen. Maybe recognizing that our interests and priorities can evolve without invalidating everything that came before. And perhaps giving ourselves permission to explore possibilities that might look a little strange on paper. You and I are, after all, more than a piece of paper or LinkedIn profile.
I'm still a coach, a business owner, and someone who cares deeply about helping people find work that aligns with who they are. I'm also a brand-new flight attendant who occasionally finds herself marveling at the fact that this is actually her life. And I'm enjoying discovering what else might be possible. After all, I didn’t think at 56 it would be possible to hoist myself into a raft and pull a dozen other people in, but I did it.
So here's a question worth considering:
What part of yourself have you been waiting for permission to explore?
Because maybe the next step in your career isn't up. Maybe it's out, sideways, across the country, or 35,000 feet in the air. Turns out, there’s more than one way up.
Meraki Coaching Services continues to support individuals and organizations through career transitions, leadership development, and the sometimes messy process of figuring out what comes next. Apparently, its founder is no exception. For a free consultation, click here.