Short Story Long
Short Story Long, hosted by leadership and business coach Beki Fraser. Through personal narratives and interviews, Beki explores pivotal life moments and the decisions that shape careers and leadership. Each episode delves into the internal and external challenges of navigating significant changes, offering insights into authentic leadership grounded in core values. The podcast features stories from professionals who’ve embraced transformation, providing listeners with relatable experiences and practical guidance for personal and professional growth.
Short Story Long
Choosing Change: When Staying Safe No Longer Feels Right (Novella)
What if stepping away from your current professional life could reveal the truth about who you are? Join Beki Fraser as she recounts her transformative journey post-Argentina and the somewhat unexpected challenges she faced upon returning to the U.S. Beki takes us through the pivotal moments that led her to reassess her career choices. She'd spent enough time in the gray zone and repositioned for new opportunities aligned with her strengths and passions.
Listen to Beki as she navigates the complexities of commitment and adaptability, sharing her experience with a misaligned HR role and the balance found in a coach training program. This introspective journey is filled with valuable insights about self-awareness, the importance of purpose, and the courage to embrace who you truly are. If you're at a career crossroads or looking for inspiration, this episode offers a deeply personal and encouraging narrative that highlights the power of adaptability and self-discovery.
Share your story or inflection point with Beki
Connect with Beki on LinkedIn: Linkedin.com/in/BekiFraser
Learn more about her coaching: TheIntrovertedSkeptic.com
Get her book, C.O.A.C.H. Y.O.U.: The Introverted Skeptic’s Guide to Leadership - Amazon
Short Story Long is produced by Crowned Culture Media LLC
Stepping out of a situation temporarily is incredibly insightful. It shifts the lens and you see things differently. Interestingly, stepping back into a situation after being away is insightful in an entirely different way. As I returned from working in Argentina, I knew things in the United States wouldn't be the same as they were. Still, I underestimated the difference. I'd been gone for six months and things had changed dramatically. I hadn't felt fully integrated before leaving and now I felt completely adrift. Given the terms of my international assignment, I was required to stay a full year after returning, so I needed to find my place.
Speaker 1:Hi, I'm Becky Fraser, an award-winning coach, author and entrepreneur. I'm also a leader shaped by decades of experience inviting others on a journey towards adaptable leadership and fulfilled potential. Welcome to Short Story Long. Today is a novella. These episodes share the journeys between the inflection points. They still have growth, a little drama and insights, just in a smaller package.
Speaker 1:While I don't need everyone to like me, it is important that I'm relevant in a team or organization. Without that purpose and belonging, I either disengage completely or engage a bit too fiercely. I wanted to practice being a bit more in the middle as I returned, having only been in a talent strategist role briefly before taking the international assignment. We hadn't actually worked out all the kinks of that new role before I left and progress toward clarity felt erased during the time that I was gone. My leader partnered with me to find alternatives. Even outside HR, I did get involved in some interesting work with good results. I was on a customer experience initiative. I did some operational alignment, designing accountability and some other different small projects. Unfortunately, it felt disjointed and temporary. As an independent, risk-taking woman I was feeling like I was doing good work, but not my best work.
Speaker 1:After my year was up, I moved on to an HR role in a different organization. Shortly after starting I realized what seemed like a great idea at the time wasn't a fit. We had entered from both sides with the best of intentions. It's just I was the wrong skill set for what they really needed and wanted. I did the best I could do but knew it wasn't the ideal fit for any of us. A friend invited me to do the first module of a coach training program with her, which sounded like a great idea. This filled my cup with all the things that my work did not require of me. That program was my effort to seek balance while I sought out my next opportunity.
Speaker 1:Sadly, as I looked for other HR positions, I felt myself resisting it, so much of my HR life had been good to me. I felt the impact I'd made and recognized my learning along the way. I'd read online postings, but I just couldn't apply for them. I couldn't even see myself doing the work since my heart was just no longer there. I found myself looking over and over and over again. I just couldn't find one that inspired me to hit that apply now button. It just wasn't there for me anymore. As I look on to that situation, I see a few things Like.
Speaker 1:It was hard for me to navigate that middle ground of commitment. It turns out I'm either all in or not most of the time. Whether it was the return from Argentina or moving into an HR role where my strengths weren't the primary need for the organization. I'd been dancing in that gray area for a long time. Finally, I was seeing the need to see myself as I was now, instead of following the path I'd been on. What did I want to do and how was I going to be connected to it?
Speaker 1:I became more conscious about who I was instead of what I did. If I'm honest with myself and with all of you. Admitting that I'd not seen this coming was hard. I was pretty far into my default behaviors, if you will, and maybe not that easy to be around. Unfortunately, I couldn't easily walk that back in all cases and some relationships suffered. I could choose to pay more attention, without judging myself or others so harshly, and really start to adapt and identify those opportunities where I could fill myself up and by being full myself, I might be able to contribute to other people a little bit better as well.
Speaker 1:I realize now how this was a time that set me up for a new phase of my life. You don't always see that you are ready to embrace something new and unexpected until you realize you are ready to let go of part of what you have, of part of what you have. The ability to look at myself with fresh eyes refilled my kindness bucket and allowed me to meet who I wanted to be. I wasn't an awful person, but I knew it was time to branch out in new directions, but that's another story. Thank you for listening to my story. My hope is that you will get insights for leading as you. If you know someone who would benefit from this episode. Be sure to share it. Interested in connecting with me on LinkedIn, drop me a note telling me where you found me. The link will be in the show notes. Okay, bye.
