Have you ever tried to grab a bar of soap in the shower?
It just keeps slipping out of your hands. The tighter you grip, the faster it escapes. And the more frustrated you get, the more force you use – which only makes it worse.
Changing your public sector career can be a bit like that.
The harder you try to pin down THE answer – the perfect new job, the perfect new career – the more elusive it seems to become.
It’s hard to form a clear thought. Your mind spirals or goes blank. And you end up exactly where you started:
Stuck in a career that no longer fits.
I want to offer you a different way of approaching this. One that takes the pressure off… and actually opens up more possibilities.
When Leaders “Grip Tighter” to Change Their Public Sector Careers
Let’s start with something I see all the time.
A public sector leader realises: “Something needs to change for me to feel alive again.”
So what do they do?
They start scanning job boards. They update their CV. They might approach a recruiter. In other words, they zoom straight into career mode. But “career” is actually a very narrow – and loaded – place to start.
When you think about the word “career”, what comes up?
For many it’s: Job descriptions. Salary bands. Hierarchy. Titles. Status. Expectations.
It’s a world full of rules. Many unspoken rules: What counts. What doesn’t. What’s realistic. What’s “too risky.”
And if you’ve spent 10, 15, 20 years in the public sector, those rules are deeply ingrained. You’ve internalised them.
So when you try to imagine something new, you’re still thinking within the same box.
On top of that, “career” is tightly linked to survival. Income. Security. Reputation. Stability.
The moment you start thinking about changing it, your nervous system kicks in:
“What if this goes wrong?”
“What will people think?”
“Can I afford this?”
And suddenly, your thinking becomes cautious, conservative and risk-focused.
Not exactly the mindset that generates bold, exciting ideas!
3 Different Starting Points for Leaders Wanting a Career That Makes Them Feel Alive Again
So if “career” is such a cramped place to start, where do you begin instead?
I want to offer you three different entry points.
1. Start with Impact
Instead of asking: “What job should I do?” Ask yourself: “What kind of impact do I want to have?”
If you’re like most public sector leaders, you are deeply motivated by impact. That’s why you joined in the public sector in the first place.
But over time, that connection can get diluted. Or constrained by the system you’re working in.
So zoom out.
- What do you actually care about?
- What difference would you love to make – in people’s lives, in communities, in the world?
There are always more than one way to create the same impact. You’re not limited to one role, one organisation or one sector.
This question opens doors that traditional “career thinking” keeps shut.
Now let’s go one layer deeper.
2. Look for the Essence
Think about the things you’re drawn to – inside and outside of work.
- What do you enjoy?
- What energises you?
- What keeps pulling your attention?
At first glance, these things might seem unrelated.
But often, they share a common thread. What I like to call an essence.
For example: Maybe you’re drawn to mentoring, facilitating workshops, and having deep one-on-one conversations. The essence might be: “helping people grow.”
Or maybe you enjoy strategy, systems thinking, and organising complexity. The essence might be: “bringing clarity to chaos.”
When you identify that underlying essence, you suddenly have a much more flexible way of thinking about your future.
Because that essence can show up in many different forms.
And finally…
3. Recognise Your Gift
This is often the hardest one to see!
Because your gift – the thing you’re naturally good at – feels normal to you. So you assume it’s nothing special.
But to others? That same ability can feel like magic.
It might be how you: build trust quickly, communicate difficult ideas clearly, or bring calm into high-pressure situations.
These are not small things. They are valuable. And they are transferable.
Once you know what it is for you, ask yourself:
- Where is this way of being needed?
- Where is this way of being valued?
- Where would I enjoy taking this way of being next?
The Benefit of Not Focusing on Your Career
Because there’s a significant difference between…
a) Forcing an answer to the question: “What should I do next in my career?”
And …
b) Stepping away and broadening your perspective to look at:
- the impact you want to have
- the essence of what energises you, and
- the gift you naturally bring
From THAT place, career ideas will start to emerge. Often unexpectedly, from the “corner of your eye”, because you’re not gripping that soap so tightly.
So I invite you to loosen your grip. Give yourself space. And trust that the answers are more likely to appear when you stop trying to force them.
Until next time: make space, rediscover YOU, and then take action.