You wouldn’t set out on a long journey without a compass or GPS. Or the maps app on your phone.
Even if you think you know the route, things change: road closures, traffic, better paths you didn’t know about.
And yet… this is how many of us move through our careers in the public sector: We follow the expected road. The logical promotional path. The well-known track, carved out by someone else.
But logic isn’t the same as what’s meaningful TO YOU.
And direction isn’t the same as alignment.
I’ve seen this happening for the public sector leaders who get in touch to work with me.
As one leader told me:
“If you don’t think about what you do, you find yourself in this senior role and ask yourself: Did I actually want this kind of a life?”
In this episode, I want to help you pause and recalibrate.
I’ll share 2 powerful questions I use with my clients. Both are designed to bring you back to what matters most at this moment in your career and life.
Because BEFORE you choose a new direction, you need to reconnect with your own inner guidance system. With YOUR compass.
Have You Checked Your Default Setting?
We all rely on the maps app now to show us the way.
It tells us where to turn and when to stop. But it rarely incites us to zoom out. To check whether the settings, the destination, or the whole route still makes sense.
It’s easy to adjust on your phone. But what about your career? And the life you actually want to live?
We often think of career shifts as logistical problems:
- What’s my next job?
- Which sector should I try?
- What do I need on my CV?
But before ANY of that, there’s a deeper layer. We need to slow down enough to ask real questions, ones that go beneath the surface.
Build Your Own Public Sector Career Change Compass
To have clearer direction, it helps to build your own compass. What could be more helpful than knowing what matters most to you now?
You can do that by asking yourself powerful questions. Ones that give you new insights because you are looking at something from a new perspective.
I have a process I use with my clients in my 5 month ‘Find Your Career Space’ programme. I normally take them through 10 questions.
Now I’d like to take you through 2 of those questions. And these are a bit unusual. And eye-opening.
Crisis As Catalyst
Question 1:
What do you need to do so that this seemingly bad situation turns into a gift in 3, 6 or 12 months from now?
As a public sector leader, you’re no stranger to crises.
You may have been on the front lines during Covid. Writing policy on the fly, managing emergency teams, trying to protect entire populations while balancing your own uncertainty at home.
Maybe you’ve worked through a natural disaster: an earthquake, hurricane, flood.
Most likely, you’ve experienced changes in political direction, and a fair share of restructures.
And in those moments, you may have seen something profound:
- Systems that couldn’t keep up
- Needs that went unseen
- Or maybe your own ability to adapt and stay grounded
One leader I spoke with said: “It’s self-protection to leave. An admission that your impact is limited. And a realisation that you have to look after yourself, your health and wellbeing. And that of your family too.”
Another one described it in this way: “I feel like I’m heading toward a cliff edge. But then a friend said: What if you’ve got wings and you fly?”
Crises break things open. And sometimes, they break US open – to what we want to move toward next.
So if you’re in a tough moment now, ask yourself: What could make this experience meaningful in hindsight?
Because this might not be a dead end. It could also be a doorway.
Avoidance Points To What Matters
Question 2:
What are you avoiding that, if addressed, would make the biggest difference in your career or life?
We all have something. That difficult conversation. That bold idea you haven’t shared. That option you keep circling back to in your head but won’t say out loud.
One leader shared with me: “I feel trapped. I don’t like the idea that I can’t get out of a situation. I have a physical reaction when I feel trapped.”
Another one said: “I was asked a lot ‘Why would you give up this life?’ I felt judged. And that made it harder to admit what I really wanted.”
Avoidance often points to the VERY THING that matters most. It holds you at the edge of your next growth opportunity. And sometimes, of your freedom.
The real work isn’t jumping straight into action. It’s daring to name what’s been left unsaid.
So pause for a moment and ask yourself: What have I been avoiding? Even acknowledging it can start to shift something inside you.
These two questions – about crisis and avoidance – may seem unrelated. But they’re both about this: Letting your inner compass guide you. Not just your circumstance. Your resume. Or the expectations around you.
If something has been stirring in you, I invite you to pause. To tune in. To listen.
Let these two questions nudge you a little closer to what matters most to you now. Be honest with yourself. Because that’s how real, aligned change begins. Not with a leap. But with a shift in awareness.
I know…
This Change In Perspective Can Be Hard
Let’s be honest: many people right now are just trying to stay afloat. With wars, climate change, political polarisation, and financial instability, who has the headspace to rethink their career?
When the world feels shaky and unpredictable, it is hard to trust that these things are cyclical. That the tide will turn again.
And yet, if something inside you is whispering: “this no longer fits” – that discomfort you feel is real, too. How do you honour that inner knowing without ignoring the real risks and instability around you?
Sometimes, even in global uncertainty, a personal shift becomes necessary. Not reckless, but thoughtful and grounded. Especially during uncertain times, I invite you to think about what matters most to you now.
Until next time: make space, rediscover YOU, and then take action.