The Question Every Employee Wants to Hear

Colleagues, clients and friends who are leaders in their organizations are hungry to know...how do I retain employees right now when they have so many options?

How do I keep them hungry, engaged...dare I say, happy in their jobs?

The answer is both complex and simple. The complex part - it’s different for everyone. You’re not going to get at everyone’s challenges with one blanket solution.

I’ve been seeing this approach in various organizations. Offering up free subscriptions to professional development or fitness tools. Or giving one extra Mental Health Day off to the whole staff. These are all lovely and generous perks. Yet, they most likely don’t address the challenges most employees are facing.

One powerful way to retain employees right now is to courageously ask them…

What do you need?

To listen with curiosity and openness.

And then collaborate with your employees on solutions.

Is it the opportunity to delegate a piece of the role that doesn’t match up to her strengths?

Is it starting work at 9:30 twice a week so she can drop off her son at school?

Is it the ability to speak openly about what a longer term career path looks like?

Is it a 20% raise to bring her up to market rate - a number she has the research and evidence to back up?

If you truly want to retain employees right now, listen to them and act accordingly.

One of the most popular ways I’ve helped organizations with a customized and empathetic approach to supporting their employees in the past is to offer Virtual Coaching Days. I provide a day of 50-minute, 1:1 sessions to multiple employees who are not eligible for longer coaching engagements.

In the past I’ve worked with clients like American Express, Brookfield Properties and the Council of Urban Professionals to support leaders and teams with Coaching Days and the reviews were both heartwarming for me and powerful for clients in the respective organizations.

If you’re currently leading a team and looking for some support around year-end reviews, planning, professional development or internal career pathing, feel free to reach out via email at rachel@rachelbgarrett.com!

Ready to Redesign Your Career on Your Terms?

As you may remember, earlier this year, I launched my first official group program. It was a huge milestone for me and all the women who joined me on the journey.

And if you’re a long-time reader, you also know that in my first five years of business, I focused exclusively on 1:1 coaching. I loved (and still love) the intimacy, the connection, the magic that happens when my intuition tips me off to ask just the right question, unlocking new insight into how my client can make her way through the mud to find ease and confidence on the other end.

I’ve felt immense pride when client after client walked through my career pathing process and not only discovered her answers, but also allowed her answers to be worthy of living and breathing, of becoming a reality right in front of her.

Then the pandemic began. With it came sickness, loss, fear of the unknown, fear of the known. There was a hunger for connection and also a calling to be all things for our families. Protector, provider, teacher, spinner of a china cabinet’s worth of plates.

The women in my world were struggling. They were critical of themselves for their inability to make an impossible situation work. Many were laid off. For some their caregiving breaks were extended way beyond their level of comfort. Their job searches, career transitions, and dreams were put on pause with the rest of life.

In this moment, I was called to serve them, to see them, to show up for them in an entirely new way. From this chaos, Career Command was born.

The intention of Career Command was twofold:

1. Share my proven career pathing process with the women who needed it most, expanding my impact WAY beyond the number of clients I could serve with 1:1 coaching.

2. Provide a brave space for women to share both their struggles and wins as they build careers on their own terms (the opposite of what our culture tells us is possible...*rolls eyes*).

I’m not going to lie. I was both 100% committed to this program AND I was filled with more fear than my 15lb Schnoodle pup when he sees a German Shepherd. I moved through my fear with all of my coaching tools, supportive friends and family, and a kickass team who filled in for all of my "less energizing strengths."

And I could not be more proud of what we’ve built.

We’re now halfway through with our 2nd three month cohort of Career Command and the women are making big shifts, sharing their wins and diving into all the content like it’s their job...because their biggest insight in the program is that investing (time and money) in themselves matters. Their career dreams matter.

With all of the experience of these first two groups and their helpful feedback, I’m so excited for some of the tweaks we’re making to the program so that it’s even more powerful.

As it always has been, Career Command will continue to be for mid-career women who are looking to step into work that is more meaningful to them and is on their terms. It is for women who are either in an active job search or career transition OR those who are simply feeling that nudge that they want something more and don’t know where to begin.

In this next version of the program, we have...

• Reshaped it into a 6-month program...because that’s how long career shifts take and I want to support you through each step of the process!

• Added more virtual hands-on workshopping for ALL of the modules...so you have a space to share your insights and feelings around each one.

• Provided more space to connect with this amazing community of women by adding curated Career Pods (based on either industry, discipline, or other connective threads).

If this sounds like it’s for you and you’re ready to make the shift with us, I can’t wait to see you there. I’m opening the doors for this program on September 13th and I've created a waitlist so you can be the first to know when and where to join.

Sign, me up for that waitlist, please!

And you may have seen that the week before we open up Career Command, I’m going to offer a free week of group coaching and support in a pop-up podcast called, Being Me At Work. I’m still fleshing out the details but will be back in your inbox next week with more information on how you can join us. Stay tuned!

Three Questions to Ask Before a Career Shift

I heard a really good litmus test for career shift timing.

If when you leave, it doesn’t feel bittersweet, you’ve stayed too long.

I love that it honors the fact that even when you know the change is the right thing for you, it will still be hard. There are people you’ll miss. Projects you’ll leave unfinished. A reputation that earned you respect and flexibility.

And yet, even with all of these gems in place within your current situation, there’s a nudge to move on. It’s hard to explain to your people AND also it grows to the point of being tough to ignore.

As I share with my clients, exploring your next move DOES NOT mean you’re quitting tomorrow. It simply means, you’re open to something new and you’re willing to take the steps to figure out what it is.

A thoughtful process includes getting clear on WHAT YOU WANT instead of responding to all the boring job descriptions YOU THINK YOU CAN DO. You must start inward to find the role that is on your terms, based on your priorities.

So how do you know if it’s the right time to start this process? I ask potential clients these three questions to see if they’re ready.

1. Are you hungry for something new (a company, different type of work, level of impact, company culture, way of working)?

2. Are you open to a period of time where you are exploring, where you don’t have all the answers right away?

3. Are you ready to make your needs, dreams, aspirations a priority--like truly making some time for yourself and this process each week? Hot tip: It doesn’t have to be A LOT of time. Even with 1-2 hours a week, you can make progress and gain momentum.

If you answered yes, to all of these questions...what are you waiting for? Let’s talk!

I’m now offering a 6-month, Career Transition 1:1 Coaching option that combines 1:1 Coaching Sessions and access to my online course, the Career Command Process. This online course is comprised of video modules, worksheets, and prompts - my Career Command Crew Members are RAVING about these resources. I’m thrilled to be able to bring my most powerful tools and private coaching together for one transformational program.

Only 5 spots are available for this new Career Transition 1:1 Coaching program so grab yours now!

Learn more about the program and feel free to schedule a call.

A Love Letter to My Career

I’ve been talking to many women lately who know they’re ready for a change, but they’re worried…

They won’t be able to figure out what they want.

It will be hard on their families.

They’ll walk away from things they like in their roles and never find them again.

They’re not good at change.

I know these thoughts intimately.

This is where I was before I made my own career transition. All of these thoughts compounded my feeling of hopelessness.

They were the beliefs that made me want to prioritize my partner’s career. He seemed to have more momentum, so why not focus energies on helping him thrive while I simply maintained a career that kept us afloat financially?

In all of this overwhelm of being a working parent to two small children, there was a kernel of agency that began as an itch, moved into an ache, and then grew to flood my body with despair.

I wanted more.

And I was embarrassed to admit it.

Instead, I focused on my gratitude for two healthy children, a partner who loved me, and just enough money to live the lifestyle we wanted to live (though it didn’t feel that way at the time).

But even with all the goodness in my life, I wanted to have something of my own. To contribute to the world in some way. To wake up energized by my work and my impact.

I wanted all of that, but I didn’t know how to get through the stuckness to have it. That stuck, lost woman was and is a part of me and she was trying to get my attention. One of the most powerful ways I’ve learned to tap into what she wants over the years is to connect with her directly, to see her, to believe her.

I show her love with words, with letters that give her a space to want what she wants. At the beginning of my transition, I wrote a forgiveness letter to myself, an exercise that I now include in my career pathing process with clients. While the original version is in some journal somewhere that was no doubt, Marie Kondo’ed, here’s how I remember it so you know how to write your own letter if you so choose. You know I like to give homework!

Dear 30-something Rachel,

I’m sorry I’ve been ignoring you. You’ve been sending me signals with tears, overwhelm, boredom, tantrums, mindless eating, and insatiable devouring of the Twilight trilogy. You want more in your career, but you don’t believe you’re capable of anything else. I’m so sorry you feel that way. I’m sorry I let you believe that. We’ve survived unimaginable things together and we haven’t made it through these tragedies so you can live an “it’s fine” life. No fucking way. I want you to know, I’m listening now. We may not know what it is that’s next, but I’m open to believing there is something else and that our dreams are worth exploring.

Love,

Almost 40-year old Rachel

PS. Are you really going to make me run a fucking marathon to figure this out? Well, I’m signed up, so here goes.

Now that I’m 47 as of last week (happy belated birthday to me!) I am present to the power of addressing the hurt parts of me with compassion. I can acknowledge their pain instead of beating them into submission. Yes, I’m resilient, but I don’t always have to be surviving something. I want to be thriving.

I encourage you to write your own Career Love Letter. In this practice, you can create a space to forgive and acknowledge yourself and trust the nudges you’re getting to go for more.

I’d love to hear how it goes. Feel free to write back to this email or set up a time for a clarity call if you’re ready to honor your curiosity for what’s next.

Sign Up for a 30 Minute Complimentary Call Here!