I’m approaching a milestone birthday soon. One that in all honesty I feel privileged to have reached knowing that some don’t. It’s giving me pause for thought.
Last week in the kick off of my September cohort for the Clarity & Confidence programme, one person recognised that the person she was 4 years ago wouldn’t have seen where she could be now – and that’s a great motivator for seeing what the next 4 years can bring.
With that in mind, I wanted to look back at my career and see how my choices led me here.
My first 4 year surprise was between achieving my A-levels (the photo shows me around then) and getting my first job. Going to university felt a long way off and I struggled at first, leaving Newcastle after one term, but later completed my degree at Bristol which taught me resilience.
I worked as an engineer for a number of years but wasn’t happy. What I couldn’t have foreseen at the start of that period was that within 10 years I’d be working as an HR Manager in a small business, learning at Oxford Brookes University on day release and putting it into practice the very next day. It wasn’t all a deliberate move on my part – A redundancy gave me the push to change discipline and a supportive consultant helped me reshape my CV which led to an HR Manager role with no direct HR experience.
In a 2 year global role I met Yetunde Hofmann who took a punt on me to support a global team she was working with as a team coach. I studied and coached my first clients and while I enjoyed it, it was hard at that point to see how I could ever make a career out of it.
Another redundancy had me reflecting on the type of organisation I wanted to work for next – the culture, the people, the work. I chose to take a step down into a local learning and development role because the organisation felt like such a good fit with my values. It could have been a risk but within 2 years I was UK HR Director. I had a view that a Director role was beyond me – something that only a few could reach. It was Declan Keogh who asked me a critical question when I popped by to see him for a quick check in at the end of a long day: ‘When are you going to apply for that HR Director role?’ – he could see what I couldn’t.
From there, I moved on to a global talent and learning role and was part of a team that supported the cultural integration of 17000 employees from Wrigley into Mars. I spent many weeks in the US, something that the teenager walking in the woods would not have believed.
Finally, I worked as a global internal consultant- putting myself into first time situations and locations with people I didn’t know which, while causing a little anxiety I must be honest, really grew my skills but more importantly my self-belief that I am resourceful and can handle what comes my way. I also completed a part‑time Masters in Coaching and Mentoring during that period.
And then, with my parents having health issues, came a real cross roads moment where I gave up the security of a well paid role to start my own business.
I can absolutely say that it was 100% the right decision enabling me to support Mum and Dad through difficult times over the last 10 years.
So what can I take from this reflection over my career?
1. We rarely see the full picture when we are standing at the start
At each stage I thought I knew the limits of what was possible. I did not. The person I was at nineteen could not imagine completing a degree. The engineer I was at twenty five could not imagine becoming an HR Manager. The HR Manager I was at thirty five could not imagine becoming a Director. The coach I was at forty could not imagine running a business. We often underestimate what time, support and courage can make possible.
2. Difficulty is often the doorway to the next chapter
The moments that felt the hardest were the ones that opened the biggest opportunities. Dropping out of university. Redundancy. Feeling out of my depth. Each one created space to rethink, to learn, to ask for help and to take a step that felt a lot at the time. I did not always enjoy those moments but they taught me that progress often begins in discomfort.
3. Other people sometimes see our potential before we do
I can trace several turning points back to someone who believed in me. Yetunde trusting me to coach a global team. Declan asking me when I was going to apply for the Director role. They remind me that we do not always grow alone. Sometimes we need someone to believe in us and show us what we are capable of.
4. Values matter more than job titles
The step down into a local learning role could have looked like a backwards move but it put me in an organisation where I felt respected and aligned. That alignment created the conditions for growth. It taught me that choosing the right environment is often more important than choosing the next rung on the ladder.
5. Courage compounds over time
Each decision built confidence for the next one. Studying again. Changing discipline. Coaching for the first time. Travelling internationally for work. Starting a business. Each one strengthened my belief that I could handle what came next. Courage grows through action.
6. Life outside work shapes our choices and our success
Supporting my parents was a life decision rather than a career decision but it shaped my work in ways I could not have predicted. It gave me purpose, perspective and a clear sense of what matters. It taught me that careers are not separate from life. They sit within it.
7. You can create a future you cannot yet imagine
Looking back, the thread that runs through all of this is simple. I did not know what was possible. I could not see the next chapter fully until I was already living it. Yet each time I made intentional choices that felt right for me. The future is not fixed. It is shaped by the choices we make, the people we meet and the courage and intentionality we show.
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