A Case Study By Darshini Santhanam, Personal Coach, UNITED KINGDOM
A Client’s Journey to a Value-led Life: Clearing the Path
I will refer to the client in this case study as “Client M”[1]. M started their coaching journey with me at the start of 2023. They came into the first session with a lot of notes about their work and wanted to explore what’s next for themselves in their career. In this case study, I explore this client’s journey toward deeper self-awareness and ultimately clarity toward their professional goals.
About the Client
Client M is a Global Program Manager for Data Governance at Uber, a position he has held since January 2022. In this role, he is responsible for overseeing the implementation and maintenance of data governance policies and procedures across Uber’s global operations.
Prior to joining Uber, Client M worked at PwC as a Manager for Cloud and Digital for over 5 years. In this position, he led teams in the development and implementation of cloud-based solutions for PwC’s clients. He also worked as an IT Business Analyst for Business Intelligence at Johnson Controls & a Senior Technical Associate at Bank of America, where he was responsible for managing software development projects.
Throughout his career, Client M has gained expertise in data governance, cloud computing, business intelligence, and software development. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Anna University and a Master’s degree in Information Systems from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Personally, Client M is single and lives with a roommate in New York, with his dog.
Why the Client Sought Out a Coach
Client M had been feeling “out of it”[2] at work for a while now and was keen to explore what could be next for him. He was unsure about his own role in the organization and how he could be effective and impactful. He felt many frustrations at work and felt unfulfilled. He also felt like his voice wasn’t being heard. There was a sense of specific frustration around how disorganized his work environment felt for him. Coming into the first session, he was clear that he wanted to leverage coaching as a way to figure out what he wanted to do next career-wise.
Deep Dive on the Client’s Challenges
Client M struggled with the following challenges:
- In their past roles, Client M had worked very hard and long hours in consulting. While this was hugely rewarding for him, he found that it did not give him enough time for the people he wanted to prioritize. As a result of it, he felt that he was missing out on important moments in his friend’s and family’s lives.
- At his current workplace, his frustrations related to a lack of actionable feedback and a non-hierarchical work environment resulted in a lack of clear ownership.
- The client felt that the organizational culture at Uber did not align with their personal values or sense of purpose, and he struggled to feel engaged in his work. He found some purpose in the work he did for his reporting team but not so much in the work, he did with his superiors.
- Overall, he felt disengaged and felt that his work environment was stifling his creativity and desire for seamless collaboration.
The Client’s Goals
Client M’s explicit goals were:
- Clarifying career goals: Determine what type of career he wanted to pursue and what steps he needed to take to get there.
- Identifying strengths and motivations: Client M wanted to gain a better understanding of their strengths and motivations, in order to determine which career path might be the best fit ahead for them. This was especially critical to the client because of their multi-industry past.
- Improving work-life balance: Having spent many years burning the candle on both ends, the client was keen to learn strategies for achieving a healthy work-life balance in their future job and to reduce stress and improve overall well-being.
As we explored these areas, the client added this goal to our agreement:
- Client M had told themselves over and over again that “they’re fine”, and that they could handle whatever chaos was thrown their way at work because they would “be fine”. However, through questioning, he was able to admit that maybe he really was not fine. He wanted to explore that further and in the future only look for roles that would allow him to be fine, and not have to convince himself that he was fine.
Arriving at Alignment
To understand Client M’s perspective and goals, I asked him about his specific challenges with the culture and direction he was receiving. We explored whether it was a lack of communication or clarity, or a values misalignment. Understanding these details helped us identify the root cause of the conflict and find a path forward that aligned with Client M’s values and leveraged his strengths.
We also delved into Client M’s goals and values, discussing what he hoped to achieve in his career and the kind of impact he wanted to have. By understanding his goals, we were able to develop a plan that aligned with his values and goals.
Client M cared deeply about his team’s development, but he didn’t feel supported in upskilling them adequately. As a coach, we explored ways to help Client M advocate for his team’s development and build a plan to upskill them that aligned with his and his team’s goals.
As a coach, my role was to listen deeply, ask thought-provoking questions, and work collaboratively with Client M to identify his strengths, motivations, and challenges, and develop a plan to move forward. Working with him, he was able to identify both what he wanted out of a job and what he did not want.
The “Ah-Ha!” Moment
The “ah-ha!” moment for Client M came in our fourth session. The client is usually always very prepared for their sessions and tends to take pages of notes. They even usually set an agenda for what they want to discuss in a document that they’ve shared with me. This session was different, though. He spoke for long durations at a stretch and his thoughts were less organised than usual. But it was in this “bowl of entangled noodles” that he mentioned multiple times that he was “fine”, or that, “I’ll be fine”. I asked him – “is that true?”. And he spoke for another 25 minutes straight about how he says that to himself in order to feel fine. But he had never asked himself if he was truly fine. We continued to explore this to eventually arrive at the real issues.
Coaching Approach & Tools: Clearing the Path
As a coach, I approached Client M’s case with empathy and curiosity. Client M was going through a challenging time in his career, struggling with the culture at Uber and conflicting and unclear directions from management, but he enjoyed the work he was doing.
Some examples of questions that I asked Client M through the course of our engagement:
- What are your current career goals and aspirations?
- What challenges are you facing in your career right now?
- What is important to you?
- How are you feeling about your current situation?
- What are the values that drive you in your career and life?
- What does a good work-life balance look like for you?
- What motivates you to do the work that you do?
- What obstacles are standing in your way?
- How might you overcome obstacles?
- How might you better align your personal values and work goals?
- What support do you need to achieve your goals?
- Who might be able to provide that support?
In terms of Tools, I Used Two Specific Ones:
- FlipIt[3]
I felt that the FlipIt tool could be helpful in Client M’s case. He was invalidating himself in many ways. The FlipIt tool is designed to help individuals shift their perspective on a challenging situation, reframing it in a more positive and empowering way. This tool can help individuals like Client M, who are struggling with conflicting feelings about their career and associated feelings, to gain a new perspective and find a path forward.
In Client M’s case, he held limiting beliefs about his own self-worth and happiness in his role. He also held beliefs around “I can’t make an impact in a culture where I don’t feel heard” or “I am not getting enough support to upskill my team.” These beliefs may be causing him to feel stuck and unsure about what to do next.
By using the FlipIt tool, Client M reframed these limiting beliefs into more positive and empowering beliefs. For example, he flipped from “I can’t make an impact in a culture where I don’t feel heard” to “I have the ability to make a positive impact on my team and create change, even in a challenging culture.” He was able to come up with an action plan for himself. By reframing his limiting beliefs in this way, Client M can start to see new opportunities and possibilities.
The FlipIt tool can also help Client M focus on his strengths and the positive aspects of his current situation. For example, he may be able to flip “I am not getting enough support to upskill my team” to “I have a strong commitment to my team’s development and I am willing to invest my own time and resources to help them grow.” This reframing can help Client M feel more empowered and motivated to take action.
When it came to exploring the client’s sense of “being ok” or “feeling ok”, we used the FlipIt tool to explore, “Is this thought really true? Am I really not good enough? Are there times when I have succeeded or received positive feedback?” We even explore – “What would respecting yourself look like, when you stop invalidating yourself?”. The client’s exploration here was where we ended up spending most of our time. I noticed his body language fundamentally changed and he started to feel like he was getting a grasp on what he wanted his future to look like.
Overall, the FlipIt tool can be a valuable tool for individuals like Client M who are struggling with conflicting feelings about their careers. By reframing limiting beliefs and focusing on strengths and positive aspects of their situation, individuals can gain a new perspective and find a path forward that aligns with their goals and values.
- A Gratitude Exercise[4]
As his coach, I recognized that a gratitude exercise could be a helpful part of a coaching session for Client M for several reasons.
- Practicing gratitude can help shift his focus from what he is unhappy about in his career to what he is grateful for in his life. This shift in perspective can help him feel more positive and energized, which can in turn help him feel more motivated to take action and make positive changes in his career.
- A gratitude exercise could help Client M identify and appreciate the positive aspects of his current situation. For example, he may be grateful for the work that he enjoys doing or for the team that he leads. This focus on the positive aspects of his situation can help him feel more empowered and motivated to take action to make positive changes.
- A gratitude exercise can help Client M cultivate a more positive mindset in general, which can help him navigate future challenges and setbacks more effectively. By regularly practicing gratitude, he may become more resilient and better equipped to handle the ups and downs of his career.
In a coaching session, I guided Client M through a gratitude exercise by asking him to reflect on the things in his life that he is grateful for. This may include aspects of his personal life, his career, his relationships, or anything else that he feels grateful for. After the first time I introduced it, I found him using this tool repeatedly on his own.
Overall, I felt that both FlipIt and a Gratitude Exercise were valuable tools for Client M to help shift his perspective and cultivate a more positive mindset. He shared with me that it helped him feel more empowered and motivated to take action to make positive changes in his career.
The Outcome for the Client
At the core of it, Client M’s issue was that he was in an environment where his values and beliefs were in conflict with himself on a daily basis. This left him feeling demotivated, unhappy, and overall directionless. He arrived at this over time, having reflected between sessions and having taken the time to untangle the “bowl of noodles” that were his thoughts. Upon arriving at this conclusion, he was able to move forward to make choices for how he wanted to proceed with his career. He also achieved clarity around how he wanted to work to live rather than live to work[5].
Reflections as Coach
By reflecting on my client’s journey to finding clarity about their career and what makes them feel good about what they do, I realized that in that journey, I could help them identify their core values, motivations, strengths, and passions. This can help them find a career that is fulfilling, satisfying, and aligned with their true self. I discovered several important insights:
- Values: My client’s values are driving their career choices. For example, they may feel good about what they do when they are helping others, making a positive impact on the world, or expressing their creativity.
- Motivations: I discovered what motivates my client and what they find fulfilling in their work. They feel good about what they do when they are learning new skills, being challenged, or achieving their goals.
- Passion: You discovered what my client is truly passionate about, and what brings them a sense of joy and excitement in their work. This can help them find a career that they are passionate about and brings a sense of purpose.
Ultimately, my role here was to observe with curiosity and ask questions. I leveraged tools where I felt it was relevant and found the client to be heavily engaged in those sessions. This coaching journey involved trust and a deep focus on the client.
I was heartened to see the progress my client made over our sessions. He was committed to his own growth and that made it a pleasure to work with him. For me, I was left with the feeling that in coaching, it’s critical for the coach to trust the process.
The essence of coaching lies in helping others to discover their own path.- James Flaherty[6].
The process will deliver what the client needs and what’s best for them. Our role as a coach is really to be a tool in that process to help them towards clearing their path.
References
[1] This has been done in order to protect their identity. I will refer to them as “them” or “he/him” over the course of this case study.
[2] In his own words.
[3] ICA’s FlipIt Tool
[4] I created my own gratitude exercise in 2023, which I used on Client M.
[5] Source: Work to Live or Live to Work?
[6] Flaherty, J. (2010). Coaching: Evoking Excellence in Others (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann.