Multi-Faceted

I recently had my performance review with my manager. We got to talking about coaching and classes, and she encouraged me to explore classes or other offerings Cisco has for its employees. I was surprised to find that Cisco offers all their employees free coaching services through a company called Randstand Risesmart. I had previously taken 6 months of coaching through another service called Better Up, and I loved the coaches I met and the time we spent together. I decided to schedule a call with a coach through this new platform.

I’ve met with my new coach, Stacy, a couple of times now, and I am already loving our time together. The first time we met she encouraged me to create a vision board to display the things I enjoy about work. This past week when we met, I explained that my vision board ended up detailing a lot about my blog, or my “passion project.” I talked through why this confuses me. Does this mean that I should be pursing this blog as my “career?” Am I in the wrong line of work? Should I be doing something different? How do I know what I “should” be doing? She encouraged me with one word; she said we are all multi-faceted beings, and it’s not always so black and white.

That softened things for me. Instead of feeling like I need to have it all figured out and make some drastic change, I can accept that I am a multi-faceted person with many interests. This helps me appreciate that although I have this blog that allows me to share my interests with others, I can also fully appreciate the corporate work I do. My career has allowed me to explore and grow in many ways, learning various skills and becoming knowledgeable in my industry. I am fortunate that I can and do develop myself in many ways.

To be honest, I love my job. I love the people I work with, and I believe in Cisco’s mission to connect the world. I love that my work is creative in ways that I enjoy - I get to analyze, make business cases, present, and collaborate with others. I feel like my work has an impact on a huge business. I feel knowledgeable and competent. And, I am continuously learning. I love growing in that way. I’ve always loved school; I pursued my bachelor’s and my master's degrees in business administration, and I want to continue that growth at work.

Coaching is a great resource to help me explore and identify how I want to move forward with that growth. I find that the exercises coaches use are incredibly helpful in examining my skills and guiding me to acknowledge the best of myself. It’s been helpful for me as I learn what it means to be both a mom and an individual with a career. My first coaching experience was shortly after I came back from maternity leave with Arnie, and now I am doing the same after having Amara. It’s a nice way for me to have a bit of a reset and talk through all of my successes and determine how I can continue finding more success in the future.