#131: Career pivoting and making leaps into the unknown with Iesha Small
Release Date: 09/26/2024
#133 Closing a door when you feel something bigger is calling with Dr. Enya Doyle
Another Door Stories
“If it's consulting for forever, then it's consulting for forever. But at least be the captain of your own ship and being curious about what it would be like to be the captain of my own ship.” I am talking to Dr. Enya Doyle, known as the ‘Harassment Doctor’. Enya’s closing door was the moment she decided to leave academia and start her own consultancy. Enya shares her career journey, starting from her academic roots in gender and classical music to becoming a leading consultant in anti-harassment and inclusion. The conversation is about seeing opportunity when it feels like there...
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#132 From tech giant to embracing entrepreneurship with Glenn Block
Another Door Stories
“What if I could author my life the way I want it to be? What would that look like? And the more I started to think about that it was, you know, not working for anybody. It was creating my own spaces, creating my own company where I get to do the things I really care about, and where I can structure it” Join me talking to Glenn Block, whose journey from corporate life to entrepreneurship is packed with valuable lessons and insights, and stories of how getting it wrong on the first go can turn out to be OK! Glenn shares the moment he decided to close a door on working in ‘big...
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#131: Career pivoting and making leaps into the unknown with Iesha Small
Another Door Stories
“Until that moment I had never left a job with nothing to go to. I've always had something lined up. So this time I was like, Iesha, what are you gonna do? I had no idea. And that was perfectly OK. I had to trust myself” Today's guest, Iesha Small, shares her journey from engineering to the world of education to her current role as Head of Comms, and now encouraging others with her writing and coaching. We talk about the twists and turns of career change, and pivoting. Where you aren't always sure what your next move is, but you make it anyway. Sometimes doors...
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#130 Is a dream job possible, even when you close the door on a dream job?
Another Door Stories
"I just started to ask myself, as many people do ‘Do I want to do this for another 20 years? Is there something else?’. I got curious, maybe there are some other doors I want to look through and maybe it's time to shut this door and find out." Does a dream job really exist? We’re joined by the seasoned journalist and career coach Rachel Schofield to talk about ‘dream jobs’. We explore the themes of unearthing core passions, overcoming imposter syndrome, and finding stability amidst the chaos of change. And what if you have, on paper, a dream job, but have a feeling there might be...
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#129 From ‘Corporate Hangover’ to the Happy Startup Coach with Sarah Clarke
Another Door Stories
“The problem with having ‘a corporate hangover’ is that it doesn't allow you to be authentically yourself. And in order to be a successful business owner, you need to be authentically yourself.” On this episode we have Sarah Clarke, who closed a door on a corporate career after being made redundant and discovering she was pregnant for a second time. Sarah shares how motherhood and the redundancy gave her the impetus to start her own business. She now helps women start and grow their businesses as "The Happy Startup Coach." "I kind of remember mulling over my idea for this...
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#128 Coming back from your darkest day with Andy Coley
Another Door Stories
Content Warning: This episode mentions attempted suicide and despair. “If you put me back 13 years ago when I was going to run my car into a tree I never ever would have believed that this life I have right now is possible. I would have called you absolutely fucking bonkers to ever thought that was possible." Andy Coley In today's episode, we have Andy Coley, who shares his story of his “epic life fail” as Life took over, ‘wrong’ decisions, foggy thinking, where everything felt out of control in the pursuit of being in full control. Andy shares the moment he felt...
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#127 Coming Through The Other Side of Burnout
Another Door Stories
“I know that burnout is preventable. I know that every single one of us can take steps to prevent it and to avoid it. I will say, perhaps somewhat oddly, for some of us, we have to get to that point of burnout in order for us to make the changes. I want to make burnout not be a thing, because we never reach it" In today's episode is Kelly Swingler, ‘the burnoutologist’ and author of Mind The Gap: A Story of Burnout, Breakthrough and Beyond. Kelly shares her moment of burnout in a high pressure HR corporate role, and how she is now on a mission to banish burnout altogether as a...
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#126 Breaking free from toxic productivity to find joy
Another Door Stories
"I was doing far too much and I had been doing far too much as long as I could remember. I didn't know the word burnout still at that point in time but I was burnt out and I needed to make a drastic change." In today's episode, we're joined by the incredible Tamu Thomas, who brings her wisdom and heart-centred approach to self-growth and healing. Tamu shares her story of transitioning from a high pressure, high stress career to a life more aligned with her core values, and a life filled with more joy. A move sparked by her battles with depression, anxiety, and a powerful wake-up call during a...
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#125 Closing a door when you are (in the eyes of others) at the peak of success
Another Door Stories
“Starting something new is really exciting, and closing one door on something that doesn't serve you or make you happy anymore is very good for your mind, body, and spirit.” Claire Winter is the creative force behind the Creatrix Journey and Winter Audio and she shares her journey of embracing joy and ease in her work after closing the door on a successful but exhausting content marketing business to curating walking and creative writing experiences and co-founding a podcast production agency. We talk about tricky mid-life transitions, surviving burn out, and testing...
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#124 The Power of Saying Yes to Opportunity (and the Joy of Accidental Careers) with Andrea McLean
Another Door Stories
“It is never what happens to you, it’s how you react to it” On this episode Andrea McLean, media coach and presenter, joins us to talk about early career doors that open and close for us that lead us, often unexpectedly, to define where our career goes. We talk about when life feels like a hall of mirrors, accidental careers, the people around us in moments of change, losing your dream job and not letting fear get in the way, Andrea’s refreshing philosophy of saying yes and going with the flow is a good reminder to be open to opportunities, even if they don’t...
info_outline“Until that moment I had never left a job with nothing to go to. I've always had something lined up. So this time I was like, Iesha, what are you gonna do? I had no idea. And that was perfectly OK. I had to trust myself”
Today's guest, Iesha Small, shares her journey from engineering to the world of education to her current role as Head of Comms, and now encouraging others with her writing and coaching.
We talk about the twists and turns of career change, and pivoting. Where you aren't always sure what your next move is, but you make it anyway.
Sometimes doors close for us, and we have to decide what to do next, other times we are closing that door for ourselves, and we are in full ownership of why it’s important and what we want next.
Iesha shares her thoughts and ponders in a brilliant weekly blog, and takes the pressure and perfection out of career changing.
"What's the point of achieving all this stuff if it is not gelling with what you actually think is important in life?"
Here are the highlights:
11:19 First time quitting a job without backup.
16:26 Decided to take breaks and rest intuitively.
20:59 Serendipitous job came from conversations during time off.
25:20 Started career pivot talks on LinkedIn.
31:42 Choose family time over earning more money.
32:26 Intentional career shift after realising future uncertainty.
42:19 Weekly emails help with career strategy and values.
55:58 Show Your Work: Share expertise, attract opportunities.
Iesha Small’s Another Door go-tos
The things that helped Iesha navigate change.
Book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho; Show Your Work by Austin Kleon.
Music: "You Can't Break My Soul" by Beyoncé.
One piece of advice: “ If you don't fail, you're probably not doing anything hard enough.”
About Iesha Small:
Iesha Small is a communications professional who has navigated a diverse career path from mechanical engineering to education and now communications. She leverages this experience to help leaders and professionals confidently pivot careers and build profitable passion projects. As a Head of Communications and founder of Cute Fruit Ltd, Iesha combines corporate expertise with entrepreneurial insights. Her accomplishments include publishing "The Unexpected Leader," appearing on BBC, writing for The Guardian, and speaking at the National Theatre. Iesha's approach, rooted in her background as an introvert from a working-class family, offers practical advice for career development. She's found success in building an online presence, particularly on LinkedIn, which has transformed her understanding of digital communications. Iesha provides online workshops, one-on-one career strategy sessions, and a Career Pivot Pro course, helping others achieve their professional goals through continuous learning and adaptation.
Find out more: https://ieshasmall.com/
Connect with Iesha:
LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/ieshasmall/
Produced by winteraudio.co.uk
About your host Eleanor Tweddell:
Eleanor supports individuals, teams and organisations through change. Whether it’s 121 coaching or large scale organisational change through communications and training. Eleanor’s work centres around how we, as humans, work through change, embracing the messy bits, the role of playing, with the aim to see opportunity. “Too often we get stuck in the change happening to us, when just through that next door is an exciting next chapter.”
Eleanor is the founder of Another Door, and Get-Recommended.com and the author of Why losing your job could be the best thing that ever happened to you.
Connect with Eleanor:
Instagram:instagram/anotherdooruk
LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/eleanor-tweddell/
Website: eleanortweddell.com
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