The Client: Kathy, a veteran marketing director in high tech industry. The Circumstance. Kathy, in her 25-plus year career had worked in a range of small start-up companies to large global organizations. Within that path she had experienced the spectrum of cultures that had come along through the high tech boom to the bust, to the market challenges of the past several years. After a couple of difficult layoff experiences, Kathy was starting to rethink her high-tech focus and was ready to explore new industries. Kathy’s most recent layoff – one of three in six years – was a call for her to look at her career path in more depth. Kathy reflected, “In all three layoffs, it felt as if a black cloud came rolling in – the cultures shifted, budgets tightened and teams disintegrated.” But after experiencing three layoffs in a row, Kathy had hit a low point in her career. “My confidence was pretty low and you start to question your capabilities and ask what’s wrong with me?” She was about to rediscover that indeed, nothing was wrong with Kathy – it was merely a sign of the times. But she was going to choose differently this time around. It was this intent that led her to Kami Guildner at Syzygy™. Shifting Sand: At the time Kathy first met with Kami, Kathy was working with another job coach. Kathy’s prior coaching work had been fairly tactical – such as how to rewrite your resume, how to network and how to use LinkedIn. “Kami took me back to a much deeper foundation starting with, ‘Who am I,’ helping me explore my background, and examine my strengths. Her approach was much more holistic and helped me connect back to who I am as a person.” As part of her Syzygy coaching experience, Kathy participated in a 360? program which sought input on her skills and talents from people who knew her work well. The participants in the 360? program shared stories of where they’d seen her at her best, and then identified specifically what talents Kathy had brought to the situation to make it a success. Kathy expressed, “The 360? program was very powerful and invigorating. This was feedback from the people who knew me best. I realized I have a lot to offer. Their shared respect of my leadership and my expertise was huge step out of the hole I’d found myself in.” Exploring new job opportunities can be a scary and frustrating experience. The Syzygy coaching experience guided Kathy through a deep look at her strengths, passions and values. “The process enabled me to focus yet remain objective when looking at new opportunities – even in a turbulent and struggling economy. Kami empowered me to look for the ‘right job,’ and not feel like, Oh my God, I have to take the first job, just because I need a job. She gave me the confidence and the patience to find something that was a really good fit.” While reflecting on the overall coaching experience, Kathy shared, “Kami’s foundation of starting with your strengths and passions makes a big difference in the outcome and results. I gained a very deep trust in our relationship. Her intuitive approach to questions helped me get to the essence of the situation. She encouraged me to consider scenarios from multiple angles – and with that came my own answers. She’s good at that.” Shifting Paradigms: As Kathy explored points in her life where she’d been most passionate – health and wellness kept coming up. “I love to exercise, I love to eat good healthy foods, and I love how I feel when my own health is at its best.” As this realization came into the forefront, as life’s great synchronicity would have it, so did an opportunity in a company focused on healthy lifestyles. Kathy took a marketing leadership role on a wellness focused company. Describing her new role with satisfaction and a rejuvenated sense of energy: “It’s such a different environment – smaller yet growing quickly – even in this economy. It’s a healthy company and a healthy culture. I’m working with a great team and I love coming to work every day. My Syzygy coaching experience led me to a whole new paradigm that is much more positive and connected to who I am as a person. For this I’m thankful.” NOTE: Names in this Case Study have been changed to maintain confidentiality of the Syzygy client.