Jo VanEvery

Love Your (Academic) Work

Search this site

  • Home
  • Coaching
  • Academic Writing Studio
  • Library
  • Who I Am
  • Contact
  • Books

Introducing Wayfinding

Posted on April 30, 2015 by Jo VanEvery Leave a Comment

On the 10th anniversary of self-employment, I’ve been reviewing and updating my services. This post is part of a series introducing you to what I offer now.

You can’t always get what you want
But if you try sometime, you just might find
You get what you need
(Jagger & Richards, You Can’t Always Get What You Want)

Everyone gets frustrated with their work and career from time to time. It’s so hard to figure out how to get what you want in the context you are in. Not to mention the gremlins that tell you you aren’t even allowed to want what you want.

artwork ©Christine Martell used under license

artwork ©Christine Martell used under license

And sometimes you can’t even articulate for yourself what it is you want. All those other stories are there shaping your own story. And parts of those stories are helpful but …

I’m really good at helping you figure out what you need and want. I ask questions the help you discern what you want and need amongst all the stories. I notice things in your answers, ask more questions …

When I was evaluating and refining my services recently, I struggled a lot to name this one. “Navigating” was close but didn’t feel right. Sure enough, when I looked it up in the dictionary, I discovered that “navigating” carries the sense that you plan a detailed route and stick with it unless there is some kind of extraordinary circumstance that requires you to adjust. The decisions are made and then you just follow the map and arrive at your destination.

Careers aren’t like that. There are too many unknowable elements when you are planning, and too much of the outcome is dependent on things over which you have no control. Unlike flying a plane, you can’t run on autopilot and just take over when something unexpected happens.

“Wayfinding” is associated with signs, creating them for others to follow and following them. You can start a journey with a general sense of the destination and direction but without a detailed sense of the route if you know how to read the signs and make decisions along the way.

Image © Christine Martell, Visuals Speak, used under license

Image © Christine Martell, Visuals Speak, used under license

In a Wayfinding session I help you articulate where you want to go (the destination), and get at some of the needs that underpin that desire so that you can make adjustments as necessary without losing yourself. Then we look at where you are, what some of the signs say, get you oriented in the right direction, and figure out how to start moving towards that destination.

The Wayfinding service helps you make the decisions that allow you to move confidently along the next part of your route. I assume you are not travelling this route alone. You work with others. You have other guides who are knowledgeable about the specific terrain in ways that I am not. I help you figure out how to get the support you need for your journey without ending up accidentally following someone else’s path. And if you want and need my help going forward, we work out how I can be most useful.

Learn more about Wayfinding and book a session.

Related posts:

The goal and what you can do

The importance of your vision

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail

Filed Under: My services

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Proudly powered by WordPress

© 2021 Jo VanEvery | Privacy Policy

Proudly powered by WordPress