Dani Tan: Hi, I'm Dani Tan, and if you are here, you are in the right place. Welcome to the Pivot and Promotion podcast, where we say, forget the rules because they weren't written for us. I'm Dani Tan. I'm your host as well as career and leadership coach and a proud advocate for redefining what success and leadership looks like. And here's what I know. You can lead at any level, you can pivot at any age, and you can make moves that feel right for you. Whether you're climbing the corporate ladder, starting something completely new, or just figuring out your next step, I've got you covered with strategies, stories, and straight up inspiration. So let's make some moves. All right, so today we're talking about promotion, pivot, how to make the right career move without having to start completely over.

And so when we start to achieve, achieve, achieve, get to a certain point within our careers, we start to figure out, okay, like, am I kind of feel installed? Am I kind of feeling. Feeling like I've done what I need to do? I feel like there's, like, this moment, this edge where I'm ready for something else, but I'm not sure what that is. And especially, especially when you are somebody who, you know, has worked so hard to get where they are, the next step kind of feels like it has extra weight to it. Before, it was like, roll up your sleeves. Anything goes to make this happen. And now there's like, oh, wait, there's more at stake here. There's people who count on me. I have a sense of responsibility.

I want to make sure my next step is the right move for myself. And. And especially when you've kind of, like, really reached that trajectory within your current path, you're like, oh, do I stay on this path or do I move somewhere else? And so a lot of the times there's like, these fears or thoughts that come up that if I make a move, I'm starting completely over. And I want us to kind of like, break it down with a plan with structure to make that happen. And so the thing is, is that you're not currently stuck on where you are right now. You just know that there is something more for you that's coming up. And so you just need support and structure and a plan to kind of make that happen. And so with that will come, the stuckness will come.

Oh, there's too many decisions to make at once. That's one of the factors here. And so when it feels like you're making too many decisions at once, we Kind of just like, stop, stuck, overwhelm, avoid, and then stay the status quo until we feel like a better answer or solution rises. But that's not how it works. And that's just because we have to do the work in order to actually figure out what that answer is and take action and move forward and have a plan. But promotions and pivot decisions become really heavy because now your income's tied to it, your identity is tied to it, your safety, your stability is tied to it, and you also have the weight of probably those you're responsible for. Maybe it's yourself, maybe it's your family, maybe it's your friends.

And so trying to figure out the next career move, whether it is to promote within externally or make a career change, it feels like there's extra weight to it. So in this episode, I want to help you understand, like, some steps, strategies, and just some reflections on what it takes to make a committed career decision and to walk away with some steps you can actually execute on. So let's go ahead and dive in. If you're somebody who has been really high performing at what it is that you do, you're like, my success is my survival, which is the thing that I talk about a lot, and I'm going up, up, up, or I'm pursuing this path and you're high achieving, ambitious, driven, motivated, all these things, you may start to feel stuck because now you've achieved this point where you realize there's a fork in the road.

And this may be because you are so trusted, relied on and capable of that, then it kind of feels like everything has this heavy weight on you. And so since you're good at what you do and it's unclear what to do next, you start to delay decisions instead of actually taking action. And then you start to say, well, I'm just not confident on what I want to do next, or I'm just unsure of what I want to do next, or I'm not sure what I'm good at, or I don't have clarity. But the reality actually is, is that confidence, clarity that comes from taking action. And so in reality, what the issue is, is having structure around decision making. So, like, decision structure really is the issue. So how can I, instead of trying to make so many decisions at once, do I stay?

Do I go? Do I change? How can we work together to actually outline what decisions need to be made in what sequence and what thoughts, beliefs or ideas need to be actually tested with structure to create safety around this? And that is a thing that I See, that comes up. And so you may mistake this with the thoughts of should I stay, should I leave? But in reality, the right question for you is, you know, what problem am I trying to solve by getting a promotion? Or why do I want a promotion? What problem am I trying to solve by leaving my job or making a pivot or why do I want to make a pivot? Or leave those thoughts behind that will help us understand what actually is needed to make these things happen.

Because if you do not name what the need, the want or the problem is, it will not get fixed just by moving forward. You'll end up putting yourself in a new situation where potentially you have, you know, thoughts about it, potential regrets about it, but the reality is that there was not enough done work up in advance and then you made a move. Have you ever had a problem at a job and you're like, oh my gosh, I have to go. And then you jump and you leave and you go to another job and then you come into the same problem again because potentially maybe you didn't identify the things that you were trying to leave or escape or avoid before and now you've run to the next thing. So, so this is what I want you to think about, and this is a promotion versus pivot decision audit.

And so what I want you to think about when it comes to a promotion is I have my clients do promotion planning. And so we don't leave it to your organization, your manager, your boss to do the promotion for you. Yes, if they have an outline in a system, that's great. But we do together a promotion plan. It's essentially doing career development together so you can bring it to your team, your organization and your manager. And so the first question is what evidence already exists with a promotion and what evidence means that it's actually possible? So I want you to think about, not like encouragement, not positive feedback, solely, not just potential, not like a once wish or aligned dream, but actual proof.

So what actual evidence do you have the promotion is possible, where you currently are, and what would need to change in the next 90 days, three months to make it make sense, Whether that is the scope of the work you're doing, the authority, the visibility, having relationships and influence with decision making powers that be when it comes to that, what is it that you need? My clients are making promotion plans in the first to second call of us working together and taking action on it to have an idea of what their next step is so they know right away whether it's going to happen or not happen. Because even a no or no answer is still a data point. Okay, it's still a data point. And so that helps us understand, is this a promotion that's going to happen internally or externally?

What move do we have to make? And then the next thing is you really want to understand what is going to be the next step for you. Then what do you believe a pivot will solve? What will changing careers do for you? Is it going to give you additional experience somewhere you want? Will it give you more happiness, alignment, money? What is that going to really do for you doing a pivot? Is it going to give you growth, alignment, stability? You decide what that is and then that way we can speed figure out for you what will be the best step. Is it a promotion internally, externally, or a career change? By collecting this information and doing an audit, that's how we create your promotion plan and your pivot plan to figure out what is the next path forward.

And so I help you break this down step by step so you're not going after everything at once, because that's what makes it really overwhelming and makes people stop. And so here's the thing, when you feel like you have to be decisions to make at once and you don't have a plan for these paths, the overthinking is what keeps you stuck. And so overthinking feels so responsible. Oh my gosh, I'm so responsible. I'm thinking about all the outcomes, all the possible possibilities. I always tell my clients like they're very similar to me. And we identify in this sense of we are decision A, B, C, D, E thinkers. We're always thinking about all the possible scenarios. And that's the thing is that there is a point where overthinking is no longer responsible and now it's actually just delaying potential discomfort, fears, avoidance.

And clarity actually does not come from thinking harder and harder. Clarity comes from intentional action, collecting data, having feedback. And so I want you to think that you do not not think, just remember, in all honesty, you do not need certainty to move forward. You need structure to make decisions, to collect data, to get feedback. And that is how you're able to move forward. And so what actually will help you create this clarity is having intentional conversations. No, more like hypothetical conversations, just with your in your mind of how these scenarios will go, but having structured clear conversations that help you collect the data so you're no longer just sitting with your thoughts, but actually collecting evidence so you can build confidence.

Evidence based confidence is the way you build your confidence to help make your Decisions and then separating what needs to be a decision now versus what doesn't. When we have 10 decisions on the table. Yeah, you're not going to take action because you're overwhelmed. And so what we do is we audit it down to what are the most important decisions to make right now based on what is that you want to do. And then testing the assumptions versus carrying them on. So when you have your promotion plan, your pivot plan, let's say it's your pivot plan, I have clients who are looking at one to two different career paths, maybe three. And what I do is I have them go through a sequence of tests to test out the assumptions of their pivot of do they feel like they have to start completely over?

Is it actually something that you can learn on the job? Is it something that you just need additional training for? And testing these assumptions versus just going with beliefs and thoughts and narratives internally of oh, I can't do it, I let's actually test it. So that's something that is really important because it helps create clarity of what that path will be. And then letting go of this idea that confidence comes before action, it doesn't. What clients do to arrive to a committed decision is one that they trust. And they trust it by building evidence, by testing it behind it. Which is why we create these plans. I always am told I'm a coach that is called a mix of facts and feelings. And there's a reason why I think your feelings and your emotions are definitely signals that are telling you something.

And then in order to help you believe and trust in them and build that self trust and confidence, we collect the evidence and data to back it up. And so this is the thing that I'll see with clients is that clients do not regret taking a step back, doing an audit, creating an action plan and taking steps forward. They don't. What they do is they regret staying unclear for so long. It always breaks my heart when I see someone who's like, I have been passed up for promotion for years, multiple times years. And then they come in, we create an action plan, they go and take action. They get promoted not once, but twice in a year. They make that move they've always been wanting to make. And that's what brings me the most happiness and joy.

Because it's not obvious. The structure, the support in corporate America is not clear on how to ask for a promotion. And as somebody who personally has gotten 11 promotions in 11 years, went from being a sample coordinator to a VP to multibillion dollar company to making multiple six figures in my early 30s. I can tell you that this has been tested and proven with myself, but also with my clients. I've had multiple clients who have gotten one to two promotions in a year, who have increased their salaries anywhere from 25 to 50k to doubling their salaries. And so the thing is, is that it's that you are completely smart, you're completely capable, the skills are there, but you just need a path and a plan to see what is possible.

It's the same thing with the pivot. I have clients who come to me and they're like, I know I've always wanted to do something else, but I'm not sure what it is. I have no idea where to start. Or maybe they have an idea, but they have these thoughts or beliefs that they can't do it. I need more training. I'll have to start over. I'm going to have be entry level, I have to go back to school. But they have never tested, audited, you know, went ahead and had more data to go off of to decide if that was actually true or not versus just internal narratives that are being created. And so I just want you to take this away. You can pivot. I had a client who pivoted her industry and got a salary increase without having to start over.

And then she had a promotion within a year, again within her organization. So what I'm trying to say is that the way to win on having a decision and to take execution is to have something that is a plan, that has measurable results and that can have something within your control of being able to take action with a plan. So what I want to do this week is I want you to write down what actually needs a decision in the next 90 days. So what do you try and decide in the next 90 days? Is it. Do I want to outline my promotion and is it possible for me to know in the next 90 days of when that's going to be? Doesn't have to happen in 90 days, but you want to have a timeline within the 90 days you have taken action on, scoping out what it is we need to talk to, making that happen and knowing what that timeline is to work towards.

If it's for a pivot in the next 90 days, what do you want to know? Do you want to know what requirements are actually required for those paths? Do you want to explore some paths, narrowing it down to two paths potentially and then going ahead and doing that? This is the thing you want to do. Write down what actually needs to be done from a decision making standpoint in the next 90 days and identify one conversation that will get you real information, whether that may be with a manager, a boss, somebody who's in that industry, Decide one conversation you need to have that will get you real data and information. And then stop trying to decide your entire career at once and focus on what is coming up for you within these next 90 days that will affect you.

And that's it. I want you to make sure that you are listening and you're taking action, collecting data and to reduce that overwhelm, to just really prioritize what's most important for you. And so here's the thing. If you are trying to make a decision to pivot or get promoted, and you do not want to have to feel like you are starting over and burning everything out and you want to collect the evidence, have structure and have a plan, this is exactly the work that I do with my clients in private coaching. So if you're at this decision point and you don't want to gamble on what your next step is, I highly recommend that you book a call with me so we can meet. So this is how it works within private coaching.

You book a call, we get on the call for 45 to 60 minutes and I hear and listen to what it is you want to achieve in the next six to 12 months, what kind of goals you have and where you're kind of feeling stuck, where you need support. And then what I do is I give you a coaching plan of what it would look like to work together for three to six months. In that work together, what it will look like is you get a customized coaching plan and then we work together tactically for three to six months. So during that time period in private coaching, you have an intake onboarding forum where I ask questions to understand what is your learning style, how do you like to be supported, how do you like feedback?

And then with that information, that custom coaching plan comes within our first call and we create a tactical action plan for every month that we are working together with action items of what it takes and entails to make sure you're going back to your goals. You have me on retainer, so you have me on retainer the entire time we're working together. We get on calls biweekly, one call to review what's been going on and taking action and giving feedback. Another week for integration, another week for a call. So after meeting biweekly in between those sessions, you have me on slack. So if you've never heard of Slack, Slack is where you can text, voice, note, send documents for review and you have me on that for the entire time together, whether that's three months or six months.

You are sending me anything you need for me to review. So I have clients send me portfolios, performance reviews, resumes, LinkedIn cover letters, all that good stuff through there and I review it. So people always say they feel like they work with me way longer just because of how much time and touch points we have in between. And outside of that, you'll also have access to my client pro that has all the resources and all the tools I teach my clients. And so, so, so much. Just knowing that within our time together you will have a promotion plan, a pivot plan, a new resume, a new LinkedIn, a new cover letter, and so much, so much more. Your interview prep, your negotiation prep, you name it.

So I have clients come in to me time and time again who are unsure should I pivot, should I get promoted? And we actually create a multi plan to tackle all these things within coaching. But we make it strategic and make it in a timely manner that makes the most sense for you. So I highly, highly invite you. If you've been thinking about private coaching, if you've been thinking about these decisions, just get on a call with me, meet me and we can just talk about it. There's zero pressure to sign on on the call. It really is about meeting each other, understanding your needs and putting a plan together and seeing if it makes sense to work together. But you won't know and you won't make a change unless you do something different.

So book a call and make something and make something different happen for yourself. It'll be fun. com and I will talk to you soon. Have a good one.