For Women's History Month we asked the CEO of hypnotherapy app Clementine's Katie Lee to share what she has learned from bold career moves over the years
How many people do you know who have made a huge leap in the last year? Moved out of a city? Started a business? In the year that could be described as ‘really bad on hold muzak’, there have also been people making big decisions and changes. It feels like bold moves are in the air. Covid is responsible for this: the moves made from necessity - redundancy or changes to working hours due to homeschooling or illness but also the moves from the realisation that you only get one crack at life.
This IWD’s theme is ‘Choose to Challenge’ and from challenge comes change. I know so many brilliant women out there who have challenged themselves to make those changes and from talking to so many of them, there are some really interesting common themes. But before I go on to talk about them, it’s important to note how privileged I feel to be in a situation where I have the freedom (financial and political) to choose to make change. When talking to my children about situations that people find themselves in, they’ll say ‘Why don’t they just move/leave/do something else?’ and I have to try to explain the privilege of choice.
I’ll start with this amazing quote from Arianna Huffington: “While the world provides plenty of insistent, flashing signals directing us to make more money and climb higher up the ladder, there are almost no worldly signals reminding us to take care of ourselves along the way, reach out to others, and pause to wonder.”
Such an important reminder that bold moves aren’t about upward progression, getting the ‘big job’ and constantly pushing ahead. Bold moves are about making the changes that feel right for you, your mental health and your life. That’s why they’re bold moves, not just big moves.
So, what were my bold moves in the last year? Firstly, my husband left a job that was making him miserable, leaving me as sole earner. It was meant to be short term but with the arrival of Covid, it’s looking a little longer term. Safe to say his knowledge of fractions, Pompeii and rock formations is excellent thanks to his incredible homeschooling efforts. Secondly, I left advertising to go and work for Clementine, a hypnotherapy app on a mission to reduce the anxiety and improve the self confidence of millions of women. So if there are lots of you out there who feel their past year has been on hold and are ready to take the plunge, here’s what I’ve learnt so far:
After 20 plus years in advertising, the thought of leaving an industry I loved and making such a bold scary move, away from the safety of my amazing network of industry friends and my ability to do a fair bit of my job from autopilot was terrifying. Partly the fear that I couldn’t do it - the job description looked enormous but also the thought of starting again without any of my social currency. But then you get there and you realise that you are capable and that learning and being curious and doing new things is energising not paralysing. Something you can only understand once you’ve made the move.
You can do a few ‘what ifs?’ but you can’t think through every possibility, sometimes you just have to do it. And if something forces you to take the plunge then try to think that a positive will come out of it. At Clementine, we’re interviewing loads of women at the moment on their bold moves and in most instances, something really cr*p led them to what they’re now doing and they look back on it with gratitude. (I’m also aware that saying that to someone who has just been made redundant is one of the most annoying things you can say.)
Having said, ‘don’t overthink it’, if you’re making this decision for yourself, do enough research to know how you can tighten your belt/commute to work from your new yurt life in a wood/your business idea is viable. When you know that you can tighten your belt and have enough money to live on, then a huge amount of money on top of that probably won’t make you that much happier. My husband looking relaxed every day of the year is so much more enjoyable than getting to see him looking relaxed on a really nice one week holiday.
Making bold moves means you get to meet bold people. Kim, the founder of Clementine, has the most incredible story and in turn we are fortunate enough to have a whole community of bold people whose stories inspire and reassure and remind us that we can do anything. Broadening your network is a really great way to remind you that there’s a vibrant community of people who have made sideways or unexpected moves that have completely changed their lives for the better.
You did it and your world didn’t stop turning, not only can you do the new job in the new industry but the sense of purpose can also renew your energy.
When a bold move pays off, it gives you the confidence to believe in yourself once again and that sets off a chain reaction that encourages you to be bolder, to choose to challenge both yourself and those around you and to redefine what success looks like, and that’s incredibly empowering.
