"In my previous role as a facility manager at a healthcare organization, I no longer felt entirely in the right place, which, combined with the challenges of early motherhood, caused a lot of tension. Building a career is very important to me, but at the same time, I want to be a good mother. The question was: how do you balance those two? I decided it would be wise to explore the answer to that question with a professional."
After some googling, I came across Janique of LemonGrass. What appealed to me about her way of coaching is that she does not apply a one-size-fits-all method, but instead, after an initial meeting, she creates a personalized plan. In addition, Janique is an A&O psychologist and although I don't really care about that title, her work is scientifically grounded. Besides that she is not just any coach; she really takes you deep into the process.

During the initial meeting, I immediately connected with Janique. We started by working on my personal mission, which includes what’s important to me both in my work and personal life. Using personality assessments and various exercises, Janique and I were able to define that mission. For example, I did an exercise where I had to rate how important different aspects of my life were, such as family, work, friends, sports, etc., on a scale from 1 to 9. Then, I did the same thing but rated how much attention each aspect currently receives in my life. It was very useful and valuable.
I also did daily mindfulness exercises, training myself to fret less. I learned to turn off the little voice in my head, which can be negative or demanding, and to listen more to my feelings. This enabled me to better determine what my values are, what I find important. And Janique taught me that fear is very valuable. If you fear something, for example a nine-to-five job, that says a lot about what you value, in this case: freedom. A great lesson.

What I knew for sure was that I wanted to work enough to be financially independent. And because I had become a mother, I felt it was more important than before to have no or little travel time to work. Flexibility was also high on my list. So, if my child is sick once, that I can work from home. In short, I was looking for a challenging job in which I could also be valuable to my family.
The nice thing was that I felt very safe with Janique during the coaching process. The coaching felt very personal because she normalised things I was struggling with and occasionally told me that she recognised that. For example, combining work and family.
To find out whether the work I was doing suited me, Janique and I went back to basics. Through a personal interview, we looked back at my past and identified important threads, values and interests that then gave me direction about the future. For instance, cards with different professions required me to indicate which ones appealed to me, which ones a little and which ones not at all. From baker and pilot to lawyer. I really liked that, because it provided a fresh perspective. In the end, I found out that I was already doing what I like, but that I had to make some choices. That I not only wanted to be a generalist, but also a specialist, and that I would work with colleagues in an open, honest atmosphere. After all, that was missing in my previous job.

After career coaching, I found a very nice job as facilities manager at a housing association, in which I really mean something to others and in which I get the freedom and flexibility I want. Due to corona, I have only been to work twice in six months, but I can still say that the atmosphere within the organisation is very good.
I learnt that I was constantly concerned with the opinions of others: my partner, girlfriends, my parents. But in the end, you become happiest doing what you want for yourself. That was not always easy; I had to disappoint people. Because I work four days a week, my family comes first, and I want to exercise a lot in addition to that, that leaves less time for girlfriends. And my parents felt that so much work and a child were incompatible. Because of the coaching, I dared to tell them: this is my life and if you want, you can be part of it, but without your judgment. Since then, that relationship has become so much better.

Before I started the coaching process, I was coming out of a tense work situation, and was in a negative flow. Thanks to Janique's professional and personal approach, I am now confident and fully engaged in life again. Janique has taught me to choose for myself and set my limits, matching my values and my personal situation."