Episode 22: Coaching through change with Tracy Asamoah

Liz and Kat talk today with Tracy Asamoah, a coach and psychiatrist who works with people around life transitions. If you’re stuck, she will move you forward in a calm, mindful way.

Tracy’s background: she describes her journey from academic/non-profit work as a psychiatrist to private practice to a coach, mostly working with women, focusing around transitioning in their life and career.

Tracy and her partners are building an unusual practice, combining the skills of physicians, psychiatrists and coaches together.

We talk about career transitions. First, Tracy gets to the bottom of the struggle: is it the job, the pace, the place, or something within the person?

Some tools Tracy uses are centered around goals and getting to the bottom of the problem. If general life circumstances are getting someone down, she wants to understand if the issue is more significant -- if so, a coach may not be the right person to help them. Sometimes it’s about prioritizing amongst all of the things that need your attention.

Tracy doesn’t recommend big changes if you don’t understand root causes. You need to understand where your pain is coming from before making a big change. For instance, you could be having trouble with your job, bit it could be coming from a struggle in your a relationship. Identifying your patterns helps you to know what is happening with you.

When hearing about job discontent, Tracy asks her clients what their dream job looks like, what 'now' looks like, and then comes up with practical steps to get from here to something more like that dream job in the future. This can work at any life change -- like empty nesting or retirement. What does the dream look like and what can we do today to get there?

Tracy helps people take the first steps towards their goals, and then take the next step after that.

Are you running to something or are you running away from it? Framing your situation in the positive when making change is hepful. Having clarity on why where you are now and what that isn’t a good fit will help you move towards something positive. Identifying what causes you to struggle will help you stay away from it in your next role.

If you don’t like the core of what you’re doing, working with a coach on what about your role appeals to you and what doesn’t can help you head towards a career that’s a better fit.

Who is Tracy’s ideal client? Someone who knows they are stuck and is ready to take a step. Look at who you are and where you are and understand if you can see yourself in the new role. Change leads to growth.

Where to find Tracy: her website is tracyasamoahcoaching.com and on Twitter she's @tracyasamoah16.