Empower Yourself at Work

A 34-year-old project manager at a construction technology company describes her work as exhausting and unsatisfying. When pushed to be specific, she says 'all of it.' She has been considering quitting for six months. She hasn't considered what she would do instead, partly because she can't articulate what she'd want to keep if she changed. The Empower Yourself at Work worksheet — specifically the energizing versus draining task lists — is a 15-minute in-session exercise that produces the first granular picture of what's actually costing her versus what she'd miss if she left. Most clients in this pattern discover the drain is concentrated in 20-30% of their work, not distributed evenly.

Frame this as a precision exercise. 'You said you hate all of it. I want to test that. This worksheet takes fifteen minutes and separates what you actually enjoy from what drains you — task by task, not as a general statement. Most people find the answer is more specific than they expected.' Complete this in session rather than as homework: the verbal processing that happens while she fills it out is often more useful than the document itself. 'Start with the draining column first — I want you to be as specific as possible. Not 'meetings' — which meetings, with whom, about what?'

Watch for the draining column to concentrate around specific people or relationships rather than task types — if most of what she lists involves a particular stakeholder or her current manager, the job isn't the problem, the relationship or the power dynamic is. That's a different coaching conversation than career pivot. Also watch for the enjoyment percentage estimate: if she estimates 20% or below, that's a threshold worth naming explicitly. It changes the conversation from 'how do I feel better about this job' to 'how much runway do I have and what's the exit plan.'

Start with the two lists side by side. 'Read me the three biggest drains. Now read me the three things you actually enjoy. What do you notice about the pattern?' Let her draw the observation. Then: 'The draining column — how much of your week is that, in hours?' That arithmetic matters. Then move to the action steps section: 'You wrote action steps for the things you want more of and the things you want less of. Which one of these could you actually change in the next two weeks, without a job change?' The question separates what's within her control now from what requires a bigger decision.

A 28-year-old associate at a strategy consulting firm has spent three years hoping conditions would improve — the utilization rate would drop, the interesting projects would come, his manager would give him better assignments. None of it has happened through waiting. He came to coaching because a mentor suggested it. He hasn't framed his situation as one where he has agency; he describes himself as subject to the firm's demands and his manager's choices. The Empower Yourself at Work worksheet produces two things he hasn't built: a specific list of what energizes him at work, and action steps that start with 'I' rather than 'they.'

Frame this as an agency exercise, not a satisfaction survey. 'You've described the job as something that happens to you. This worksheet asks a different question: what would have to be true about how you work for the job to be better — and what of that is within your control?' The action steps section is the most important part for this client. 'For every drain you name, I want you to write one action that starts with 'I' — not 'my manager should' or 'the firm needs to.' Not because external conditions don't matter, but because we're building the list of what you can actually change.' This instruction often produces resistance that itself becomes the coaching work.

Watch for the action steps to be conditional on others — 'I will ask for better projects if my utilization drops' rather than 'I will request a specific project type by Thursday.' Conditionality is the passive pattern persisting into the action section. Push for action steps that are entirely within his control: conversations he initiates, choices he makes, boundaries he sets. Also watch for the enjoyment percentage to be higher than he expected — clients who have been waiting for conditions to change sometimes haven't noticed what's already working, because their attention has been on the deficit.

Start with the action steps column. 'Read me your action steps. Which of these are entirely within your control — no one else needs to do anything for this to happen?' Let him identify which are and which aren't. Then push: 'For the ones that depend on someone else — is there a version of that action that doesn't?' That question often produces a more empowered version of the same goal. Close with: 'You've been waiting three years for conditions to change. In the next two weeks, what's the one thing on this list you're going to do regardless of whether anything else changes?'

A 41-year-old VP of communications at a regional bank is actively preparing to leave her industry and move into the nonprofit sector. Her plan is in motion: she has researched organizations, updated her resume, and started networking. She has not examined what specifically she'd keep from her current work versus what she's leaving behind. The Empower Yourself at Work worksheet — completed with her current role as context — produces the audit that shapes where she focuses her energy in the pivot: what she's running toward versus what she's escaping.

Frame this as a separation exercise before a transition. 'You're about to leave something. Before you do, it's worth naming exactly what you're leaving. Not the employer, the industry — but the actual work: what in your current role are you genuinely good at and energized by? And what are you trying not to do again?' The energizing column is most important for this client. 'Write the tasks and contexts where you do your best work — the things you'd want the next role to include. That list tells you what to look for, not just what to leave.' This positions the worksheet as future-shaping rather than retrospective.

Watch for her energizing list to include capabilities she hasn't translated into the nonprofit sector yet — stakeholder communications, board-level narrative, crisis communications — and prompt her to name the nonprofit equivalent. Also watch for the action steps to be entirely job-search activities rather than current-role actions. If she's already mentally gone, the worksheet's value is limited unless she's helped to connect it to what she's building toward, not just what she's leaving. The percentage estimate is diagnostic: if it's high (60% or above), the pivot may be about the organization, not the work itself.

Start with the enjoyment percentage. 'You estimated [X]% of your current work is genuinely energizing. What does that number tell you?' If the number is moderate to high, that's worth surfacing: 'More than half of what you do here lights you up. You're leaving the organization — are you also leaving the work itself?' That question doesn't argue against the pivot; it makes sure the pivot target includes what's working, not just escapes what isn't. Then go to the energizing list: 'Looking at this list — in the nonprofit roles you've been researching, which ones include the most of what you wrote here?'