A change for Freddie....

Once upon a time there was a young man who was very good at his job. Now this young man, let’s call him ‘Freddie’, loved his job, especially the contact with peers and clients and was well-liked and respected for his creativity and initiative. Before long, Freddie’s work and dedication was rewarded and he received a promotion. Over the next few years he married and had three children and success continued. After a few more promotions, the family moved to a lovely big house and Freddie drove a very nice company car. He now found himself responsible for a large business area managing several departments and became known as a bit of a workaholic. 

About this time Freddie’s youngest son became ill and most of his spare time was spent at hospital appointments where the family were given additional support from a charity for the families of sick children. Freddie found it more and more difficult to be away from work. The company was going through big changes, there was talk of a buy-out and Freddie had to be on top of his game. He spent less and less time doing the job that he loved and spent more and more time in Board meetings discussing company changes and the probability of downsizing and a ‘lean’ organisation structure and operating model. Freddie was worried about losing his job.

Faced with the difficulties at home and at work, Freddie’s work began to suffer. He didn’t know where to turn and in a moment of despair, he opened up to a friend who recommended he speak to an  executive coach he’d used in the past. He had found this a great way to gain some clarity and perspective.

Still rather sceptical, Freddie contacted his friend’s former coach and it soon became clear that Freddie had lost touch with the aspects of his work that challenged and inspired him. He was disconnected not just from his work, but from the company and his life as a whole. His son’s illness had brought everything to a head and he was just about ready to give up on the lot!


By working with his coach, Freddie was able to see what was important to him. He felt guilty at neglecting his family and suffered a huge loss in confidence in his work. Instead of dwelling on these feelings, he was able to focus on the skills and successes he had achieved and what really mattered.

Instead of feeling he had no choice, Freddie was able to see that there were several options available to him and he began to see some of his old focus returning. He became aware that he’d put his work before his family and let the fear of losing his job keep him ‘stuck’.  Freddie realised it was time to move on from the company and went to see his Director with a proposal for his own exit strategy. This contained an option for him to provide ad hoc consultancy as the company underwent its transition.

With the redundancy package coupled with the consultancy, Freddie began to spend more time with his family and started to become more involved with the family support charity. His passion for learning was re-ignited and he started a course in support work.

Freddie’s son is still recovering from his illness but will recover fully in time. Freddie now works part-time for the charity and at times, takes on consultancy work for corporate organisations.

Sometimes we set our own prisons by believing we have no choice. By thinking we are tied to a company, a wage, a way of living. Sometimes it takes a big push before we can make a change, at other times we find the courage to make the change ourselves. However it happens, it's important to remember there are always many more choices open to us than we may think.

Freddie credits his coach with 'giving him his life back'.

Freddie's coach comments 'Freddie went out and got himself the life he wanted. I just accompanied him on part of his journey'.