In this episode of Career Clarity Unlocked, career clarity expert and 5x certified career coach Theresa White takes you inside a real, live coaching session with Anna, a high-performing marketer who’s climbed fast, checked all the right boxes… and still felt a quiet pull for something more.

On paper, Anna’s career is impressive. In reality, she wants to understand what actually energizes her, why certain projects light her up while others drain her, and what her next level really looks like.

Together, Theresa and Anna unpack her Sparketypes:

1. The Scientist — problem-solver, system-fixer, puzzle-cracker
2. The Maven — curious learner, deep diver, driven by the need to know more

If you love solving messy problems, get energized by research and strategy, and feel your soul slowly leave your body when work shifts into maintenance mode… this episode will feel uncomfortably familiar.

This conversation is a masterclass in what career clarity actually looks like in real time. Not reinventing yourself. Not starting over. But seeing the pattern of who you already are, naming it, and building a career that fits how you’re wired.

Timestamps

00:00 Introduction to Career Clarity Unlocked

00:54 The Power of Career Clarity

01:43 Meet Anna: A Marketing Pro

02:21 Unpacking Anna's Sparketype

04:16 Anna's Professional Journey

07:08 The Scientist and Maven Sparketype

10:57 Anna's Favorite Projects and Challenges

19:59 The Importance of Growth and Problem-Solving

25:33 Navigating Mundane Tasks and Seeking New Challenges

28:41 Finding Motivation in Repetitive Roles

30:33 Exploring Consulting and Fractional CMO Roles

33:02 Understanding Sparketypes and Personal Fit

37:31 The Value of Mentorship and Teaching

41:40 Balancing Learning and Doing

48:08 Defining Your Personal Brand

49:17 Session Insights and Career Clarity

57:09 Final Thoughts and Next Steps

🔗 Next steps:

1. 3 ChatGPT Prompts to Find Career Clarity → https://www.careerbloomcoaching.com/offers/Mr7xm4zG
2. Deepening Your Self-Worth for Career Confidence → https://www.careerbloomcoaching.com/offers/4KENh8tF
3. 35+ Progressive Companies Hiring Now → https://www.careerbloomcoaching.com/offers/xTDHFSpJ
4. 17 Fill-in-the-Blank Templates to Reach Out to Recruiters → https://www.careerbloomcoaching.com/offers/6WK6yxdR
5. Networking and Application Tracker → https://www.careerbloomcoaching.com/offers/XypBhjfU
6. The Complete Industry Alignment Guide → https://www.careerbloomcoaching.com/offers/buGFRSmn

👉 Ready for career clarity in record time? Request a free consultation with Theresa at www.careerbloomcoaching.com/consultation.

Connect with Theresa White:

1. LinkedIn: @Theresa A. White
2. Facebook: Career Bloom Coaching
3. Instagram: @theresa_careerbloom
4. YouTube: CareerBloom
5. TikTok: @career.bloom
6. Website: CareerBloomCoaching.com

Don’t miss out on future episodes! Follow Career Clarity Unlocked now to stay updated on new insights and strategies for finding a career that truly lights you up.

© Copyright 2024 Spark Endeavors, Inc. All rights reserved. Learn more at www.sparketype.com.

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 If you've ever found yourself spiraling down a late night rabbit hole of. What am I meant to do and why haven't I found it yet? And let's be honest, who hasn't? Then you're in the right place. I'm Theresa White, career clarity expert and five times certified career coach, and I am here to help you navigate the question of how to find a career that truly lights you.

On career clarity, unlock, we're all about those light bulb moments. I'm talking to people who are still trying to figure out what they're meant to do, coaching them life to reach that magical, yes, this is it moment, and we'll also hear from those who've already found their dream careers and figure out exactly how they did it.

Whether you are looking for inspiration or actionable advice on finding a career you love, I've got you covered time to unlock some career clarity. Let's dive in.

  Welcome back to Career Clarity Unlocked. Have you ever had a moment where you suddenly saw yourself so much more clearly than you ever have before? Not necessarily because someone told you who you are, but because someone helped you zoom out, look at your career with fresh eyes, and finally help you connect the dots.

That can be a moment where you realize like, oh, this isn't just a random pattern. This is who I really am, or the thing that I keep doing that is actually a strength and no wonder that I love. These types of projects and somewhat dread the other ones. And that's the kind of career clarity that really changes everything.

And today, you are in for a treat because I am sharing a part of a real coaching session with my client, Anna. She has been in marketing for over seven years, moved up incredibly fast. She's a full stack marketer, a fractional CMO, a regional leader and ops strategist. You name it, she's done it. And she came to the session curious, asking

what actually lights me up most and what does my next level look like? And it was one of those beautiful conversation where things just clicked. You are gonna hear us unpack her spark archetype. Her primary spark archetype is the scientist. Scientists come alive and they can pursue burning questions, wicked problems, puzzles, riddles, and quandaries.

They see things in need of figuring out. It is the problem solving process that sparks them the most. Her shadow. Spark archetype is the maven. Mavens are all about learning. They have a lifelong desire to learn, to know, to keep going, to become visor. They're fueled by a near primal drive to know more. And we are going to be talking about what it means to be someone who needs to figure things out to be fulfilled.

We're gonna talk about research systems, autonomy, and the moment that she realized she's hungry for bigger, more complex challenges. So a few, the type who loves solving problems gets excited by a good puzzle, and secretly dreads doing the same thing twice. This is gonna be your episode. What we have coming up for you is a clip from Anna's coaching session, and then I'm gonna break down the insights that she had and how they might apply to you. And then finally, I'm gonna walk you through how to identify your own spark and use it to guide your next move. If you are new here, welcome.

I am Theresa White, career clarity expert and five times certified career coach, and I am the only coach who guarantees clients career clarity. In 30 days, clients consistently, call our sessions epiphanies and an answer to questions they've been asking for years. And when you hear this coaching episode, you will understand why. So grab your coffee, take a walk or settle in, and let's dive into the kind of clarity that makes your whole career make sense?

Welcome Anna, to Career Clarity unlocked.

 So let's start with, and I know you had already shared with me, um, your background. I have your resume, but if you in a nutshell can share your professional journey up to this point, that would be super helpful because it's always different to hear from you then reading it on a resume.

Yeah, no, so for me, I started out in marketing really, I, at the beginning of my career, I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do. I just knew that I really enjoyed economics, psychology, business. And I also had like this creative side too. And I kind of realized early on in college, luckily, uh, that marketing was something that I really enjoyed doing.

'cause it kind of, it puts all those things together. And that's how I landed up doing marketing. And the rest is history. I've been doing marketing now seven years and I've worked with startups all the way up to fortune 500 companies. And so it's been a really cool and incredible journey to start out, basically working a graphic design role, but wearing a ton of hats working for an agency.

also, like people that I've met along the way and, uh, most recent, so to bring you all the way to today, you know, working, uh, at a TI Restoration as a senior regional marketing manager has been a really incredible journey. I got promoted within the first year and, um, I've always had some sort of regional B2B sales enablement component to a lot of the high level roles that I've done.

But really with this role, it was even more elevated of now overseeing multiple offices across seven states, getting to travel a lot. And that's kind of where I realized, wow, like I really enjoy traveling. It's really fun for me. And, uh, it's really amazing to be able to be in person with all these people that I've met online, you know, over Zoom through different meetings and be able to really sit down with them.

And I, you know, also have been a people leader too, like early on, uh, really that first marketing director role was kind of my first introductory, like go at like leading a team and it was like six different people because I had a committee that I was overseeing and had to hire and train people in to be a part of.

And then I also had my, a very small marketing team. So it was a, it was kind of like crazy very early on to have like that, uh, you know, responsibility. But I'm really thankful and I think it's lent itself well to where I'm at today. And I, I really do love, um. Traveling and working on regional national initiatives and all things digital marketing.

So yeah. Amazing. Like you've

had such a steep move in your career. It's incredible. I love it.

Mm-hmm. And you

clearly enjoy what you're doing. It is so beautiful to see it.

And that brings us to your per type. Um, for our listeners, I just wanna give a quick overview. So your archetype profile, the primary is the scientist, the shadow, the maven, and the anti the performer. So what this suggests, and we'll find out if this resonates or not, and either one is totally fine.

Um, the scientist is the love for figuring things out and solving problems. That is suggests that, that feels energizing to you as your primary. The maven is the love for learning and seeking more knowledge and going deeper. And the anti that is more not something we are good or bad at. The bracket type does not tell us what we're good about it, but that is more of an, can be more of an energy.

So I already picked up on some of the scientists and you tell me if that resonates or not, but you said with the podcast like, I'll figure it out. Have I done exactly that? No, I'll figure it out and that I can do anything attitude. I wonder if that comes from that place of like, even if I haven't done it yet, I'll figure it out how to get it done.

Absolutely. And it's interesting as I was kind of reading into, you know, the scientists and exactly like who they are as a person and what they thrive and what type of environments they really enjoy and get energy from. Yeah. It was really interesting because for me, I have found that I really enjoy environments where it's like I get to learn and grow and I have always somehow found my way into roles where I, that's.

A reality. Like I have to do that in order to thrive in the role. Uh, and so part of me, like some part of me wonders, I'm like, okay, like, have my career been a little bit different? Would I still have like that same, I don't know, would I still gravitate towards that? Uh, but I do, yeah, I really enjoy, um, learning, growing, and I have found that it's allowed me to transition quickly between different industries where some people, it might take a little bit longer for them to fully get onboarded with the new industry, understand the ins and outs.

But for me, I've really had to jump into brand new industries. I mean, starting right away with working at an agency, right? We had , hundreds of clients that we worked with. And so you had to really , do a deep dive right before you worked with any client, depending on what projects you were involved with.

And so even now, I think still too, yeah, to this day I like. There's that part of me that just has, yeah, I don't know what else to add there, but yeah, no, I

love that. And it, so there is a part of this. I'll figure it out. I love, like if there's a problem or a question of like, I'm gonna crack this problem, I'm gonna figure out how we're gonna do that.

Did that part resonate or is there another part of the scientist that resonated? Uh, specifically for you,

I would say yeah. Like getting energy from figuring things out. Yes. But then also I really resonated with me how, you know, correct me if I'm wrong, this other part of how you actually really enjoy like environments where you are forced into like.

Always finding, being strategic, coming up with a new plan, streamlining something, right? Doing deep dives. I wouldn't say that I necessarily love doing deep dives, but I think that's also one of the things that it mentions is like you don't necessarily have to do a deep dive or, it might not be something that you really enjoy, but you're like really good at it. And because you are kind of like more in that scientist like category, that's something that you kind of gravitate towards and you're just, you're good at. Maybe it's not your favorite thing. I don't know. So there's a couple things that I noticed and I was like, yeah,

what was one of your favorite, I don't even wanna word use the word project because it doesn't have to be a project.

What was one of your favorite memories or times at work where you got to figure something out? Like where there was something that you needed to figure out?

So many different stories. It's like, how do I, so one, whatever, whichever one doesn't matter. Yeah. Most recently, I would say, so there was a project, basically the issue coming into the role, so this is actually with a TI, there was a huge need for streamlining the process around, , trade shows.

And also there's a big issue with tracking. There was a huge gap in, mm-hmm. Hey, we met with these people. And then after the trade show, there was no accountability really. And then also no way to really track who we had connected with. There wasn't really any, any data that was anywhere accessible, easily accessible.

It was like super old school on like spreadsheets everywhere. And you're like, okay. You know? Uh, and so that was something that early on I realized, okay, number one, we have to fix this. And I really took initiative and told, um. My VPs of sales, I was like, all right, we're gonna, we're gonna do this,, I was like, Hey, basically put together this whole plan. And I really enjoyed it. 'cause I was like, okay, once we get this figured out, once we close these gaps that are currently existing, we'll be able to.

Number one, determine if we should continue going to these shows because a lot of money was going out the door, right? You see that all the time. Great shows are expensive, right? So there was no way to really track ROI, we just spent like goodness knows like how much on this show and we didn't, we can't even track the ROI from it.

That's not good, right? And so work to basically put together, I did a ton of research, deep dive early on and kind of, you know, collaboration is really important. So one of the things I did early on is I was like, okay, this. Program, this new SOP, it needs to have advocates. And so early on was working to get alignment and buy in from all the different VPs of sales.

And also on the operation side a little bit, wanted to them to know, Hey, this is something we're working on. 'cause they also care about cost too, right? And they see their BDMs, you know, the regional managers of our offices, you know, they'll see their BDMs go off to events and then they wanna know, hey, okay, well where did this actually convert to revenue for the company, right?

Mm-hmm. And so. It was just really fun. Yeah. To collaborate with everyone and get everybody on board. And then from there we kind of embarked on this journey of, I, you know, proposed an initial plan. So a lot of, uh, looking at software and, uh, our CRM to building out reports that were really robust within our CRM to make sure that we could actually showcase, uh, individuals that, you know, converted two contacts within our system that started out as leads converted to contacts were associated with that trade show name campaign.

We were able to filter down the report so it could showcase exactly how much revenue was tied to each of those different trade shows based off of the contacts and, you know, their connection to a job within our CRM. So it was really cool. Worked with our, um, our CTO and his team, our CRM support team, to really kind of build that out and make sure it was functioning and working well.

And, uh, and then also like on the email marketing side of things, you know, really helped our marketing department level up, uh, how we were showing up really with doing, outreach before and then also after. Uh, and yeah, it was really cool to see, building a plan for the BDMs and how they should be showing up before and after the show.

And just to kinda make that very clear in terms of what our expectations really were for them. Yeah. And also how there would be accountability after the show, right? Because now we have everything, you know, we have this lead scanner that we were going to move forward, you know, nationally for the company that we would be using at all of our trade shows.

And then, sometimes we would, , rent a lead scanner, but regardless, we had a system for how we would get these leads into our CRM and now it was all trackable, right? We like worked to develop like a, a dashboard, if you will, where once emails were deployed. Those leads would basically get pushed over into our CRM and then they'd be added to a dashboard and that's where the VP as the leader could kind of see and kind of keep track of, okay, is my team actually following through and talking to these people, right?

Like, right, talk to all these different people and told me it was amazing, really great experience and we should definitely do this again next year. Right? But, okay, here's like the actual tangible piece of all these people and also tracking, , activity on the different leads. And did they end up converting?

Right, so we didn't drop the ball there. So a lot of really cool things that we worked on or that I worked on and then had a bunch of team members kind of come alongside and partner with me on. But it was a really cool project, rolled it out nationwide and that's what we use to this day, so That's awesome.

Yeah, and I wanna dive deeper into it and it's really cool because this project shows from like problem identification of, okay, we need to streamline how we're tracking and operating from the marketing perspective on trade shows to you creating a plan and then executing. When you think back to that, what were some of the favors things that you did?

Like specific things like what were pieces of this whole process where you're like, oh, that was just so much fun. I wish the, I would wanna do that every day.

It's funny because, you know, maybe if you talked to me like a year ago, I would've been like, that wasn't my favorite part, but. Looking back on it now today, I would say for me, I really enjoyed the early on research part of it where I got to really, okay, deep dive into all the different areas that we were going to optimize change and kind of reshape into a plan would really work and be effective for our company.

And, you know, not just 'cause we also had to think about, you know, national versus regional and then also local events, right? Mm-hmm. So it's, it's huge scope with which I had to kind of make sure the framework with which I was building out would apply to all these different areas, right? But then within, you know, regardless of what, um, you know, almost the hierarchy of national to regional, to local, depending on, you know, what I was proposing for each of those that was slightly different, maybe variant, you know, it really was interesting to deep dive into like how we are gonna show up better with social media, email marketing, fixing and optimizing our CRM, the report within our CRM, um, building out campaigns and then also working to establish.

Uh, really great systems within our CRM so that, you know, there's like a dashboard, right? For the BDMs. There's, you know, and just looking at what other companies were doing for lead scanners, right? There's so, and then also showing up our booth displays, right? Like one of the other things we've gone through recently as a rebrand.

And so we took that time from all the feedback that I've been gathering for a while, right from my BDMs of like what they want to change, what needs to change, what really annoys them about our booth displays, whatever, right? And so that also was like a part of the research that I did, and it was just really fun to, yeah, do a deep dive into all of that.

So That's so cool.

And that brings us to your SPARKO type, the Maven, that love for learning or researching. And with the Sparko type, there's often a. Kind of a circle, a pattern, so your primary, the scientist, the love for figuring things out and the shadow, the Maven, that deep dive research, learning that the, there's a feedback loop of like, okay, there's a problem we need to figure out and which is we need to streamline our whole process for trade shows and how we do the tracking.

Okay, in order to figure this out, I need to learn and research all these areas. And then, okay, this helps me figure this out and then I need to learn more to understand that next part, and that allows me to figure this part out or solve that problem. Can you see, is that something that resonates for you?

How the Let me learn and deep dive into that and then I can figure that out and learn more and figure this next piece out till it all comes together as the proposed SOP plan that you then eventually rolled out?

No, absolutely. I think. Even outside of this project, as we were talking, I was just thinking about all the other projects, initiatives that I've been involved with.

And for me, like I really feel fulfilled at work when I do. I have like, almost like that cycle that you're talking about of like, okay, identifying a problem, having the autonomy to go after, like building a solution and then doing a deep dive into the research and figuring out how can we best approach this?

What are the best solutions? Maybe it's a new software, um, maybe it's, um, getting rid of a software that we're exist that's currently in existent at our company that is not needed and is too much budget wise yeah.

Yeah.

No, I de that definitely resonates for

sure. Yeah, and that also, I really see that this is a superpower that you have because that's a huge project, right?

Mm-hmm.

For streamlining this entire process that you explained. It's a big project. A lot of people would be like. No thank you. Um, but you're like, it seems like to really feel energizing for you, be like, give it to me. I'll figure out, I know this company has never tracked their trade shows and the data, and we have no idea.

And you come in and be like, let me figure this out. We're gonna, we are gonna create a process here that's gonna work.

Mm-hmm. Yeah. I don't know. I think it, it is one of those interesting things for me where I am really thankful for roles like this where I have the autonomy to jump in and do that. You know, I know not every company is open to that, right?

Like, sometimes there's so much red tape. I mean, even with, you know, the larger the company, the more red tape you have. Yes. But it is one of those things for me where I, yeah. I find. Like meaning in it. And I just really enjoy helping people. I think another one of the reasons why I really care about like, okay, how can I problem solve, how can I, um, you know, do a deep dive and then provide a solution is, um, just because I really value growth.

Like growth is kind of my core, one of my biggest values. Yes. And you know, for me, I, I think that really kind of translates into every area and obviously into my career. And so for me too, I also have always been okay, like if there is an issue, like I want to be able to solve that. Like not only does that, you know, position yourself well within a company, but it also, uh, showcases your ability to diagnose problem and then also provide a solution and then actually see that solution through to execution stage and to completion.

Yeah. And that

just says a lot. And I think, um. So I'm al I'm a very, like, I'm almost like hungry for opportunities like that. So when I do find, when something presents itself, I'm like, oh, we have a problem. You know, I'm willing to dive in. Even if it does feel like, 'cause quite frankly it was one of those things where, like I mentioned, there's so many different components to this.

Like SOP and so many different teams that I was working on, right? And some people were a little bit maybe behind other teams in terms of their priority or prior of this SOP, right? And so that was something that I had to constantly like live in that tension throughout the entirety of, you know, building it out from, you know, the idea stage to execution, right?

And so implementation. It was definitely interesting to navigate that. 'cause obviously for me, I was like, go, go, go, go mode. Like let's get this done. Whereas like right, people were like, well, we could wait until next year. And I was like, okay, well. We did that, we're gonna be in the same place next year.

Right? Yeah. And if we don't have to be, like, if we all dedicate like a little bit of time. So it was a lot of, you know, working, uh, with people where they were at and getting them on board, that bus of being actually excited, like, okay, let's go on this journey together. Let's partner, let's collaborate.

Right? Everybody likes to feel like they have buy-in, and that ultimately gets you to really great end result where everybody's happy and they've been involved since day one. Right. So they, they feel included and um, right. So yeah. And that made it successful in

the end.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah. Yeah. So you have really that, a very special ability to identify problems, see problems, and then.

Having the mindset of like, we're gonna figure this out, we're gonna solve this. And you go into the deep dive getting everyone on board learning. And I wonder if a part of the learning and deep dive is also understanding what people do and how they are part of this entire process. Absolutely. Absolutely.

Yeah.

Yeah. And then when you have all the information, then you can figure that that one part out and then learn more, dive deeper, figure that next part out. Um, it makes so much sense that growth is super important to you, that is so aligned because both the Maven and they thrive on the Maven needs new things to learn or research or d dive deep into what, what is it new?

It always needs an area too. That can be. The same area where we go deeper for some people and for others it's newer areas, but there's always that hunger of like, I want to dive deep, dive into something. I wanna research something that catches my interest. And then the scientist needs new problems to figure out.

And I think from what I've understand from your career attorney, you've been very, um, you found really aligned roles. A challenge I see with Maven scientists a lot is that they get into a role where, let's say, um, the proposed SOP plan or the SOP plan, um, okay, there's a challenge. So much learning, they develop the SOP plan, and now it's like, now you're gonna maintain this for the rest of your life.

And that is where they are. Where it feels suddenly feels like. Like it's stifling stack of like, I can't, like maintenance is not fun. I need to give me the new project to learn and dive into.

Have you experienced any of that? Yeah. Anything that feels mundane or repetitive. I find boring. It doesn't, it doesn't interest me.

It's something I've always had to like work a little bit harder to stay on top of things like that. Yeah. You know, obviously simple things, connecting with people. If there's some sort of human connection involvement, right? Like emails or picking up the phone, right. Like I do enjoy that, like hopping on a zoom call, connecting with people.

I am, you know, somewhat of a extrovert. I'm kind of also an introvert, so I always call myself like an amni vert 'cause I'm kind of both but it's, it's always been interesting that for me personally, like. Yes, I found my way until, yeah, obviously these roles where it's felt very aligned.

But yeah, to your point, it's anytime there's something where there's no optimization required, um, maybe it's the continued implementation of like making sure that like, check back in making sure the team is like still using this tool or still using the plan that I rolled out. I do find that to be, it's almost like I wish I could just hand that off to somebody in a way.

Yes, yes. Like,

Hey, here you go. Yes. Can you handle the, the long term maintenance or Yes. Like if there's optimization, if we need to go back and do some re you know, research again, you're all in like Absolutely I'm there. Yes. But no, that's so interesting that you say that. 'cause yeah, it definitely is something that I've seen, uh, not just with my current role, but kind of in general.

Like, if there's like that regular, I've had to work maybe harder than other people at staying consistent and disciplined.

Yeah.

Because I do, I, I lose interest. Yeah. And that is.

So common for people who have a sim similar firing. Um, because the mundane, the repetitive, that continued implementation, maintenance, it doesn't give you enough opportunities to research dive deep, learn, figure things out, solve the problem, find, have challenges that can be overcome.

It's just mundane. Yeah. And yeah, I see that a lot with people, specifically Maven scientists, that anytime they get into a new role, there's this obviously a beginning learning curve that is super exciting. You have to figure out all the things in this new role. There's so much to learn. There's something, some processes that need to be optimized.

But once all that is taken care of, it's like I. Then they're like, okay, what's wrong? Like, I used to love this role, but now it feels so mundane and stuck and flat. I need something more. And it's because the learning curve and the so figuring things out has run dry.

Yeah, no, that definitely paints a very close picture to how I feel.

Yes. Yeah. I, I'm curious, you know, what would your recommendation be to people that have like my similar type of, like scientists and maven? What do, what should, you know, obviously I mentioned like sometimes it's like you just hunker down, you get disciplined and you just work maybe a little bit harder than the average person to like really stay focused.

But how do you still find, you know, energy and motivation when you're in scenarios like that where it's like, 'cause I've definitely hit. Roles where it's like after you do all that, like initial work and onboarding and then it's like, okay, now we're at a good place. And I'm like, well this is good. Perfect, but also not good.

Yes. So, yeah. Yeah,

yeah. And

that is the big question. So one, obviously career growth is one, right? If you move up the next move up, you get more challenges.

Mm-hmm.

There is also like, and so there is no right or wrong that would work for everyone. Some people might be of like, okay, it's just mundane and repetitive.

I accept it and find opportunities, pockets. Where can I learn, where can I figure something out? Um, and that might be fulfilling enough for them. F for the majority, they want new challenges, so finding roles where there is continued need for that. That can be on a project based where you are like, okay, process optimization, like marketing process optimization.

Your job is to optimize this process, hand it off, get a new process to optimize.

Yeah. Okay.

The consulting, consulting type of roles where you're really the expert in how can we optimize this? And that comes with so much learning and figuring things out, creating this plan, seeing through the implementation, but then handing it off.

Those are often the roles that are the ones that give you that continuous feel of challenge and learning and growth. Okay. What res does any of that resonate for you?

No, that's interesting that, well, okay, so I'll start with the consulting piece. So for me, one of the things that I've done over the last like five years is to stay like competitive, but then also to just continue to grow outside of my main role in corporate.

You know, I wanted to have like some sort of, you know, agency, whatever, right. That was running that where I could take on clients. And so to this day it's been, now, I guess beginning of January it'll be six years. But I've had, like for me, I've had, you know, I've worked as a fractional CMO on the side and spent time, you know, going out and I, it's funny you say consulting 'cause I, while I love doing some of those longer term projects for me, I really enjoy kind of like that beginning stage of, okay, how can we help you?

How can we put a plan together? And then, but it's interesting when you say like the handoff piece, I think that's something that I've kind of always wondered like. In terms of that next stage, you know, obviously I can hand them off to like another colleague or somebody that I really trust in the marketing space that has exactly what they need.

And even like you were saying with some of these other roles, so like kind of going back into like corporate, putting my corporate hat on and like that is interesting. It would be so cool to be in a role where I could like problem solve, you know, research, whatever, provide a solution and then get another problem area put on my lap.

Like that would be amazing. Like, I don't, I've never thought about that before, but yeah, no, that would be really, really interesting role for me to be in.

And that is, I do believe where you bring the most value. Yeah. Because you know, there's people who are amazing at the maintenance and they love refining and repeating and that, but where you really shine is to, one, get new projects.

But then as you grow in your career, more complex. S problems, challenges, bigger, more complex challenges and problems that require your skills of understanding, researching, and you're someone who gets it really quick. So when you come into a new space of like, okay, let me figure this out. Okay, I un did my research solution and then handoff, you guys run it, I take on the next one.

Um, and I do think that there is the most growth for you in that sphere.

Yeah, this is all very interesting. 'cause you know, obviously I, I told you Theresa before, but like I haven't really done, you know, this test before, so this is all like, brand new for me. I've been like learning so much about like spark types and I didn't even know it was a thing until recently.

And so just hear, I, you know, obviously I'm hearing a lot of this for the first time and I. Wow, I wish I would've learned this sooner or just understood this about myself because, you know, you're in a, whether you're working on your own as a, you know, as a part of an agency or whatever, or you're, you know, working in corporate or for some company, you just have.

You look at, you know, all your different team members. And some of them are like, you know, I've, I've seen team members where it's like they thrive and like that mundane, like keep it steady, keep it turning around like the exact same thing. Like they're good at that. Like that doesn't, or at least they've learned to be good at it.

Right. And for me personally, I've always wondered where do I fit? Like I've always felt a little bit of like that one person in the room that doesn't quite fit. Like I, I can hang, I can be there, but I've always just been like, wait, I don't know. So it's just, this is all really interesting to,

and it's beautiful from looking at it from a leadership organizational perspective because we're all wired differently and there are some really cool, um, stuff that Jonathan Fields with the Spark team does for organizations.

But if we just think about it like, I'm a scientist too. So are you all a puzzle? Yes, I'm a fellow scientist. Um, like everyone is energized by something different. And there are people that are very energized by what might feel mundane to us. That gives them the satisfaction that we get from figuring something out.

They get that satisfaction from taking care of a customer or, um, teaching one thing to someone else or like Right. Everyone is different. Yeah. So finding what everyone is energized by and allowing them to do more of that, the productivity of the entire team is transformed. Um, and your, where your superpower lies is really in this.

Mm-hmm.

Let me figure things out and let me learn and research so I can solve bigger and more challenging problems.

Yeah. Well, I mean, one thing as we're talking, I just, you know how, you know, some companies do this and some don't, but. I don't know. I kind of wanna take, have my teams take this, um, this test.

I'm like, I feel like this would be so interesting to understand all of our types and really get into like the nitty gritty of things. And I mean, for me, like even right now, I feel like I've, as we've been talking, so many different things have resonated, or I'm hearing it in a way that I've never heard it before and then it's making sense and like this whole new like, opportunity of like, what could actually look like a dream role for me?

Right? Like, whereas before maybe I was a little bit more foggy, I feel like I'm getting so much more clarity on like, oh, huh. Like if I went this route, like that would actually not, I don't have to like, go into it wondering, okay, like this is gonna be new. Let's see. Like, does this really fit right? I, I don't know.

I just, with that clarity, that added clarity from what we've been talking about with my type, it just feel like kind of helps eliminate some of that fog and is like, no, like this would be a really good path for you to go down. So this is like really helpful. I'm

gonna, I, I, I can come into your team. I'm also trained in facilitation on the spec type.

Yeah. And helping teams, this psychological safety, explore 'cause that is really big in organizations. Explore their spec types and then bring it together a team of how can we optimize the entire team by shifting work so that everyone has more of what fuel them. Yeah. Yeah. Oh my God. So much good stuff. I have two other thoughts that I wanna, so one thought, and that's when we, when you filled out the form, you said, um.

Eventually teach college student as an etch adjunct professor. Well, actually let me before that say, I love that you're doing the fractional CMO on the side because that is also a way to keep that cycle going, right? Mm-hmm. As a fractional CMO, you're not generally mainten maintaining, you're coming in, doing something, moving on.

So that's one beautiful way. Um, and then the other, um, thought you have for the future is teach college students As an adjunct professor, how, how is that, how is that vision for you? Um, how does that look like for you?

Yeah, so I have some professors that I really look up to and their kind of path was, you know, they worked in corporate for a while and then they ended up, you know, during that time completing their masters and then going the route of teaching at least one to two, you know, just fully virtual online, you know, classes at a university and some of them like teach at multiple universities.

And, you know, I have friends as well that do that. And so for me, I, I really care about impact and helping other people, you know, not make the same mistakes I did or just, you know, any opportunity I can to come alongside. I really do value and enjoy mentorship, especially over the last few years I've been finding that.

That's something that actually really brings me life. I know some people might not like that, but I do. I, it's, it's fun to like, help other people succeed. Like I really do enjoy, and especially in the marketing space, like I've had so many conversations with marketers and I just, I re it reminds me of where I was when I first started of, oh no, I don't have experience.

Every job description requirement out there says you must have like, at least three years of experience, right? Unless it's like an internship, a very, very low level role. And so, you know, it's, it's tough, you know, as a marketer to get started, right? And oftentimes we are considered to be like, kind of that added bonus department, right?

And so because of that, you know, it's really important to understand how to make marketing a revenue driver for your company. And so that's something that I've had to learn the hard way. Uh, but they've also had like different professors who have been able to kind of help me along my, my journey. And so for me, I just, I really do value that.

Space where I could teach, you know, again, fully virtual, I really like my flexibility, autonomy, so it'd just be, I wouldn't wanna go in person, right? Like, I would love to do, like, uh, I've, you know, done different courses where it's, you know, you either do like a live class option, then you have like a prerecorded, or you do both, or just one or the other, right?

Like I'd be open to that where I could do anywhere in the world, uh, because I also like to travel. So yeah,

I think that's a beautiful vision. Vision. And also that you know, that mentorship and teaching and guiding others are other things that fills your bucket because it's not, the spark type is never black and white.

It's not like learning and figuring things out. It's the only thing that ever energizes you. It's not like that. There's also other things that also fill your bucket, and it seems like that mentorship and both in your leadership roles as well as thinking about helping students, what I would. Invite you to think about is, and I don't think that is, um, that that is actually your plan anyway.

But I do think going back and getting your master's degree, degree so fulfilling, that fills the maven, right? That gives you opportunities to learn more and more and more and more. If you were to ever think about like teaching full-time, there's very, okay, the research part of being a, being a professor is very fulfilling for a scientist.

That's learning, figuring things out, researching, right? Yeah. The teaching, if you teach the same course every semester, for me as a scientist, it feels stifling. It could be totally different for someone else because it could give you energy from connecting with the students, the mentorship, the guidance, um, but that might be something to keep in mind.

How would it feel for you? It would feel so fun and exciting. I can imagine creating the curriculum and figuring out what do I wanna teach, how do I wanna teach it, how do I get them involved? Um, repetitive, doing this repetitively. Just something to think about.

Interesting. Okay. Yeah, no. Okay.

Yeah. Yeah. And I'm not saying like, so I'm not saying don't do that, but, um, the way you think about it, a lot of times, I'll share that with you too, is what I see with the Ms Mavens so often is that we sometimes can mix up that learning about something is different than doing something.

And I'm gonna use a completely different example to, or I'm gonna use two examples. Um, I work with a lot of clients who studied psychology. Okay. Interestingly, yes. Because they're like, the human mind is their own ments. The human mind is fascinating. I wanna understand everything about the human mind and psychology and why people behave and how people think and all that.

They love studying. Then they become therapists and their work shifts. It's from being with someone. It is being with someone, sitting with someone, and suddenly they're so unfulfilled and they don't understand why, because they found it so interesting in college. But learning is a very different skill or task than being with someone.

And then the same, like I just talked to someone who's. A maven and she was just, she was, she's actually in marketing, but burned out and was like, I wanna do, make a career change. And she's like, I just got so fascinated by Pilates. I just wanna learn everything. I wanna know every bone in my bo in the body and why certain exercises do whatever they are doing and I wanna know it all.

She's like, maybe I should become a Pilates instructor. And I was like, okay, cool. Let's think about it when you, then the learning makes so much sense. But then when you are the instructor, your job is being in front of the class and guiding others through these exercises, how does that feel for part feel?

And she's like, oh my God, no thank you. I don't wanna do that. Um, so that's also something to keep in mind for the Maven. Okay.

Yeah, no, that's really interesting. I mean, I, how I've always envisioned it and I guess I've never, maybe I'd have to like go to different colleges to do this, but I've always imagined Yeah, like doing like a different.

Like a different, you know, course, whatever it might be. Um, so that actually, that kind of makes sense now based off of our conversation. Obviously today I'm like walking away with so many different nuggets of like, oh, okay. Right. Uh, so that's, that's helpful to know. And here kind of how other mavens have kind of worked through their, you know, process of going through school and determining like, okay, what do I wanna do next?

What does this look like? Maybe? And it sounds like for some of these people it's like, well, no, just stay in research. Like if you're a maven, just if you're a maven, research

is can be fulfilling for, for a lot of people. Okay. But there's mavens who would love to go deep into a subject. And there's other mavens who love new mavens, always go below the surface, but they feel like I want new things to learn about.

Um, and they don't actually enjoy that super deep dive research.

Okay.

Yeah. And wait, what? There was another thought, and this is just speaking from my perspective. If I think of it, and this is the work I actually do, is, um, I love figuring something out, but I notice that if I teach it over and over, I can do it.

It's okay. But what I much rather do is I figure something out and using a really easy example how to write the best resume possible. I'll learn everything about it. I figure it out, I put it into a structured format, a video, a guide, whatever it is, and then give it to people. And then I come in. So instead of teaching this over and over, I come in and problem shoot of like, okay.

They're like, I'm really stuck on this. I don't know how to communicate this or make sense of this. Like, okay, I'll help you figure that out. Um, so it kind of sounds like when you're thinking about the. A adjunct professor of like, oh, I would have so much fun figuring out like, what is the topic they want me to present on?

What are their goals? How can we structure that? And then guiding students through it, and then maybe it's actually something, a developed curriculum that you can even sell or others can use.

Yeah.

Um,

yeah, no, it's funny. Okay, as you were talking, 'cause well, a little bit earlier when we were talking about how just, you know, your experience of how you're like, okay, I wanted to learn something new, talk about, uh, train on something different than not just the same old, same old for me, I was wondering like, huh, like, you know, people always build out different courses and then sell those.

So like, maybe that could be where, you know, deep dive into solving a problem for somebody and then I just, you know, maybe stay with that for a while and then I shift and move on and find another course that I wanna like deep dive and teach people on. Wow. I mean

that could be also an ama amazing site project or it could be full-time work.

Yeah, yeah. As long as they're big challenging,

hairy topics to dig into

okay. Yeah. Thoughts, questions as we are wrapping up? How

do you feel? I feel good. I think it's really interesting kind of what you were sharing in terms of the different positions that I would actually really thrive in. I have only recently been more so been put in scenarios where I'm doing more of that.

And so for me, it's interesting now that we're having this conversation, it's really timely because I'm looking at, um. The future and what I really enjoy versus what I don't. Right. Like after, you know, you're in marketing for a certain or any career, right? Like you kind of hit that point where you're like, okay, I've done a lot of different things.

What specifically for me, like really floats my boat? What do I really enjoy? Like what, you know, motivates you, uh, fills your cup. And so it's just really interesting conversation for me to kind of reflect on and yeah, kind of figure out like, okay, like here's where I would thrive. Like, it's honestly been really helpful.

So. Good.

And then also as you're thinking about that, also think about your personal brand, um, because you do a million things and you could be known for a million things, but what are the few things you want to be known for? So that can be exactly that, of like you are the person who comes in and. Can streamline, optimize.

I'll figure out like if there is a system that no one has figured out how to streamline or make it work, I'm gonna come in and figure this out for you. Um, that you find some language around that and be that, let that be the piece that you're known for because that also will then attract more of those opportunities.

If we know Anna, she's the one, she'll figure this out. Yeah. She'll streamline this huge process that seems so all over the place, but the one person I think about who can do it is Anna. Um, that way it kind of, right, it flows together of like the personal branding, what you want to be known for, and then the opportunities that, um, it attracts.

 Did you hear that? Wasn't that such a beautiful moment where things really started to shift and click for her? So now I wanna break down what actually happened in the session and why it was such a turning point so that you can use those same insights for your own professional journey and career clarity.

So what are all the things that we discovered in the session? The first thing was that Anna realized that figuring things out isn't just something she does. It is part of her wiring. It's more than being just good at solving problems. It's that those moments really energize her, and it is also the through line in every role that she's ever thrived in it.

What makes her feel engaged, useful, alive, and whenever she sees gaps, inefficiencies, she's drawn to them and wants to fix them. So that insight is huge. So for yourself, think about these moments that deeply energize you. What is that through line throughout your journey, your professional journey, where you felt consistently engaged alive when doing these certain things?

And then Anna also identified the pattern of how research fuels problem solving and vice versa. So she identified the cycle of learning, figuring out, learning more, solving more, and that loop is sparking her motivation. She does need a challenge to figure out, which then requires learning, which leads to the new challenge, which requires more learning.

It is a beautiful feedback loop, and it explains why she excels in new industries and projects. Think about it for yourself. What is that feedback loop that makes you come alive? That gives you , that motivation and joy? Just because you get to do it. She also gained clarity that she really thrives where she can build and not maintain.

She loves optimizing it, but once something is optimized, there's a dip in her energy. It isn't that she can't do a resent maintenance, but it was clear that this isn't her zone of genius. She lights up during the learning, figuring out building stage, and once it's working beautifully, she is ready for the next challenge.

She also uncovered how vital autonomy is for her and realized how much she values being trusted to figure it out, and her best work happens when she is giving the reins micromanagement is a true creativity killer. So for her , autonomy isn't a perk.

It really is a must. I also invited her to think about her interest in teaching in a different light. Um, she does have an interest in teaching college level marketing, which is so beautiful and I love her. Instinct to wanting to guide others with the knowledge that she gained over the years. And I invited her to think about how she would feel about repeated delivery of content versus the designing curricula or solving the, how do I teach this puzzle? And she had the insight that the creation of structure or figuring this out, how can we. Package this into an effective learning material might light her up more than the repetition of teaching it.

I also loved how we reframed and named her personal brand as being energized by solving complex problems through research driven strategy, process optimization, and cross-functional collaboration, and then handing off the system so that she can tackle the next challenge because that is the zone of her genius and that's what she wants to be known for.

And then. There was a shift where I saw her trusting her own firing. It came from connecting the dots from zooming out and naming what's always been true and then realizing like, yeah, this is who I am and this is how I work best, and this kind of work is what I'm meant to do.

And now when she thinks about what does that next level in my career look like? She can design that around her, spark, around her zone of genius. And it is so clear that Anna belongs in a senior strategic operation role, probably in marketing, where she gets to architect solutions, diagnose problems, research deeply, build systems, optimize processes, align teams, and then hand it off so that she can conquer the next challenge.

Roles that come to mind for me where she could live in that zone of genius or Director of Marketing Operations and transformation, or director of Marketing Strategy and operations, or director of marketing process improvement.

Roles where the marketing machine is big, messy, cross-functional, and always evolving in the marketing ops and transformation roles. They're often fueled by questions like, why is this funnel broken? How can we scale this? What slowing down revenue, what system of process needs to be rebuilt? And those are the roles where she would get to build the systems and then hand them off.

So she can own the creation and not the maintenance. She truly needs roles where there's always a new challenge and not a feeling of stagnation. And the reason why, one of the roles that comes to mind for me are the marketing ops and transformational leader roles is exactly because they're often constantly assigned new foundational challenges. Optimizing a lead lifecycle or rebuilding a campaign architecture

, Implementing new MarTech tools, fixed reporting, optimizing dimension processes, all of those.

All this really fun stuff. Figuring it out. She will thrive in any career that allows her to constantly figuring it out and live in her zone of genius. Okay, now let's take a breath. That was a big conversation today, right? Anna walked away with deep clarity about her spark, that she's a problem solver at her core.

She walked away with a new lens for viewing her past roles and understanding why some things energize her and others drain her. She also now has a clear direction for the types of roles and environments she thrives in, and she has a new level of trust in her own way of working. This isn't about reinventing yourself, it is about seeing yourself clearly, and that's the beauty and the power of this work.

So if you're sitting here and thinking, that sounds like me, or I felt that same dip after the exciting part is over and one of my last roles where I've always thrived, but I'm given a big, messy challenge. Then my friend, you are just wired that way. You are brilliant and you're probably ready for career clarity.

So here's what I'd love for you to do next. Book a free consultation call with me. We're gonna spend 30 minutes together diving into what it is that energizes and drains you and how you can do more of that in your work.

We will dive into what drives you, what drains you, and what are the best next steps for your career journey. The link to book a free call with me is in the show notes and you wanna make sure you grab your spot while it's still available. And please know you don't have to settle for, it's fine. You can find work that fits how you're wired.

The world needs you in the roles that are in the zone of your genius. We need you. So please find what makes you come alive and find the roles that allow you to do more of it. Thank you for listening today. Please send me a DM or email if anything in this episode sparked something for you. 'cause I just absolutely love hearing from you.

And don't forget to join me again next week for another episode full of insights, inspiration, and actionable advice on finding a career you love Because you don't have to settle. Please keep chasing what makes you come alive, and I will see you back here next week on Career Clarity Unlocked.

 And that's a wrap for today's episode of Career Clarity Unlocked, if you feeling stuck in that. What's next? Spiral and are ready to finally break free. Let's chat. You can book your free career clarity call where we'll uncover what's really important to you. Tackle any obstacles holding you back and map out your best next step.

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