How to Navigate Career Change When the Ground Shifts at Work

Most people don’t struggle to navigate career change because they lack ambition or capability. They struggle because they’re trying to solve a structural problem with reflection alone. Our framework fixes that.

For many mid-level leaders, the career question isn’t arriving gently anymore.

It’s showing up through restructures, reorganizations, strategic pivots and quietly expanding workloads. Roles are changing faster than titles. Expectations are rising, while clarity often isn’t.

The data backs this up.

Organizations are flattening—sometimes intentionally, sometimes through layoffs—and spans of control are increasing. Small and midsize businesses now average six direct reports per supervisor, nearly double what it was five years ago. Across industries, the average number of direct reports per manager rose from 4.3 to 5.2 between 2020 and 2022, and remains elevated at 5.1.

For many leaders, this translates into:

• More responsibility without more authority

• Less development, more delivery

• Rising stress, burnout, and uncertainty

  
  

Eventually, a familiar thought appears:

“I want something different.”

That thought matters. But on its own, it isn’t clarity.

Why Navigating Career Change Feels So Hard

Most people don’t struggle to navigate career change because they lack ambition or capability.

They struggle because they’re trying to solve a structural problem with reflection alone.

They think harder. They replay options. They have “interesting conversations.”

But nothing changes.

Clarity doesn’t come from thinking harder. It comes from doing smarter experiments.

A Practical Framework to Navigate Career Change With Intention

In my coaching work with mid-level leaders, I use a structured framework designed to move left to right, on purpose.

It starts with grounding:

• Who you are now, not who you used to be

• Your lived values and real non-negotiables

• The work and problems you’re genuinely drawn toward

  
  

Then comes a market reality check:

• Where your strengths intersect with real demand

• Which skills transfer—and where proof gaps exist

  
  

From there, the work becomes active:

• Targeted experiments instead of risky leaps

• Intentional networking that expands your power base

• Small tests that create evidence, not just opinions

  
  

The goal isn’t a perfect answer. It’s evidence, momentum and conviction.

How Coaching Accelerates Career Change

You can follow a framework like this on your own. But the real value of coaching lives in the questions.

The questions that:

• Surface assumptions you didn’t know you were carrying

• Challenge career narratives you inherited but never chose

• Open angles you hadn’t slowed down enough to examine

  
  

When organizations change, it’s easy to feel reactive—or frozen. Career transition coaching creates space to be intentional again.

Done well, it can:

• Reduce stress by restoring a sense of control

• Improve clarity and confidence

• Re-energize leaders who feel stretched thin

• Help people move toward roles where they can contribute powerfully

  
  

Navigate Career Change Through Action

The most effective way to navigate career change isn’t by waiting for certainty. It’s by building it.

Smarter experiments. Targeted conversations. Real-world testing that turns intuition into insight.

This is how leaders stop circling and start choosing—without panic or burned bridges.

Ready to Navigate Career Change With Clarity?

If organizational changes, burnout, or shifting expectations have you questioning what’s next, you don’t have to figure it out alone.

Career transition coaching provides:

• Structure when things feel ambiguous

• Perspective when emotions run high

• Momentum when you’re stuck in analysis

  
  

If you’re ready to navigate career change with more clarity, confidence and intention:

👉 Get in touch to start a conversation about where you are, what’s shifting, and how to move forward—deliberately and on your terms.