Renewals Career Coaching

I apologize for the delay. I am proud that I completed 4 blog posts this month. They weren’t on time, but they were finished. I think I am off to a good start! 

This month’s professional development post will be about Renewals Career Coaching with Kaetrena Davis Kendrick is“a four-week program guiding people through targeted aspects of their low-morale experiences and encouraging identification and application of emotional hygiene and self-preservation tools.” Career coaching is something that I wanted to embark on for a while now; however, I was not financially able to do so. So when I saw that Kaetrena was looking for folks, I wanted to try it. I was reluctant because I honestly didn’t know if I wanted to stay in libraries. But after talking to a friend, he said this would help me whether I remain in libraries or leave libraries because it is an investment in myself as a professional. In addition, I knew that I was recovering from low morale and experiencing low morale, so I wanted to get the tools to go from surviving to thriving.

I met with Kaetrena during our 50-minute sessions for 4 weeks; she gave me readings and reflective prompts, laying the foundation for our weekly conversation. During our weekly discussions, I could unpack and deal with several things. Below are some of the takeaways from my time with Kaetrena. 

• Pride: In one of my conversations, I learned that I was letting my pride think the library needed me to make it work, and I was willing to suffer and go through all of this because of this thinking. Her showing me how pride was showing up in my current situation was so helpful in understanding that the library would be fine with or without me. 
• Burnout: Before my coaching, I knew I was experiencing low morale, but I had no idea I was experiencing burnout. I wrote about this experience in my Infobase blog post, Summer Reflections: Recovering from Burnout. This revelation was a game-changer. Once I had the language to explain my feelings, I could start the recovery process and say “no” more often. As I wrote in my blog post, I thought I was doing an excellent job at keeping burnout at bay, but I was not. So I look forward to doing my vlog about an article that helped me with one of my biggest problems, over-commitment. 
• Moving on: During one of my sessions, Kaetrena asked me an essential question: how long would I stay upset with folks that did not provide me with what I needed to be successful? She brought to my awareness that I did pivot and got what I needed to succeed despite the lack of support I was given, which she stated showed that I am a leader. I was so happy that she brought this to my awareness so I could move on and let that experience go. 
• Mentorship: One of my revelations during a session was that I needed more training than seeking mentorship. For instance, I want to be a better researcher, so instead of seeking another mentor, I will return to school to get the training I seek. Another revelation that Kaetrena pointed out to me is that no one will be my first librarian mentor Twanna. And I must stop comparing people in my life to my mentor. This was so helpful, and it helped me appreciate everyone more. 
• Toxic Positivity vs. Gratitude: I wanted to clarify the difference between gratitude and toxic positivity. Kaetrena affirmed that it is okay to be grateful for the benefits of a job, that it is not toxic positivity, and that it shows gratitude. Being in denial about your reality and thinking of only the good things makes toxic positivity problematic. 

This is a little taste of my experience with Kaetrena. I am forever grateful for this life-changing experience. After working with Kaetrena, I got the strength to apply for jobs. During my time of reflection, I figured out the cause of my burnout. Last year was rough as I was grieving and then realizing while working with Kaetrena that I was experiencing burnout. Our sessions gave me the strength to put myself out there finally. 

Kaetrena, I am glad you encourage, champion, and support us library workers. You are one of the people in this profession that I look up to. You said it best that you are here for people in the libraries. You don’t talk about it; you are about it.

Have you ever done career coaching? Consider collaborating with Kaetrena if you are experiencing or have experienced low morale. Contact her for a consultation. (link to https://renewalslis.com/contact/). You will be better for it!