The Portfolio Executives

I jumped out of employment as I felt that I had reached a plateau and needed a fresh challenge. I was looking for more autonomy, variety and flexibility and the Portfolio Executive workstyle seemed to fit.

I started off by getting a coaching accreditation to validate my work and give me confidence. I developed, and made new, connections that could begin to both help me and open doors into fresh work opportunities. I started where I had traction.

An early success involved one conversation leading to another conversation that gave me the opportunity to pitch to become a speaker on a well-known CEO development circuit. After a gruelling process, I was selected and have seen this early open door as a key marker in the sand in terms of both my authority in the industry and my confidence.

There is always learning along the way. Key things i’ve learnt include going over and above, giving more than people expect as well as the importance of investing in relationships and ensuring you keep things personal. People are not buying a product – they are buying you. It’s also important to be yourself – there is room for all kinds of voices and styles – and to learn to say ‘no’.

I enjoy the variety of working in a portfolio way, to keep me fresh and being able to respond to changing customer needs and my developing interests. I love the scope it gives me to flex and change what I do.

I’m moving into the digital space increasingly and am currently writing a full length digital course on purpose. I hope to do more and more of the work that I enjoy the most, with the best fit clients. I give 10% of sales away to charities working to eliminate inequality across the globe, I hope to be able to give an increasing figure away as the business grows.