Hello and welcome to the Aligned Achiever Podcast. I’m your host, Siobhan Barnes, and I was pondering this idea of non linear careers the other day, because I myself am at a bit of a choice point in my own business and in my own career, and I believe that non linear careers are increasingly relevant in today’s fast changing world.

You know, the world of work is changing, and that traditional model of a single, upwardly linear path within one company or industry is starting to fade away.

So a non linear career, you might be asking, what the heck is it? It actually involves lateral moves, industry changes, sometimes even downward moves for greater fulfillment or to pick up a new set of skills, or frequent transitions based on personal interests and evolving skills.

Now, non linear careers, really interestingly, I remember back in 2014 when I’d left corporate and I had done some consulting, and I was just starting, officially starting my coaching business, I hosted a panel for the chair of Women of Influence awards ceremony or awards workshop. And the panel was on non linear careers, and it was a really well attended panel discussion where we had people from very established fortune 500 companies talking about how they navigated their careers. And, you know, took some slightly different steps, right?

And I think now with the advent of AI and the rate of rapid change, and how the future of work is going to change, and ultimately, we need to think about ourselves as individual contributors, and how we want to make a difference and what skills we’re bringing to the table. It’s really important to think about non linear careers, because the traditional path is no longer there, and so many of my clients have put in the hard work to climb the ladder, and they’re going through organizational restructures at work, and suddenly what they thought was their next step, isn’t their next step.

And those traditional, cushy roles that they were working towards they’re no longer and so we need to have these skills of adaptability and resilience and pivoting so that we can actually pivot into something that is really meaningful and something that utilizes our skills.

Because I believe that if you’re listening to this podcast, yes, you want to do great work and use your skills and live your purpose and all those beautiful things, but equally, you want to earn a great income doing it. So non linear careers are really on the rise. And if you’re not familiar with this phrase, I invite you to start looking at it.

Because people are working longer it’s less likely that you know you’re going to stay in one role or company throughout your career. Job availability, interests and industry needs change over time. We are seeing increasingly that people are hiring based on skills. So more organizations now are prioritizing competencies and transferable skills over traditional qualifications, opening the doors for career switches and non traditional candidates.

And increasingly, depending on where you sit, I’ve been really looking at AI and trying to stay somewhat on top of what is available, and still very much a student. But I remember going to one workshop here in Hong Kong, and they were talking about how it’s no longer going to be AI being in the technology function, and that being a siloed area where people are going to be asking about, you know, how to use AI, really, AI is going to infuse all of the different areas. So companies are going to be looking for HR professionals with AI expertise, or sales professionals who can use AI to better generate leads, or better communicate the value of their products and services.

And so non linear careers are on the rise because we need to increase our skills. There’s they are also on the rise because of evolving workforce values.

Many professionals prioritize work life balance, personal fulfillment and flexibility over climbing a single corporate ladder. And so when perhaps, you know, with my clients, and this has been my experience, when you become a mother and you’re thinking about what really matters, maybe you want to work and you want to be there for your kids. And so it could be a beautiful thing that these non linear careers are on the rise, but it means that we need to be adaptable to know how to do that. And so rapid technological change means that our skills are also, you know, going to need to evolve to be able to keep up with market demands.

So non linear careers, I believe, are really the path of the future, and for organizations, it’s can be a great thing, right? Non linear career growth can mean that people can acquire lots of different skills, and, you know, add more value to the organization conversation for individuals, maybe that gives you more satisfaction. Maybe syncs with your work and your personal values and passions and allows you to have varied experiences, which can be really great.

Now, the challenges of nonlinear career paths is that it’s up to you as the individual to identify how your skills can be transferred into another area and to look for those new opportunities, and because the path hasn’t been walked before, it’s not exactly like there are many mentors that you can go to for this. Of course, mentors can advise based on what they know. But if they’re not somebody who’s innovative and still interested in the future of the industry, then it might be really challenging. I think that the skills of trusting yourself, knowing how to make good decisions, asking yourself, you know, what is it that I can’t see here? Or what skills do I need to make that improve? These sorts of skills, this, like self mastery, is going to become an increasingly important pillar to be able to navigate the future of work.

I really think that non linear careers are going to be the norm as companies move away from rigid hierarchies and embrace more flexible, dynamic workforce planning to, like, keep their budgets low, reduce headcount on the on the spreadsheet. You know, like really looking strategically on how they can make the most out of their quote, unquote, resources, you know. And as individuals, we really need to think about, well, how can we future ready ourselves? How can we start to think about what we need to do to be ready for how the future of work is going to change?

And there are many different theories out there, but I believe three things are really important. And these three things I teach in my program, Pivot Pathfinders Collective, and that is number one, as I mentioned, personal mastery, so understanding what you are uniquely qualified, passionate about and able to share in the world. And I believe there’s a beautiful intersection of like, what you’re good at, what the world needs, what you’re interested in, what you can get paid for, right in that area. And each of us is going to be different.

And so when you can get really clear on who you are, you know what skills you have to offer and what problems you’re solving, then it can be easier to know the next piece, which is around your non linear career strategy. So how are you going to build out your career? How for some of us, it’s going to be more portfolio based, where we might have multiple different things happening. For others of us, it just might mean pivoting the other thing that’s going to be needed.

The final piece is really about innovative action taking. So how can you take action? How can you stay current? Skill up in certain areas to make sure that you are doing all the things needed in your non linear career. And I think that increasingly we’re going to be using AI for personal productivity, for project management, for all the things really and so these three core buckets are really, really important when it comes to navigating your non linear career.

And look, if you’re listening to this and you’re thinking, Hmm, I’m interested in this, and I’m thinking about making a pivot, and it might be non linear in nature, just send me a DM, either on Instagram or on LinkedIn. If you’re on the newsletter and you get notice that this podcast has come out, then just hit reply to the email with pivot pathfinders. I’ll be very happy to send you more details about the program so you can get your hand yourself in there and learn about the process and how it might apply to you.

Now, I wanted to also give you an example of what a non linear career looks like, because you might be like, Okay, I get the concept, but how does that actually look?

So I’m very happy to share with you what what it’s looked like for me. So when I started working in my career I worked that traditional career path. I worked in commercial real estate, I worked at Jones La Salle, and I worked there for four years. Went from analyst to associate director in those four years, and there was a very clear career progression path for me there. Learned so much had the most amazing colleagues. Ended up meeting my husband when I was there, and so I loved my time at JLL.

When I left JLL, I moved over to Goldman Sachs, and I worked in corporate real estate, which was more of a regional role. So it was kind of a pivot in that I was going from agency and advisory to client side, and so I would work with an organization like a JLL or CBRE, cushmans, you know, Collier’s, some kind of company to help with the firm’s real estate needs. So it was still within the same industry, but it was a pivot.

Then, when I left Goldman’s and I went on sabbatical. I got married, I had a kid. I realized, okay, I’m no longer this solely focused, ambitious career woman, I’m a mom, and I want to be here for my kid. And so I actually went back and went to consult back at JLL. So I was hired as a consultant. Worked on some strategic consulting projects and had this sort of consulting business model, so I was paid for certain projects. So that was another way that I kind of used my skills in real estate, but had that flexibility, and it was my foray into starting or thinking about how to build my career more as a, I guess, an entrepreneur, and thinking about it, not as a employee.

Now, obviously, I am not a huge company. I literally am, full transparency, mostly myself. I’ll share a little bit more about how things are pivoting and changing here. You know, over at Siobhan Barnes and the other projects I’ve got going on, but you know, it was very much an introduction into, okay, what does life look like outside of corporate and how does that work?

After that, I realized that I wanted to pivot away from real estate and no longer use those skills that I had built up in my corporate experience. Also my master’s was in real estate, and I decided that coaching was the area for me, had a side interest in starting a cosmetic science business and did a cosmetic science diploma, but that’s a story for another day.

I ended up going to learn how to coach. And I started my coaching business, and I worked as an individual coach for a number of years, and when I was learning one of the modalities, after, I’d say, about four years in business, I came across a modality I really loved, and learned that modality, and came on to be a teacher and a facilitator at the school where I learned this modality, and I worked there four years alongside having my own business. So again, non linear, right?

I was doing a number of different things, and this is where you might start to hear this term of portfolio career being banded about, and that is really when you have different income streams, different ways that you earn money.

So I was working in my own business, servicing one on one clients, delivering group programs. And then was working as a coaching facilitator and teaching other coaches how to use embodiment coaching in their own practices. So huge shout out to the School of Embodied Arts and Jenna Ward. That is an incredible program and continues to exist today, and was such a wonderful part of my journey, which really helped me hone a different skill set and improve as a coach and a facilitator, holding groups, et cetera.

Then a couple of years ago, I shifted again and started to do more corporate work. So I worked with organizations in women’s leadership programs, delivering coaching, facilitation within organizations. So again, this was another income stream within my business. So I had the one on one coaching, I had some programs, and I had the the corporate coaching as well.

And now, at the time of recording, we’re here in 2025 I am partnering with an amazing colleague, Elaine Champion, who I’ve had on the podcast, and I’ll have a link to her podcast episode over at the show notes. But we have met through this corporate coaching, and really hit it off, and we are planning to launch something together.

And so I share all of this with you, just to give you an example of what a non linear career can look like.

By no means is this the right path, but just to give you an example of how it can shift and how it can change. And I will say I have learned so much on this journey, and that’s really why those three core pillars that I mentioned, that I speak to and I teach within Pivot Pathfinders, is so foundational.

Number one, you need the Self Mastery.

Number two, you need the strategy.

And number three, you need to be able to take action, manage your energy, do the tasks to be able to move forward and iterate.

And I do believe this is an iterative process. We are going to be asked to pivot more than ever and to be able to be okay with uncertainty. And so my invitation for you today is to think about, where is the future of your career going, is it the non linear path, or are you on the linear path? No problem either way.

But what’s the one thing you can do to start to get yourself future ready?

Is it in the Self Mastery side, where you want to be thinking about what strengths you have and what you want to be leveraging and what you want to be building for that next iteration of your career?

Is it a career strategy, like, how else, or what else could you be doing as a role in terms of, like, your actual income generating source and then?

Or is it like aligned action?

Maybe it is about innovative action and learning some AI tools so that you can do your job more efficiently and skill up for the future?

There is no right or wrong answer, but I invite you to think about what feels most aligned and true for you.

I will leave that here and just say thank you so much for tuning in if you are interested in being supported in the Pivot Pathfinders program, it’s a 12 month program with a core curriculum designed to support you through this exact process of mapping your next career step, whether that’s a big change or that’s like actually stepping up into leadership at your existing organization. I have you covered, and it’s not a traditional just career strategy program.

We cover nervous system mindset so that we can actually get into the right headspace to think about this. We look about look at the strategies that are available to you. We look at what you’re uniquely here to bring to the market. We look at how you can test and iterate your way there so you don’t have to quit your job and, like, start your business right away, because I actually don’t recommend that really bad for your nervous system, and can get you more stressed and not help you see very clearly.

So that is a program that honestly is a very lived experience, and something that is the culmination of doing this work for more than a decade into a dedicated process, that you can do a curriculum you can follow, but that you get a community of other women who are also on that journey, and you get live calls as well where you can come, be supported, get your questions answered and get the feedback you need in order to be able to make that next step.

As I said, if you’d like to know more information, just come and find me with the words Pivot Pathfinders, and I’ll send you the page with all of the details. Got the video walk through, talk you through the methodology, etc, so you can see if it’s the right fit for you.

Thank you so much for tuning in today, and please remember before you go that you are here for a reason beyond merely hustling, grinding and merely surviving, you matter.