Global Lumen HR: Bring Your Career Vision Into Concrete Action

If you are wondering about your professional future and how to make your current skills and experience relevant in the “new normal”, you are reflecting upon the right questions. Each of us is experiencing new opportunities and unique challenges as we try to make the most of the present situation. Whatever your current goal may be – whether to be gainfully employed, to be resilient or to be more effective leading virtual teams – it requires a carefully thought-out plan of action. But what decides whether we take action in the first place?

Our actions are the result of our intentions, perspectives, and possibilities. The first step is the intention to make a change. Once we are ready to start making changes, it’s about taking a really small step in the right direction. We want to start small, to see how we can create change in the smallest possible way. And once that’s done, we can start doing more.

 

However, we also live in an age of unprecedented change, where technological advancements and socio-environmental factors have changed the way we live and work. This influences our actions, perspectives, and possibilities.

Automation and AI have accelerated a shift in skills that the workforce needs. A 2018 McKinsey Global Institute report noted that there would be a dramatic increase in demand for employees with higher cognitive skills (such as critical thinking and complex information processing), social and emotional or “soft skills” (such as communication and empathy), and technological skills. They identified these as the three key skill sets for the workers of 2030.

Over the past two years, I have observed an increase in demand for career coaching services, particularly from mid-level professionals, focused on enhancing cognitive and social capital skills, while consciously reflecting on the inter-connectedness between their professional and personal lives. Most of my clients have made tremendous efforts in embracing the possibilities that lie ahead.

When I founded Global Lumen HR in 2017, it was to support individuals in understanding their capabilities, while not limiting themselves to past actions and achievements. Career coaching is one of the areas that we specialise in, which is derived from the belief that career agility is linked to self-belief, purpose and empathy — for oneself and for others.

I believe these aspects are even more crucial now. The 2020 Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends presciently stated at the start of the year: “Much in the same way that we started the decade in uncertainty, we appear to be headed back into a period of uncertainty”. The report notes that Covid-19 has exposed the stress that many workers face in balancing professional and personal commitments and roles (such as being parents or caregiver), which can no longer be separated from work. This, in effect, makes well-being a top priority.

Undoubtedly, our professional journeys are an important part of our lives, and I have seen many clients immerse themselves in – and identify themselves by- their work or career.  Through our sessions, we support our clients in clarifying the role of career in their lives, and to re-evaluate this aspect, if necessary, with a focus on a better work-life balance and achievement of personal goals.

The current Work From Home (WFH) paradigm has upended the way we work, and has forced many of us to reconsider the way we balance our careers with our personal lives. For those unused to WFH, it has necessitated a shift away from being an employee from 9am to 6pm in a separate workplace, to balancing between work, family, household, and other matters – all in a shared, often limited, space.

Balance is personal and unique to each individual – what may be satisfying or balanced for some may be stressful or boring for others. We support our clients by raising their awareness of these issues and allowing them to plan a career that is more satisfying and closer to their definition of balance.

Global Lumen HR provides career strategy and career development coaching services to corporates and universities. Our sessions are designed to empower professionals and those about to join the workforce to translate their career vision into concrete action. We support clients in their professional journeys by instilling self-confidence, self-assurance and resilience into their decision-making practices.

Nitya Rao Perera is the Founder of Global Lumen HR, a HR services firm in Singapore. She is an experienced and supportive Professional Certified Coach (PCC), credentialed by the International Coaching Federation (ICF). She runs mental wellness workshops for Human Capital Singapore (HCS) and the Health Promotion Board (HPB). Nitya has a background in Psychology with a specialisation in Counselling; she blends the art of coaching, counselling and her own sixteen years of corporate experience to provide deep and transformative changes for her clients. In April 2020, she was featured as one of the best career coaches in Singapore by Best in Singapore and she set up a platform to support others called Spread Resilience