Navigating Career Curveballs: LauraGaye Jackson's Insights on Transformation

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to the Living the Dream Podcast with Curveball. If you believe, you can achieve. Welcome to the Living the Dream with Curveball Podcast. A show where I interview guests that teach, motivate, and inspire. Today's guest knows what it's all about to experience a curveball in a career and have to have a major change. Laura Gay Jackson is a global marketing leader. She is a CMO and an executive coach. And she experienced a career change when her executive position was eliminated. But instead of her chasing what's next, she decided to redefine success and take a step back and you know carefully and strategically see what was next. So that's what she does. She she helps leaders uh be able to grow, reinvent, and redefine what's next. So we're going to be talking to Laura Gay about her how how she's helping her clients and everything that she's up to and gonna be up to. So Laura Gay Jackson, welcome to the show.

SPEAKER_01 1:25

Thanks for having me. And I love your handle because curveball, I think, is what we're gonna be talking about today.

SPEAKER_00 1:30

Absolutely. I appreciate that. So uh why don't you start off by telling everybody a little bit about yourself?

SPEAKER_01 1:38

Sure. So um I was a marketing exec for uh one of the largest banks in Canada, did that for many years, um, loved it, was successful at it, and um really enjoyed that role. Um, and then there was a restructuring, and so I found myself in a very different position, which we're gonna talk about a little bit today. But in addition to all of that, um, I'm the proud mother of two amazing uh 20-somethings and two boys and young men, I should say, and also our uh our pup um Gizmo. So uh they all keep me sort of honest, the three of them, in a variety of different ways. And I come to you from Toronto, Canada. And as we were just mentioning, there's a big game on right now, a FIFA game between Portugal and Croatia. And I think uh Portuguese are leading. And why that's so interesting to me is I live in the epicenter of little Portugal in Toronto, so it might get a little noisy in a few minutes. We'll see what happens.

SPEAKER_00 2:40

Yeah, and the game is almost over, and uh Portugal just scored right before Laura came into the weight room.

SPEAKER_01 2:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:46

Um, so take us back to the moment that your executive position was uh eliminated. What was going through your mind? What emotions were you experiencing, and how did it change the way you viewed your identity and career?

SPEAKER_01 3:02

Yeah, so I want to go back a little bit um just to put some perspective on exactly what I was going through, because it was actually more than my um job loss. Um, my mother was ailing, um, and I was her medical power of attorney and ultimately the executor will. And she passed away about six months before this uh situation happened to me. So I was in this high-profile role. Um, I was privately grieving, and then um in the midst of all this, I was dealing with all the responsibilities of being an executor and also doing, I guess, what the Swedish call death cleaning of her home and getting her affairs in order. So that was situation number one of loss that I was already dealing with. And then about a year prior to my role being eliminated, um, I went through a separation of a very long-term marriage and um eventually finalized um my divorce five months before I lost my job. So dealing with the loss of my mother, dealing with the death of a marriage, and all while supporting uh two young men who were in university at the time, who I really felt a lot of responsibility for to help them launch. So this was really the what I guess they would call the trifecta. And it was um the last thing in my world that really brought me joy, and I was successful at during this period of time. I loved going to work, I loved managing my team, I loved the work that we were doing. It was very fulfilling. I was a high performer, and then all of that, the rug was pulled out from under me, all of that was taken away. So, to your original question, at first I felt confused. I didn't understand why it was happening. I was a high performer, there was no reason that this should have happened, although I was at the beginning of eventually about 200 people being restructured out of this organization. Um, then the confusion moved into anger, um, primarily because of all of the loss that I had dealt with in the previous two years, and now the need to reinvent not only myself professionally, but also myself personally. So I felt very overwhelmed. I felt sad at times, but the reality was I realized very quickly that this was a gift. This was a gift to give me time to sort through my mom's affairs, which I would not have properly had time for if I was still working the high-profile role that I had. It was an opportunity to start a fresh life. Um we sold the familial home and I was able to purchase a new home for my sons and myself and the dog to live in, do a major renovation. I'm a builder, so I had an opportunity to really build the home of my dreams and start a new business. But the biggest gift I was given was the opportunity to reconnect with friends and family. I had a really busy career. Um, I didn't have a lot of time for friends and family, and so now I was given that gift and that opportunity to reconnect and reacquaint with those people.

SPEAKER_00 6:16

Well, I know many people tie their job with their identity. So, how were you able to separate who you are from what you do?

SPEAKER_01 6:25

Yeah, you know, that's really hard to do, and especially in terms of what my role was, because my role also included community engagement. So there were events where I would take my family to these events. There were some evenings where I had to go to events. Um, I traveled in my job. So the lines were really blurred. So in some ways it was difficult to separate the two. Um, but when all of this happened, I quickly realized that I wasn't the only one that was being affected by this. Within my own company, as I mentioned, there were around 200 people who were restructured out within a six-month period. Um, and then in general, you're hearing, unfortunately, given the job market, particularly in Canada, I can't speak to the US, where people are being affected by restructuring, being affected by AI, there's job losses, and you quickly realize that losing your job doesn't have the same stigma it once did. And you also realize that it's important to start your journey by morning. You have to close that previous part of your life before you can really move on to the next part. But when it comes to identity, um, you know, the hardest part I found, which I've heard from other people as well, is that you quickly realize that when you're in transition, people who might have taken your calls when I was this marketing exec with this very large organization, uh, don't necessarily take your calls anymore because Grow and Flourish, which is the new company that I have, Grow and Flourish Consultants, it doesn't have the same uh brand and cachet that the FI did that I worked for. So, you know, that was that was tough for me to realize that that identity that I had, and those people were nice to me because they liked working with me, but it was also because of who I worked for and what my position was. And then you quickly realize that it's important to understand that you're not just your job title, um, but you're also a friend to people. In in some cases, you're a parent, in some cases, you're a community member. So you have multiple identities. Um, and then the great part about what I went through was it gave me that opportunity to reignite some of those parts of my life that I didn't have time for before. So for many people who are senior level executives, it's really tough to separate those two. And when that title is taken away from you, um, it's a struggle. It can be very difficult.

SPEAKER_00 9:03

So looking back was losing that role at the beginning of a chapter that you didn't know that you needed.

SPEAKER_01 9:10

Yeah, I hate to use this expression, but it's so true. You know, one door closes and another one opens. Um, I had had a career coach earlier in my career, and he had told me that I was a really quick learner, and he thought that I would make an amazing coach. But at the time, um I was in a, you know, making really good money, loving what I did. And so it wasn't something that I took very seriously. But a few years before this incident happened, um, I had done a little bit of research to see what it would take to become a career coach. And so I had a good understanding of how I had to upskill myself, what the credentials were that I was required to have. Um so I had already sort of started doing that. So at the time that this happened, um, it was just at that inflection point of AI starting to have impact in the world. And so um I realized very quickly that the brand marketing work that I did, that some of those opportunities were drying up and wouldn't necessarily be relevant. And so I decided that I wanted to do both marketing and that I also wanted to get into coaching. But I also realized that to be a relevant marketer, I had to learn more about AI. So one of the things we're going to talk about possibly in a little bit is to be curious, to upskill, to learn. And so I signed up, made an investment in a one-year AI course to really help me with my marketing, make me relevant so I could really talk the talk. And then I set up my company, started to define the services I would offer. Um I got out there with content so I could really build my brand because I'm a marketer. So, you know, what do I stand for? What am I all about? And I started reaching out to my extensive network to let them know what I was up to and what the chain was all about. And um people started reaching out to me to learn a little bit more.

SPEAKER_00 11:15

Yeah, and uh, you can definitely mention that now about uh you know, transitioning and upscaling and stuff like that. What what are the biggest mindset shifts leaders need to make when going through a mid-career transition?

SPEAKER_01 11:33

Yeah, so um I think you need to be very curious. I think that that's really important. Um, that you open your mind to um what might be out there and what might be possible for you. Um I think that you also have to take some time for a little bit of introspection, you know, understand what parts of the work you were doing really energized you, what drained you, um, really think through what your core values are and what your sense of purpose is to see if there's any kind of misalignment, and uh take inventory on what matters most to you now, because what you're doing now may not be as fulfilling as what you thought it was, say five years ago. So, you know, get out there, start volunteering, learn a new skill, take on a new project to really sort of figure out where you want to go and what you what it is you want to do.

SPEAKER_00 12:30

Well, you know, as someone who has successfully reinvented themselves, uh what what did this teach you about creating opportunities instead of just sitting back waiting for opportunity to knock on the door?

SPEAKER_01 12:44

Yeah, yeah, you know, that's um a really important um one because a lot of people when um your role um ends, you just want to move on to the next thing, you know, as quickly as possible. Um and you don't really wanna you don't really think you have the time to take the time. So um uh can you can you say the question again? Sorry, I lost track.

SPEAKER_00 13:14

Basically, you know, what what did you learn about creating opportunities instead of just waiting for something to knock on your door?

SPEAKER_01 13:25

Yeah, so you know, the first thing um that I had to do was to re-engage my network. Um, because when a role ends, often you um question your confidence, question your ability. And so re-engaging and reconnecting with people allows you to start telling your story again. Um, it provides you with opportunities to voice out loud what you would like to do next. It lets you start meeting people who are possibly doing what you might want to do. So it helps you refine what your next move might be. And it also starts to introduce you to new opportunities. So you start seeing that momentum happening there. And then the other thing, which I mentioned before, is really around upskilling. Uh, taking the time to learn, invest in a new skill that will help you be a better leader, whatever that might be. In my case, it was um learning more about AI. For some people, it's improving their presence. Um, everybody's a little bit different, but take that time because you have the time now, and you won't have the time when you're in a new role.

SPEAKER_00 14:33

Well, what separates those who struggle to uh move forward and who successfully reinvent themselves? Well what separates the two?

SPEAKER_01 14:46

Yeah, I think it comes down to two things attitude and vision. Um, I coach a lot of people who move into victim mentality, and that's a really sad place to go, and it's a little bit of a spiral and a black, a dark place to go, I should say. Um, you know, those people look at the glass as being half empty versus it being half full. So you have to find that positivity in your life. You have to see the gift that you've been given so that you can move forward. Otherwise, you're still in mourning and it doesn't play very well and it doesn't feel good to other people who want to work with you and want to engage with you. Um, the second thing is really around that vision. So I mentioned this before, being curious to think through what lights you up, what makes you happy, um, what could be? I do that a lot with my um coaching clients. We talk a but a lot about if there were no barriers, there were no issues, what kind of a life would you want? What would it look like? And if we can envision it and we can see where we are now, we can figure out where those gaps are, and it's a lot easier to get there. Um, so for sure, attitude critical, a positive attitude, which is hard, especially if you're in transition. Um, there are days that are not happy days and are not good days and are frustrating. Um, but if you can think about what could be, what would I want next, and how can I get there, um, you can be quite successful.

SPEAKER_00 16:17

Well, tell us about any upcoming projects that you're working on that listeners need to be aware of.

SPEAKER_01 16:24

Upcoming projects. So um in major coaching mode, um, doing some fractional work. So as a fractional CMO, you get to go into a small, medium-sized business and work with them for a short period of time on specific projects to help them get up and running. So I'm enjoying that. I'm starting to do podcasts as we're doing today. So um enjoying those opportunities. And as I mentioned, I'm in this one-year AI course that has been phenomenal. The guy who teaches it is amazing. He's a real good marketer. And uh I didn't know what a prompt was. I knew how to spell prompt, but other than that, I didn't know what a prompt was. And um, I'm now starting to get into a genetics. Um, I'm starting to, and my son's a coder, my older son is a coder, so he laughs at me that you know, AI allows me to code. Um, but I'm starting to use AI to create my proposals in my voice. So, and with my ethics. And um, I'm doing follow-up um emails to people using AI again in my voice with my uh ethics. Um, you know, so I've just been really, really enjoying that learning curve that I'm on right now.

SPEAKER_00 17:37

Well, so let's just keep up whatever thing that you're up to. Go at your contact info.

SPEAKER_01 17:43

Okay, so if people want to reach me, they can reach me at LauraGay at growandflourish.ca um or they can check me out at uh growandflourish uh.ca. And um I would love if anyone out there is uh in transition or new to role and uh you want to learn a little bit more about how coaching might help you on that journey, I'd love that opportunity to talk to you, or if you're working for an SMB or you're running an SMB and you've got an opportunity to do some um branding work, um I would love to help you through that as well.

SPEAKER_00 18:20

We'll close us out with some final thoughts. Maybe if that was something I forgot to talk about that you would like to touch on any final thoughts you have for the listeners.

SPEAKER_01 18:28

Yeah, for sure. I think the first thing is to find joy. Um, when you're going through any type of transition, it's very um challenging to always see the dark side of things. And so anything you can do to break the fear or break the sadness, to energize yourself and provide yourself with joy and laughter, I think is really important. I think being kind to yourself, taking a breath, realizing it's okay to mourn, but also realizing that this is just a blip in your career and that better days are ahead, and uh to stick with it and um determination, that's what's gonna get you through.

SPEAKER_00 19:11

Absolutely, ladies and gentlemen. Growandflourish.ca is the way to keep up with everything that Laura Gay is up to. Please be sure to follow, rate, review, share this episode to as many people as possible. And to keep up with all things living the dream, visit www.curveball337.com. Please share the website and the show to everybody you know. Thank you for listening and supporting the show. And Laura, thank you for all that you do, and thank you for joining me.

SPEAKER_01 19:41

Thank you, Curveball. I really appreciate it, Curtis.

SPEAKER_00 19:44

For more information on the Living the Dream with Curveball Podcast, visit www.curveball337.com. Until next time, keep living the dream.