Part 5 – VALIDATE: Aneesh’s Journey in Workplace Transition Coaching
- carolmastrofini
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
Editor’s Note: Updated from the original June 2025 version to reflect refined language and enhanced insights.
When Aneesh first came to coaching, he wasn’t searching for a new job. He was searching for direction.
The company he once loved—where he had contributed, built trust, and found purpose had undergone a major transition.
☑️New capital came in.
☑️New leadership followed.
☑️Priorities shifted.
☑️Values faded.
The culture that had once energized him slowly slipped away.
Coaching began as a place to process uncertainty and soon became a space for deeper exploration. He uncovered what no longer fit, clarified what he truly valued, and identified what he wanted to carry forward into his future.
His coaching journey brought clarity step by step.
🛤️Aneesh’s Path Through the ACTIV Framework
Aneesh’s story follows the ACTIV framework. It's your workplace transition coaching process rooted in reflection, intention, and clear direction.
ACCESS – Reconnecting with Values
He named the internal tension that had been building long before restructuring and reconnected with the values that had been quietly violated.
CHOOSE – Making Decisions Aligned With Who You Are
He made a difficult choice: to leave Company 1 and create space to pursue work aligned with his principles and long-term vision.
TAILOR – Shaping a Path That Fits Your Life
He accepted a flexible role at a small tech company and designed a path that included exploring project management, working on a certification, and testing new responsibilities. It felt promising—at first.
IMPLEMENT – Taking Action With Clarity
As he implemented his plan, he discovered an unexpected truth: project management drained him. That insight pushed him back to an earlier realization from CHOOSE—he needed work that leveraged his analytical strengths and creative problem-solving. Data visualization called him back with new clarity.
Each phase deepened his understanding of what he needed from work, leadership, and culture.
Now he arrived at the final phase.
What Is ACTIV?
The ACTIV Framework supports individuals, leaders, and organizations through change with clarity and purpose.
It includes five phases:
• ACCESS – Reconnect with your values, motivations, and deeper goals to uncover what truly matters.
• CHOOSE – Make intentional decisions that reflect who you are and where you want to go in your workplace transition.
• TAILOR – Shape a path that fits your unique strengths and circumstances.
• IMPLEMENT – Take action with clarity and confidence, putting your chosen path into motion.
• VALIDATE – Reflect on progress, celebrate wins, and refine the plan to stay aligned with your goals.
Every ACTIV phase builds on the last. But it all begins with ACCESS, where reflection turns into direction. Through workplace transition coaching and the ACTIV coaching framework, you gain both structure and flexibility to navigate change with clarity and purpose.
🧭What VALIDATE Looks Like in Workplace Transition Coaching
In VALIDATE, Aneesh wasn’t simply taking action, he was integrating his insights, affirming new truths, and aligning his next steps with a clearer sense of direction.
This phase didn’t reveal more steps—it revealed the right one.
After deciding project management wasn’t a fit, Aneesh returned to data visualization with intentionality. He researched the field, spoke with professionals, and enrolled in a data visualization certification program. He didn’t wait for a new role to practice. he brought the work into his current one.
The company’s loose structure, though frustrating, gave him room to explore. He began offering simple reports and eventually gained access to BI tools. These tools allowed him to build visuals that clarified gaps and opportunities across the business.
The impact came quickly. Leaders began pulling Aneesh into internal conversations. They were curious about the clarity his visuals were bringing to long-standing issues. His reports started informing decisions at the highest levels of the company, shaping the way problems were understood and priorities were set. And with each contribution, his visibility grew. People who had never interacted with him before were suddenly seeking him out, asking questions, requesting insight, and recognizing the value he brought.
But his title and compensation stayed the same.
He continued doing the project management work he didn’t enjoy while carrying the reporting duties that increasingly defined his value.
Eventually, he faced one question:
Should I ask for a raise?
💬Preparing for the Ask
The idea of asking for a raise brought real anxiety.
Not because Aneesh questioned his performance but because he knew the risk. His boss was volatile, inconsistent, and unpredictable.
“If she didn’t like the ask,” he said, “she’d just shut down. No response to emails. No acknowledgment. Just… silence.”
Silence wasn’t neutral. It carried consequences. Opportunities quietly disappeared. Responses slowed. And at times, there was a subtle, unmistakable shift. A form of quiet retaliation that made the workplace feel unpredictable and unsafe.
This wasn’t just about compensation. It was about psychological safety.
In coaching, we worked through that fear. We explored likely scenarios and how he could stay grounded no matter which version of his boss showed up.
Then came strategy.
Aneesh understood one key truth: She wasn’t the kind of leader who cared enough to listen to her people—but she did respond to data.
So he leaned into the skill he was developing.
Using data visualization, he created a side-by-side comparison of:
✅what he was originally hired to do, and
✅the expanded scope of what he was now responsible for.
He presented it calmly and professionally.
“She sat back and said, ‘Wow… I didn’t realize how much you were doing.’”
Even poor leadership couldn’t ignore clarity.
For Aneesh, this was a pivotal moment. Data visualization didn’t just convey information, it revealed truth in a way conversation never could.
❌ The Decision That Spoke Volumes
But the clarity he hoped for didn’t come.
Instead of offering recognition or a raise, his boss removed his reporting responsibilities entirely.
The part of the work that energized him—gone. The part that drained him—still his, and still uncompensated.
Aneesh shared, “I felt demoralized… but unfortunately not surprised.”
Then she asked him to meet with company leaders to “talk about his future.” He went with grace and professionalism, expressing his desire to grow his career in data visualization.
But internally, he already knew.
There was no shared foundation.
No alignment.
No path forward.
✨What VALIDATE Revealed
Through coaching, Aneesh validated two powerful truths:
1️⃣ Data Visualization Was His Path Forward
For months he had tried to communicate verbally that his responsibilities had expanded.
But it wasn’t until he visualized it that his boss finally understood.
This confirmed something essential:
Data visualization wasn’t just a skill he enjoyed—it was a language of clarity and influence.
2️⃣ His Company Couldn’t Support His Future
It offered learning but not alignment. Experience but not growth. Opportunity but not stability.
VALIDATE didn’t make the experience easier but it made the next step unmistakably clear.
🌱A New Chapter Begins
Today, Aneesh has stepped into a new role at a company that values both his skills and his voice.
He now works full-time in data visualization. He now uses the data-visualization skills he honed during coaching to help others make informed, strategic decisions.
He is thriving—aligned, valued, and fulfilled.
He isn’t just navigating workplace transition. He owns it.
🔀How VALIDATE Supports Your Own Workplace Transition
If you’re doing more than ever and feeling less fulfilled, the problem might not be your performance, it might be the fit.
VALIDATE is the phase where clarity meets courage. It gives you space to:
✔️reflect
✔️recalibrate
✔️recognize misalignment
✔️and choose what stays true
Coaching offers a space for that kind of reflection.
🗓️ I offer a Free 15-minute consultation—a moment to reset, reflect, and explore your next move with clarity.
📌What’s Next
Aneesh’s journey through the ACTIV framework concludes here but your journey may be just beginning.
Next, we shift the focus to you: Be Your Own Transition Expert: Shutting Out the Noise
A new series about quieting external voices, reconnecting with your inner wisdom, and navigating change with purpose and confidence.
Join us as the next chapter begins.
