CHOOSE: Turning Insight Into Direction — Aneesh’s Story (Part 2)
- carolmastrofini
- Nov 4
- 4 min read
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in June 2025 as part of our ACTIV in Action series. It has been updated for clarity, SEO, and alignment with our current coaching framework.
When Aneesh’s company began a chaotic restructure, he was faced with questions no job description could answer:
What now? What matters? What kind of work still feels right when everything familiar is changing?
In the ACCESS phase of coaching, Aneesh had reconnected with his values and motivations. He uncovered a deep desire for integrity, trust, and transparency in both workplace culture and leadership. But knowing what matters is only the beginning.
The next stage is what we call CHOOSE Turning Insight Into Direction, where insight transforms into purposeful movement. This is the turning point in workplace transition coaching, when a client begins to explore how their values shape real decisions and future possibilities.
🟢The First (and Hardest) Choice
Before Aneesh could think about new roles or career paths, he had to make a far more difficult decision: to leave.
It wasn’t easy. Company 1 had been his professional home for years. There was history, familiarity, and the comfort of routines built over time. But the company’s restructuring wasn’t clean or kind.
The notices came in waves. The offers were inconsistent. Some employees were given severance, others a chance to stay under new conditions, and many were left in painful limbo. Aneesh was offered a position, but by then, the writing was on the wall. He wasn’t just witnessing a transition—he was witnessing a slow unraveling.
Like many navigating a major workplace transition, Aneesh wasn’t only grieving his own uncertainty; he was grieving for his friends and colleagues too. That’s the unspoken reality of organizational change: it’s rarely just professional. It’s personal. Emotional. A mix of loyalty, loss, and the ache of watching others suffer.
Choosing to walk away wasn’t about escape. It was about alignment. But it came at a cost.
Values in Alignment
Before choosing a new path, Aneesh needed clarity on what really mattered to him. That’s the work of ACCESS—the first phase of the ACTIV framework. ACCESS reconnects you with your values, motivations, and deeper goals.
During ACCESS, integrity emerged as his guiding principle. For Aneesh, integrity meant accountability, commitment, discipline, and achievement. Closely tied to it were transparency and trust. Together, these shaped what he desired in leadership and workplace culture.
His values became his compass—not just for what he wanted to do, but for how he wanted to work with others. As his journey would reveal, holding firm to these values would become more than a guide. It would become a test.
(If you missed Part 1 on ACCESS, you can read it here.)
What Is the ACTIV Framework?
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 the coaching process to your evolving needs, strengths, and preferences.
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.
Guided Exploration: Our Coaching Process
Throughout the CHOOSE phase, we use Guided Exploration—our coaching process designed to create space for reflection, insight, and informed decision-making.
Unlike directive approaches that offer solutions or checklists, Guided Exploration focuses on helping clients surface their own insights. By slowing down, asking deeper questions, and exploring possibilities without judgment, clients uncover pathways they may not have seen in the noise of transition.
For Aneesh, this process created a structured but open environment. It allowed him to explore new directions with clarity and confidence, while staying anchored in his values.
➡️CHOOSE: Turning Insight Into Direction
With a deeper understanding of his values, Aneesh moved fully into the CHOOSE phase. This wasn’t about narrowing options—it was about expanding them. Guided Exploration encouraged him to explore the full landscape of possibilities without self-censorship.
We reflected on his past roles:
✔️ What had energized him?
✔️ What had drained him?
✔️ What was missing from those experiences?
One theme surfaced again and again: Aneesh naturally thought in terms of process. He was energized by structure, comfortable in systems, and often sought out ways to improve workflows and operations. He thrived when there was a clear framework—and when he could contribute to making it better.
That orientation toward process opened up several paths. One that stood out was Project Management, a field grounded in structure, coordination, and systems thinking. It aligned with his strengths and offered a meaningful next step that reflected how he worked best.
Aneesh made a choice to move forward—not out of panic, but out of clarity. His decision was based on what he now understood about himself.
💡Key Insight
The CHOOSE phase is the intersection of what was, what could be, what must be, and what you want to become. When values and possibilities meet, the path forward begins to emerge.
📌What’s Next: TAILOR
In our next post, we enter the TAILOR phase—where choice becomes design. We’ll explore how Aneesh began shaping a path that not only made sense on paper but felt right in practice.
Need a Guide Through Your Own Transition?
If you’re standing at your own intersection and ready to explore what’s next, I offer a Free 15-minute workplace transition coaching consultation to help you take the first step. Let’s talk.
