Supporting leaders to successfully navigate career transitions

Kamylla Caponi enjoys seeing clients' potential

Kamylla Caponi is no stranger to the challenges of a career transition – she’s been through them herself.

That’s one reason she finds helping Telos Partners’ clients to successfully transition their own careers so fulfilling.

‘I enjoy seeing the potential they have,’ she says.

‘What a privilege to be in a position to consider what’s next in your life – to reflect properly with the tools and support you need. It’s wonderful to see where their career choices will lead them next.’

With a background in business and coaching psychology, she also appreciates the emotion involved. As she explains: ‘The opportunity is wonderful. Who are you going to become?’

Understanding the challenges of career transition

Of course, no two career transitions are the same – the drivers for a career acceleration will be different from those for a career relaunch.

This is why Telos Partners takes the time to listen, understand and tailor our approach – ranging from designing a bespoke engagement lasting ‘only’ three months to signposting an individual to the two-year programme offered by Partners for Leadership (P4L).

But, whatever the client’s catalyst for change, there are often similar opportunities and challenges to be faced.

These can emerge whether the client is looking to relaunch or accelerate, revive or return to their career.

Delivering effective career transition support

Kamylla with Telos Partners' Jeremy Gadd

For Kamylla, it was her own return to work from maternity leave that encouraged her to focus on deepening two key areas of Telos Partners’ career transition support. 

‘I was part of the Leadership Team at the time and started to reflect on my own return to work – what I wished I’d had for my career return, how I’d like to have planned to support clients while I was away.

‘The inspiration was there for the support I wished I’d had.

‘Supporting leaders to successfully navigate a career transition wasn’t a new thing at Telos Partners, but I felt we could offer our clients a more focused approach – specifically in the areas of career relaunch and career return.’

Supporting leaders to relaunch their careers

So Telos Partners developed our ‘Seven Elements of Career Transition Success’ as a framework to guide the career relaunch support we offer – which could be wanted for a number of reasons, including redundancy.

Like the Telos Swirl, this sets out seven key milestones on what can be a tough path – starting with the client ‘Identifying their long-term ambition’ and ending with ‘Embedding the learning’ as they continuously adapt in their new role.

‘Only if we have the first element alive, blooming, will a client manage to successfully transition,’ Kamylla explains. ‘I spend most of my time working with this – it’s the hardest part but fundamental to who they choose to become next.’

Often Telos Partners’ clients are experienced leaders who may have negotiated our support as part of a redundancy package. With her background in psychology, Kamylla specialises in guiding them through career transition.  

Understanding the emotion involved, she encourages them to embrace the opportunities for personal and professional development that can be found.

Guiding leaders through a career return

'Our approach [to career transition] addresses both the emotional and rational pressures our clients face'

And what about career return?

Here, Kamylla helps senior leaders to prepare for and return to leadership after a gap, whether intended or unplanned.

Telos Partners’ approach here is ‘less bespoke’, she agrees, but related to preparing (whenever possible) for the career gap and balancing out priorities upon their return.

‘In all our support for successful career transitions, our approach addresses both the emotional and rational pressures our clients face,’ she concludes. ‘We focus on the individual to enable them to better understand and handle those pressures.

‘More than ever, there are opportunities to support leaders to come to terms with certain aspects of their careers. At Telos Partners, we’re equipped to support them through different career transition situations in a complex world.’

Find out how Telos Partners can support you. Get in touch with us today.