What's Your Formula? A Simple Framework for Taking Back Control in Your Career

Written by Naomi Pereira, Career and Leadership Coach

Naomi is an ICF-accredited coach, and HR leader whose 15+ years experience across Financial services enable a practical, insider's perspective on workplace dynamics, leadership and career growth. Naomi founded N.Pathcoaching, offering coaching to mid-career professionals on building confidence and lifting performance to drive career growth.

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Most clients don't come to me saying, "I want a promotion." They say, "I can't do this anymore." The workload feels relentless, the pay feels inadequate, there's little recognition, and the processes are broken, so they become convinced the only solution is to leave.

Sometimes, they're right. Let me be clear, if you're in a toxic environment where you're being bullied, undermined, or your wellbeing is at risk, that's not a reflection exercise, that's an exit signal. This framework isn't about tolerating the intolerable.

But for the many people who are unhappy and haven't yet worked out why, the instinct is to escape. Well known brands can feel like a safer bet. We tell ourselves that because of their reputation, those same problems won't exist there. In reality, every workplace is a mix of personalities, priorities, and processes, all shaped by the need to perform. The question is, does any company offer complete satisfaction?

Instead of setting out to find this, I use a simple idea with my clients, think of your job as a personal formula. We are quick to sign a contract with our employer, but what about the one we sign with ourselves? One of the first questions I ask a client is "how are you making your formula work?" This is often met with a blank face. If we see our jobs as a personal formula, then we are more in control of what goes in and the outcome. When your formula is out of balance, everything feels harder. When it's right, work becomes something you can manage on your terms.

Here are the four questions I ask my clients to help them make their formula work:

1. What are your main components?

Think of these as your foundations, the key drivers that throw everything else off if they're missing. The first step is to identify two or three, financial security, flexibility, social connection, learning, progression, autonomy, contributing to a cause, networking, the list goes on.

2. How much do you need?

This is an important question, because we all share similar drivers but we know which ones make our formula stronger. If you had 100 points to split across your components, where would they go? That distribution is what makes your formula yours.

3. How do your components link to your personal goals?

Clarifying how they support your personal goals is what creates a lasting formula. For some, financial security needs to carry the most weight because it enables a chosen lifestyle. For another, flexibility might outweigh everything else because it gives access to more time. Neither is wrong, but knowing why a component matters is what stops you second guessing yourself.

4. How are you going to make your formula work?

This is the single most important step. Knowing your formula is one thing. Acting on it requires conviction, consistency, and sometimes real courage.

If your formula is heavily weighted toward flexibility, that might mean saying no to the 5.30 pm meeting that's appeared in your diary, the one that means you'll be late for pick up. People will have a reaction to that. Flexibility may not be in their formula. But that doesn't mean it should unbalance yours.

If career progression is a key component, perhaps that last minute business trip overseas to connect with global stakeholders is exactly what you need to make your formula work.

By getting really clear on our formula, we set boundaries to protect it and keep it balanced. If the environment simply doesn't allow your formula to work, then taking yourself out of it might be the right call.

Here's what I want you to take with you, you don't need to find a "perfect workplace", you need to get clear on your formula. Your components will shift over time, and that's normal. What matters is knowing what you need most, how much you need it, and having the conviction to protect it with choices and boundaries that you stand by.

If you realise the environment you're in can't support your formula, then leaving isn't failure, it's alignment. Either way, you've moved from reacting to choosing.

Our formulas take time to figure out. Our lives shift and our personal goals change. Here, I work with clients navigating career transitions and difficult career junctures, a toxic work environment, a lack of progression, a redundancy, so they can take back control and make choices that align with their personal formula.

At a career crossroads or dealing with workplace change? My 'Power Hour' coaching session can help you find clarity and a clear next step. Book through my website,  and follow me on LinkedIn for more career tips.

Read more from Naomi Pereira

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Naomi Pereira, Career and Leadership Coach

Naomi Pereira is a senior HR Leader across financial services and media, bringing deep insight into the realities of workplace dynamics, leadership, and career growth. Once a quiet achiever who stayed in the shadows, she set out on a path to support others early on in their careers, to rise above the labels, hierarchy, and limiting beliefs that can hold you back at work. As an accredited ICF coach and founder of N.Pathcoaching, Naomi offers a safe space for her clients to explore the challenges that they quietly carry at work – that boldly impact their potential - like self-doubt, a toxic manager, burnout or workplace change so they can take their next step with confidence and clarity.