My Career Story

My Alta Lake Moment

(Preface from NAIL IT: A Strategic Roadmap to Career Advancement)

I always suspected there was a better way. As I walked down hallway after hallway, navigated cubicle mazes of every shape and size, pulled my chair up to desk after desk …after desk, I couldn’t help feeling that there was something missing. But I didn’t know where to begin.

For many years I watched co-workers cross X’s through each calendar day and listened to them talk about just ‘getting through’ the week. But if you asked those same people what they wish they had more of, it would be the very thing they were wishing away—time.

I’ve learned that we need to start looking at time as the precious commodity that it is, that we need to figure out how to enjoy each moment instead of wishing it away. I know this because for many years I was one of those employees crossing off days. That was until I had what I call my Alta Lake moment in 2001.

I was at a conference in Whistler, BC, where coincidentally, I had spent two years with my (now) husband taking a ‘gap’ year after university to ski. I discovered pretty quickly that I wasn’t great at being a ski bum! While my husband worked night shifts so he could ski all day, I landed a job in the public relations department and did freelance writing for ski and tourist magazines on the side. I still got a lot of skiing in, but I wasn’t really having what one would call a ‘gap’ year. That professional drive, or maybe ‘overdrive’  steered me through both corporate and public sector public relations roles until I found myself sitting at this conference years later, listening to a leadership coach who to the stage to speak about this emerging profession. As she spoke, I got goose bumps. I turned to my colleague and whispered, This is what I’m meant to do!

That feeling was confirmed the next morning when I went for a run down a path I used to take many mornings years before. I ended up sitting cross-legged on the end of the wharf at Alta Lake, gazing up at the snow-capped mountains. In this moment of stillness with only a mother duck and her ducklings to keep me company, I realized I could no longer ignore the niggling feeling inside. My career was no longer fuelling me and it was time to move on. I wanted to follow my passion to write and I wanted to figure out how to support other professionals tune in to their own talents to enjoy greater career success. It was time to make every day count.

If you’re looking for Leadership Development, Team Development or Career Advancement you are in the right place.

I founded the Career Story Project Inc to help professionals like you discover your unique Clarity, Journey and Legacy. 

Have you heard of  Joseph’s Campbell’s classic Hero’s Journey? As the award-winning author of both children’s literature and business books, what I’ve learned in my 20+ years serving as a leadership coach to CEOs and VPs is that we also have a career journey. I created the Career Story Project because I’ve always had a natural curiosity about how leaders have launched their careers, what obstacles they face along the way and the resulting lessons that help them live and lead a meaningful legacy. 

As the Founder of the Career Story Project, you could say my job is to guide high-performing professionals to live their happily ever after.

Let’s Get Started!

To your career success,

Karen Kelloway, Leadership Coach

ps. Part of my own Career Story is writing fiction. If you are interested in checking out my own Founder projects, you can visit my personal website at www.karenkelloway.com

Ready to write the next chapter of your own career story? Book a call

“Shortly after becoming CEO I hired Karen Kelloway as my CEO coach. By month three we had structured a Development Plan that was fully endorsed by my Board, After six months the Board stated that what I achieved due to my Coaching Plan was beyond their expectations. Through our coaching sessions, Karen provided the tools along with simple but impactful approaches that resulted in a very comfortable and effective leadership style that allowed me to leave a legacy I could be proud of.” — Ian MacNeil, former CEO, League Data Ltd (retired)  

“Karen’s leadership coaching allowed me to accelerate the performance curve of my new role. I found her guidance during the onboarding process an invaluable tool as I negotiated the many complexities of public sector leadership.” — Wendy Griffin, VP, People and Change, Workers' Compensation Board of NS
“Karen has a sensibility combined with an edge of risk taking that will illuminate your leadership excellence.” —

Terrill Welch,
Past President of the International Coach Federation, Vancouver, BC, author, artist and coach for women leaders