Madeline Miller
Entertainment Attorney | U.N. LAWYER |
Gen Z and Millennial Career and Leadership Coach
Worried you’re stuck in your career? I’m all for change. Just take a look at the job titles above!
But early on, my career and job changes were driven by uncertainty and anxiety and a way to feel like I was in control of my career. In reality, I was relying on short-term fixes rather than long-term growth. I had no plan and no one to guide me. I knew I wasn’t living my purpose but I couldn’t quite work out what that was. Here’s the thing. Your job is not your career. Your job may come and go, but your career is your own journey. It deserves to be created by you, for you.
Short-term career tactics like impulsive job switches (hello, it’s me), memorizing negotiation scripts and interview answers, and making decisions without understanding why you’re doing any of it, tends to have short-term results. This even applies to promotions — yes, landing that first power-suit job can feel huge, but are your interpersonal skills and mindset in a place to turn that into a satisfying long term career — or will you become overwhelmed, question what it is all for, lose motivation and burn out?
What is a sustainable strategy for long-term career success?
It starts with you.
Despite the chaotic nature of career transitions, I’ve had some pretty amazing experiences: From working in media law on an evening news show, to living in Cambodia for the U.N. to landing in Hollywood as an entertainment attorney and ending up as the production attorney for the James Bond franchise in London.
But the truth is, I struggled to fit into the corporate world because I felt like I didn’t understand the unwritten rules. I wished I had a mentor to guide me early on. By the time I was a manager, I understood more about how things worked but had little idea of how to be an effective leader in a way that felt real to me and less time to work it out. So I copied the dysfunctional leadership around me, looking for quick fixes instead of strategic solutions. Think aggression rather than assertiveness, reactions rather than responses. As I became more senior and successful, I was driven by achievement, status, and other people’s opinions. None of it was sustainable. I appeared confident, but it was brittle. I was terrified of being considered a failure. Or worse, inadequate. I got stuck in bad, cortisol-inducing habits.
It wasn’t until I started leaning out of the things society says we should value and leaned into the things I could take responsibility for, my values, my behavior, and my emotional regulation, that I found true success and respect. It was confronting to realize how little I knew about effective leadership and to face my own self-limiting beliefs and triggers. However, the deepening self-awareness allowed greater alignment between my values, skills, and career, which made me more powerful and able to start influencing people in a way that I hadn’t before. Then I could make bold choices and take bigger risks without spiraling into anxiety. Individual responsibility is only part of the equation at work, but it is the first part, and it is the work that gives you the tools and confidence to do anything you want with your career and not be bound to a job that feels soul-crushing or simply no longer inspires you. I changed everything about how I approached my career, and my life transformed. Working with me, yours will too.
What did I learn?
I realized that I needed to lead from my own set of principles and beliefs; Otherwise, I was going to buckle to whatever pressure came my way. But first, I needed to spend some time working out what they were.
I also examined when I had made good decisions and my best career moves and I realized it was when I had been most in touch with my intuition, self-advocating despite negative pushback and staying committed to belief in my self worth.
The hardest acknowledgement was that I needed to level up my interpersonal skills. I thought I was a good communicator, but I could still be reactive or avoidant. I needed to embrace the conflict that inevitably comes from working with other people, and move through it constructively rather than wish it away.
No one is born being good at this stuff. It requires constant practice which made me feel uncomfortable and triggered fight or flight reflexes. I had to push myself not to give up and run away.
But I learned that by radically embracing my limitations and identifying blind spots, I reduced the power they held over me (and the fear that others might call them out) and I could actually start to work through them which vastly improved my job satisfaction, resilience, and respect from others.
I believe you can do this too.
Why do I coach Gen Z and Millennials?
This work allows me to show up more authentically, which is empowering. It builds confidence, enables me to navigate workplace challenges, and significantly amplifies my influence. I want the same for you.
By taking control of your own behavior you can take greater control over your career and destiny and spend less time measuring your self-worth by the behavior of others. I wish I had learned this earlier. Traditional executive coaching focusses on the most senior leaders rather than the people who will take their place, and most career and leadership advice for Gen Z and Millennials focuses on short-term tactics rather than strategies for sustainable changes. I want to invest in these new and mid-career professionals early and equip them with a long-term vision for their success.
I drew on my own experiences and breakthroughs to design my coaching programs around three core pillars: Alignment, Influence and Resilience. These are the foundations of developing a sustainable strategy for long-term success. I’m not here to promise you a C-Suite role or financial freedom in three months. I’m here to help you feel more confident and in control by making you the most thoughtful and effective leader you can be.
It’s your career – take back the power. And use my coaching programs to move forward in whatever way is purposeful and meaningful to you.
What benefits can you expect?
Ok, so enough about me. How might coaching help YOU? Working with me, my clients report feeling:
- better able to identify, understand and work through obstacles
- recognized for their maturity and superior interpersonal skills
- in control of a leadership style that aligns with them and their values
- more purposeful, motivated, and driven
- more in control of their career no matter what comes their way
As a bonus, my clients watch their happiness soar, and their stress levels decrease. They’re often surprised to see their ambition and drive return with a vengeance. Most importantly (and in my mind, invaluably), they spend a lot less time worrying about others and more time working on their own goals. They make moves!
The Three Elements of my A.I.R. Formula for Career Success
Alignment
Align your career choices, your goals, and your leadership style so you can show up powerfully and authentically.
Influence
Develop the interpersonal skills that build influence to set you up for leadership success at any stage of your career.
Resilience
Learn to connect with and trust your intuition and the instincts you need to make the best decisions for yourself and for your career.
How My A.I.R. Formula Helps You
My A.I.R. coaching formula emerged from the lessons I’ve learned through my mistakes and my successes over 20 years of professional experience in the competitive industries of entertainment and law across the globe. It took me over a decade to perfect it, and it is the kind of formula I wish I had to guide me throughout my career to save me from a lot of anxiety, bad habits, and spiraling. It’s driven by the bigger-picture vision of a happier, healthier workplace with better leaders who positively impact those around them.
It’s a formula that:
- helps you develop an authentic leadership presence, no matter the stage of your career
- looks at who you want to be at work and creates continuing actions, decisions, and behavior that supports that vision
- builds confidence and self-trust in your decision-making, stopping you from spiraling into worry that limits growth.
The A.I.R. acronym refers to three essential elements of professional development needed to become a great leader and an empowered version of oneself:
Alignment, Influence, and Resilience.
The formula helps perfectionists and people pleasers go from feeling powerless to powerful, without having to fake it till they make it, and turns managers into leaders!
Ready to Talk?
Got questions? Reach out to me here and I will get back to you. I’m active on social media too, so let’s connect!
