Welcome to this episode of Talking about Coaching, the podcast from coaches for coaches. This episode is one of Yannick's deep dives into one topic or person and we're talking to Dr. Britt-Mari Sykes about existential career coaching, and how career development and navigation in the age of AI increasingly brings existential themes to the fore, as clients have to confront questions of identity, authenticity, uncertainty, temporality, meaning, and isolation. What you’ll hear in this episode Why career coaching needs an existential lensHow identity and meaning shift across a career lifeThe role of resistance, stuckness, and uncertaintyWhy “passion” can become a limiting narrativeHow deep listening opens up more useful coaching conversationsThe importance of descriptive reflection over quick fixesHow AI changes the way people think about work, choice, and human value Key themes Where traditional career coaching fails to deliverThe existential layerStuckness as informationChallenging narratives around passion and purposeAI as a third voice in the room Chapters 0:01 — Why Career Coaching Needs an Existential Lens 1:55 — How Britt-Mari Found Her Calling 4:14 — Beyond Strategy: The Deeper Work of Career Coaching 5:53 — Bringing a Role to Life 7:11 — Why Human Conversations Matter More Than Ever 9:06 — Traditional Coaching vs. Existential Questions 11:06 — Why Practical Steps Come Second 14:35 — When Change Feels Impossible 21:23 — Listening for What’s Really There 23:34 — What “Stuck” Is Really Telling You 28:12 — You Are the Job 33:25 — The “Shoulds” That Shape Careers 39:24 — Passion Paralysis 45:32 — Why Description Beats Labels 48:58 — Reframing Purpose and Value 52:17 — When Work Holds You—and Traps You 54:18 — Stuckness as a Useful Pause 58:20 — Stepping Back to Reflect 63:29 — The Existential Gym 67:51 — Five Minutes That Change Your Day 70:02 — Practicing Reflection Like a Muscle 73:44 — Camus, Sisyphus, and Meaning 76:11 — Commitment, Choice, and Decisions 80:37 — Freedom, Bad Faith, and the Dizziness of Choice 83:30 — Choice, Tradeoffs, and Standing Behind Decisions 87:46 — How Clients Step Into This Work 91:31 — Making Space for Ambiguity and Contradiction 92:33 — Why AI Can’t Replace a Human Coach 98:43 — When AI Becomes a Tool, Not a Relationship 99:16 — Why the Existential Gym Still Matters 100:19 — What Resonated Most 103:17 — The Third Voice in the Room 104:16 — Learn more from and with Britt-Mari BIO: Britt-Mari Sykes, Ph.D., is a Career Counsellor and Consultant, a Career Development Practitioner (CDP), and the founder of CANVAS Career Counselling. She is a member of Career Professionals of Canada and received the 2024 Outstanding Career Professional Award of Excellence. She holds certifications as a Career Strategist (CCS), Work-Life Strategist (CWS), Employment Strategist (CES), Interview Strategist (CIS), and Résumé Strategist (CRS). Britt-Mari has supported a diverse range of clients across Canada for over 16 years, assisting those facing career changes, burnout, or feeling unfulfilled, as well as individuals exploring new work options later in life. She also works with emerging young leaders, senior leaders managing multigenerational teams, and career development practitioners seeking mentorship and guidance. Britt-Mari brings an existential and experiential approach to career counselling, guiding clients to explore their relationship with work and careers, reflect on their experiences, choices, and decisions, and develop practical, meaningful next steps. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Ottawa and specializes in existential and experiential psychotherapies. Britt-Mari is the author of Questioning Psychological Health and Well-Being (2010), a historical and contemporary exploration of the meaning of psychological health and development. Currently, she is working on her second book, a collection of essays on the meaning of career and our relationship with work from an existential perspective in career counselling. In addition to her private practice, Britt-Mari has presented at conferences across Canada, the USA, and Europe on topics such as human development, ethics in everyday life, and the value of work. She continues to teach as a sessional and guest lecturer in university classrooms on the history and development of existential psychology and the theory of Existential Analysis. Committed to lifelong learning and professional growth, she regularly participates in workshops and certificate programs on Existential Analysis, Trauma-Informed Care, and Narrative Therapy. Actively engaged in community service, Britt-Mari currently volunteers as a Certification Assessor with Career Professionals of Canada and, for 8 years, volunteered as a group facilitator with the Discover Year program (a structured gap-year initiative). Email: hello@mycareercanvas.co Website: https://mycareercanvas.co LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittmarisykes/ Instagram: @mycareercanvas Brainz Magazine Profile: https://www.brainzmagazine.com/executive-contributor/britt-mari-sykes Support the show - Never miss an episode: https://rocketsupervision.com/talking-about-coaching/ - Yannick's Coaching Nuggets: https://gocoachinglab.com/nuggets - Free Starter Kit for new coaches: https://rocketsupervision.com/coaching-starter-kit/ - More deep dives at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEK9UENWT66D6uqPJhCznXNhc9Ba9jite - Short episodes of TaC addressing specific questions: https://www.youtube.com/talkingaboutcoaching - Support what we do with a positive review, a comment or by telling a friend or colleague about this episode. - Watch COACHING DEMOS from many of our guests in Yannick's Lab. 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