Your Career is a Hero’s Journey, with Erica Sosna and Zoë Schofield

Every great story follows a journey, and so does every fulfilling career.

In this episode, Erica and Zoë bring Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey framework into the world of work, showing how the same narrative pattern that drives epic adventures can also illuminate your own career path.

They trace each stage of the journey, from the initial call to change, through resistance, commitment, challenge, and return, revealing how it maps perfectly onto the twists and turns of modern working life. Along the way, they share examples from their coaching practice, including how leaders and returners alike can use this map to find direction, resilience, and meaning.

Erica reflects on her own experiences with recovery, reinvention, and redefining success after setback, while Zoë shares insights from navigating redundancy and creative renewal. Together they show that even when the road gets dark, you’re not lost, you’re simply in the middle of the story.

Whether you’re stepping into something new, facing uncertainty, or helping others through change, this episode is a reminder that your career isn’t just a sequence of jobs, it’s your own evolving adventure.

In this conversation:

• Understanding the Hero’s Journey and how it applies to careers

• Recognising where you are on your personal map of change

• Moving from resistance to commitment when it’s time to grow

• Building confidence through the challenges and “belly of the whale” moments

• Using the Career Equation to guide your choices and next steps

• What personal and organisational change look like through a story lens

• Why reflection and celebration are essential parts of the return

Learn more:

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Back to Work, but Not Back to You? Reclaiming Confidence After a Career Break so You Can Bounce Back Stronger (Part 2)