Returning to my roots, employee to CEO mindset shifts & ignoring bad advice
Your weekly guide to building a pro-passion, anti-hustle portfolio career
⏰ 60-SECOND TAKEAWAY
Why I've transformed this newsletter (returning to my original 2020 roots)
The employee-to-CEO mindset shift is transforming our club members' businesses
Why "content for content's sake" is damaging your portfolio career reputation
Your Weekly AI Hot Tip: Use these prompts to identify behavioural pattern recognition
This week's Human Design Q&A: Managing multiple passions as a Manifesting Generator
"After years of experimentation, I'm returning to what made this newsletter special in the first place - a blend of personal stories and curated insights that actually move the needle."
♻️ WHY THIS NEWSLETTER IS CHANGING
Returning to My Roots While Looking Forward
Last week on LinkedIn, I shared that I took the first two weeks of May as a moment to refocus on my business and complete a mid-year strategic analysis (I do strategic check-ins every quarter and have two planning cycles: one in November and one in May). After reviewing what was and wasn't working across my business, my newsletter strategy emerged as an area ready for evolution.
I've had this newsletter since 2020, though I only began writing consistently about 12 months ago when I resigned from my C-Suite role and returned to Australia. While I've loved writing personal essays about my portfolio career, I found myself missing the balance between personal storytelling and practical, curated insights.
So, I have decided to return to my original roots from 2020, when this newsletter was a blend of personal stories from my journey, curated ideas that sparked new thinking and practical applications for your portfolio career.
Each edition will now include:
A personal story or insight
A practical framework you can implement
Human Design applications
AI tip of the week
Curated ideas from thought leaders I respect
What won't change: The anti-hustle philosophy, the focus on aligned work, and the commitment to building careers that provide purpose, flexibility, and choice.
Starting next week, I'll also share an 'Inside My Portfolio Career' section with a behind-the-scenes look at how I'm structuring my own multiple income streams as a 3/5 Sacral Generator. For now, let's dive into what's happening inside the Portfolio Career Club...
🫣 INSIDE THE PORTFOLIO CAREER CLUB
The Employee-to-CEO Mindset Shift That Changes Everything
This week in the Portfolio Career Club, we tackled one of the hardest transitions required for portfolio career success, moving from an employee mindset to a CEO mindset.
Emma Grede recently echoed this same principle on Diary of a CEO, that despite owning multiple successful businesses, she felt intimidated by board meetings until her husband identified the issue, she was approaching them as an employee rather than as the CEO who owned the business.
The challenge. Many members discovered they were still operating their portfolio careers with employee thinking:
Waiting for permission to make strategic changes
Undercharging because they felt "lucky" to have clients
Working excessive hours because they hadn't set boundaries
Focusing on tasks rather than strategic direction
The Human Design connection. Each energy type exhibits distinct patterns when shifting to CEO thinking:
Generators/MGs: Often struggle with saying no to opportunities that don't light them up
Projectors: Tend to over-deliver value without recognition or compensation
Manifestors: Can initiate brilliantly but resist creating systems for sustainability
Reflectors: May adapt to client expectations rather than honoring their unique perspective
The framework we implemented.
The CEO Decision Matrix is a tool for evaluating opportunities through four lenses:
Energy alignment: Does this light up my sacral/align with my design?
Strategic value: Does this move my portfolio career forward?
Financial impact: Is this appropriately valued for the transformation provided?
Boundary integrity: Does this honour my energy management needs?
Real transformation story: One club member struggled to embody her CEO role in her growing tech company. Lacking the confidence to make necessary decisions, we applied the CEO Decision Matrix to help her reconnect with her sacral energy and move through fear holding her back (this lives within the intuitive center in her human design). The result: She is now implementing daily CEO affirmations and pre-scripted boundary language to confidently own her value rather than constantly trying to prove it.
YOUR CEO MINDSET QUESTION: What's one decision you're currently facing that you could run through the CEO Decision Matrix rather than approaching with employee thinking?
🤬 UNPOPULAR OPINION
Why "Content for Content's Sake" Is Killing Your Portfolio Career
The standard advice for building visibility online goes something like “post consistently, show up daily, and prioritise quantity to feed the algorithm.”
I believe this approach is actively harmful for portfolio careerists.
Here's why:
It sacrifices quality for quantity, damaging your professional reputation
It ignores your Human Design energy type and sustainable creation patterns
It positions you as a content creator rather than a trusted expert
The data that confirmed my hunch.
Over the last 5 years, I've partnered with women to leverage their Human Design profile lines for authentic personal branding. In analysing their success, the data showed:
Those who posted less frequently but with higher quality insights converted 3.5x more followers to clients
Clients who aligned content creation with their Human Design profile lines reported 70% less burnout
Portfolio careerists who showcased their natural profile strengths (whether as researchers, experimenters, networkers, or problem-solvers) commanded 40% higher rates
The reputation-first approach:
Create content that demonstrates your expertise, not just your personality
Align your content rhythm with your Human Design energy pattern
Focus on solving specific problems rather than general visibility
Real results: Graziella, a transformation leadership coach with a 4/6 profile, transformed her business after abandoning traditional marketing tactics.
Instead of chasing algorithms, she:
Leveraged her Line 4 strengths by cultivating deep relationships with a small circle of aligned professionals
Built her weekly newsletter around her Line 6 wisdom, sharing transformation insights and combining them with theoretical concepts
Created content that felt personalised
She now has a thriving, loyal community that consistently converts to her leadership programs without the exhaustion of content hamster wheels. Read her newsletter here. Explore her leadership program.
The unpopular truth: In a portfolio career, your reputation is your most valuable asset. Sacrificing depth for algorithm-friendly frequency is a short-term strategy with long-term consequences.
If you are interested in hearing more about this approach, on July 1st I am launching something specifically designed for portfolio career professionals to launch their personal brand using human design - reply to this email and I will add you to the list
🤖 AI TOOL SPOTLIGHT
Ensuring Women Portfolio Careerists Lead in AI Adoption
Each week, I'll share an AI tool, tip, or strategy specifically designed for portfolio careerists. This isn't just about tech, it's about ensuring women claim their rightful place in the AI revolution.
“61% of men report that generative AI substantially boosts their productivity in professional settings, only 41% of women feel the same benefit. This 20-point gap isn't just a statistic, it's an opportunity for us to change the narrative.”
This Week’s Insight:
Get deeper client breakthroughs by transforming Claude AI from a note-organiser into a "pattern detection engine" that surfaces subconscious narratives across client sessions.
If you are working with multiple clients and are looking to take your support to the next level, try out these prompts to identify pattern recognition and client blind spots:
1. Metaphor Decoding
Prompt: “Analyse the attached 3 session transcripts. List all metaphors related to career challenges. Categorise them using Lakoff’s conceptual metaphor theory and suggest reframing techniques.”
Why it works: Metaphors reveal subconscious beliefs. Combat metaphors → Fixed mindset; Journey metaphors → Growth orientation.
2. Temporal Pattern Mapping
Prompt: “Chart the client’s emotional valence (positive/negative statements) across sessions using the attached notes. Overlay with major career events. Identify dissonance points.”
Example finding: Client expressed peak negativity after receiving a promotion, revealing hidden impostor syndrome.
3. Counterfactual Question Generation
Prompt: “Based on the client’s stated goal of ‘becoming CEO,’ generate 10 ‘What if?’ questions that challenge their implicit assumptions about leadership success.”
Sample output: “What if your ideal CEO role required less decisive action and more active listening?”
🙋🏻♀️ ANSWERING YOUR PORTFOLIO CAREER DESIGN QUESTIONS
Each week, I'll answer a Human Design question from a reader. Submit yours by replying to this email with "HD Question" in the subject line.
This week's question from Rebecca:
"I'm a Manifesting Generator with a split definition. I feel pulled in multiple directions with my portfolio career ideas - from consulting to course creation to coaching. How do I know which direction to pursue first without spreading myself too thin?"
My response:
Rebecca, your split definition (two or more defined center groupings) can feel like competing interests, but it’s actually a strength when you build in phases.
As a Manifesting Generator, you're designed to:
Respond, not initiate from the mind
Move fast and pivot when needed
Work on multiple things that genuinely energise you
Your portfolio career strategy: Start by launching and iterating one core offer that lights up your sacral now. This gives you a focused foundation. At the same time, keep a low-pressure space to test other ideas through small experiments, like a mini-course outline or a few coaching sessions.
After each, ask: “Do I still have energy for this?” Let your body lead, not your to-do list.
To support your split definition, notice how different parts of your work may naturally inform each other over time. You don’t have to choose just one path, but you do need the right rhythm to build sustainably.
⚡️ WHAT'S LIGHTING ME UP THIS WEEK
📚 Reading: "Four Thousand Weeks" by Oliver Burkman – His perspective on time management has transformed how I structure my weeks as a Generator. Buy Here.
🎙️ Listening: Elise Loehnen from Pulling The Thread – Her solo episodes have fast become my favourite, and her most recent episode outlines how she manages 8 income streams & how she stays in alignment. Listen Here.
🌀 Practice: Energy tracking using the "Sacral Response Journal" – I've been documenting my immediate gut responses to opportunities before my mind gets involved.
🧵Threads worth reading: check out my LinkedIn thread where people have been tagging their fave newsletters, thought leaders, and experts! Feel free to add yours.
💭 Question I'm sitting with: "How might we redefine success metrics for portfolio careers beyond just financial outcomes?" (I'd love your thoughts on this - reply to this email with your perspective!)
💌 LOVE NOTES FROM THE CLUB & SUBSCRIBERS
And if you are looking for support to kickstart your portfolio career in 2025, here are some ways to work together:
Register Your Interest for the September Portfolio Career Club Intake
Get your Hyper-Personalised Human Design Career Insights Report: Personalised analysis revealing your innate work style and leadership potential, blending Human Design with strategic frameworks
Check out my Portfolio Career Mentorship: Corporately-honed, consciously-led 1:1 portfolio career mentorship for visionary women (taking interest for June, 2 spots available)
FREE Download: Guide on how to Kickstart Your Portfolio Career using Human Design, download here
FREE Quiz: Find out your Portfolio Career Archetype here
LOVED reading this!!
Wow! Aligned!! I JUST posted on LinkedIn about this...https://www.linkedin.com/posts/francesca-oddie-96331721_astrology-aquarius-plutoinaquarius-activity-7330130186954240000-STVd?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAR--ZsBQFWwwgR2QHMWobqfskFZgvCU3r4