Michelle Irving is a true pioneer and thought leader in the Chronic Illness space. She is the Founder and CEO of “Career and Chronic Illness” and has over 15 years experience in Mentoring and Executive Coaching for people navigating their career while living with chronic illness. Her work comes out of her own lived experience of navigating chronic illness and a demanding career.

Michelle is on a mission to de-shame and transform conversations around illness and her organisation is now expanding to work with employers to educate and equip managers to support their people who are living with chronic illness. In this interview you will hear practical ways by which we can navigate chronic illness while building our successful careers - in ways that work for us and our bodies. You will be struck by her warmth and authenticity as she maps the journey and challenges we face when diagnosed with chronic illness.

She speaks powerfully about her own life before and after chronic illness - learning how to have difficult conversations - what to say, when and to whom. Developing professional boundaries while managing emotional, mental and physical capacities in order to define and progress her career of choice These experiences have informed Michelle’s powerful body of work that is now transforming the lives of others with chronic illness.

Michelle is Australian and started her working life in financial services straight after school, returning to university to study philosophy and subsequently pursuing a career in the civil service during which she became chronically ill. Her story, as to what comes next, is fascinating and you will come away with inspiration and ideas to try as we experience the new normal of our lives with chronic illness.

Michelle’s passion and commitment to living a life with purpose through finding sovereignty and agency is deeply moving. These interviews are brought to you thanks to remarkable people who choose to share their learning about developing inner confidence so that others can learn faster. 

The first tranche of six films is brought to you with thanks to LSEG who are working to build a culture of belonging for everybody and accessibility is a key part of that. Once you have listened, we ask one thing from you: send the link to the film to five others who you think might be able to pass on the messages to five others. We are on a mission at PurpleSpace to cascade a universal definition of inner confidence as a strong expectation of a positive outcome and to share the practical things we can do to navigate our working worlds while managing disability.

Enjoy this film.

For PurpleSpace members wanting further information about how to build inner confidence of their ERG/Network members, visit our resource hub.

For more information about Michelle Irving, and her work visit: www.careerandchronicillness.com

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