Career Direction and Leadership Support for Chaplains

Who this is for

These offerings are for chaplains and spiritual care professionals who:

• Intentional reflection: Want dedicated space to reflect on career direction, leadership, and impact
  
• Active transitions: Are navigating growth, burnout, or increasing responsibility and want to respond thoughtfully
  
• Clarity seekers: Want greater clarity around where to focus their energy and attention
  
• Engaged participants: Are prepared to engage actively in professional development

Who this is not for

These offerings may not be the right fit if you are:

• Job-first focus: Primarily looking to secure any next role rather than taking time to clarify fit, direction, and what matters most right now
  
• Shortcut seeking: Hoping for quick answers, shortcuts, or access to job leads rather than engaging in a reflective process
  
• Limited capacity: Not in a position to invest time, energy, and financial resources in your professional development
  
• Transactional expectations: Seeking a one-way service rather than a collaborative, learning-oriented working relationship 

These supports are designed for people who approach career and leadership decisions with care and who are willing to invest accordingly.

Preferred Rates for Chaplaincy Innovation Lab Members

Members of the Chaplaincy Innovation Lab are eligible for preferred rates on the offerings below:

• CILSUBSCRIBER for 10% off
• CILINNOVATOR for 20% off

Codes may be applied at checkout and apply to the first three months when paying monthly.

Clarify My Direction™ (CMD)

A Reflective Career Program for Chaplains and Spiritual Care Professionals

Clarify My Direction™ is a facilitated career program designed to help individuals gain perspective on where they are and clarify intentional next steps for their work and lives.

This program is especially supportive for chaplains and spiritual care professionals navigating uncertainty, burnout, transition, or leadership growth who want a structured process for reflection without pressure to have everything figured out.

Participants engage with guided prompts, practical frameworks, and reflection tools that help them clarify strengths, priorities, and next steps, supporting clear thinking and sustainable decision-making aligned with values.

New to Clarify My Direction™?
You may begin with a free course preview to explore the approach and determine whether it is a good fit:

• Start with the free course preview
• Clarify My Direction™ details

Intentional Professionals Community

Group Coaching for Purpose-Driven Leaders

The Intentional Professionals Community is a small, facilitated group coaching community for chaplains and other purpose-driven professionals who want ongoing reflection, connection, and support.

This community is well suited for people who:

• Want consistent space to think about work, leadership, and impact over time
• Are seeking greater alignment between strengths, priorities, and daily responsibilities
• Care about boundaries, sustainability, and burnout prevention
• Want to deepen their impact at work while protecting relationships and personal well-being

Members participate in monthly group coaching conversations, share challenges and insights, and develop clarity alongside others committed to meaningful, sustainable leadership.

Join the Intentional Professionals Community

Examples of Impact

Erica has supported chaplains and spiritual care professionals across healthcare, higher education, hospice, and nonprofit settings as they balance professional responsibilities with mental health, relationships, and long-term sustainability. Examples of this work include:

• Supporting a neurodiverse chaplain navigating a career pivot while balancing mental health needs, family commitments, and preparation for a leadership role within a mission-aligned nonprofit organization. The work emphasized self-compassion, clear boundaries, and aligning strengths and priorities with a sustainable leadership path.
• Working with a university chaplain seeking a new professional challenge and greater impact in their workplace. Together, priorities were clarified, aligned opportunities were identified, and positioning for an employer change was strengthened while remaining attentive to burnout prevention and relationships outside of work.
• Partnering with a hospital-based chaplain experiencing burnout and role misalignment to reconnect with strengths, creativity, and a sense of meaningful contribution. Coaching focused on establishing healthier boundaries, reshaping daily work in more life-giving ways, and protecting energy for loved ones.
• Supporting a hospice spiritual care professional who was feeling overextended and undercompensated to reimagine a career with greater autonomy, time in nature, and improved financial security. This work centered on clarifying priorities, strengthening decision-making, and honoring both purpose and personal well-being.

Across these engagements, the emphasis has been on self-compassion, boundaries, burnout prevention, meaningful impact, and helping people build careers that support both their calling and full lives.

What Chaplains Have Shared

Chaplains and spiritual care professionals who have participated in these offerings have shared the following reflections.

This course has illuminated the role my values have played in my career fulfillment. When I’ve felt fulfilled in the past, my work aligned with my values. Through this course I was able to clarify what those values are, identify what an ideal work environment looked like, and what type of career would be in accordance with those values. – Matthew

I’m really enjoying the group coaching sessions—I always leave with a takeaway. Being part of the Intentional Professionals group and hearing about others’ journeys and successes has been inspiring. – Hilary

I love being a part of a supportive learning environment. Working toward a common goal with others provides a richness of experience. Others’ questions are often mine that I just didn’t think to ask. – Mid-career professional

Partner Perspective

“Erica provided a 3-part coaching series for our professional community. Each session included clear, actionable coaching in both enhancing established careers and pursuing new paths. She also provided many opportunities for audience participation without making the session feel like work.”

Michael Skaggs
Director of Chaplaincy Innovation Lab Programs

About Erica Mattison

Erica Mattison, MPA, JD, is an executive coach and facilitator who works with chaplains, spiritual care professionals, and other purpose-driven leaders navigating career transitions, leadership development, and questions of direction.

She has partnered with the Chaplaincy Innovation Lab for several years, facilitating small-group coaching experiences and large-group workshops that support chaplains and spiritual care professionals in clarifying goals, strengthening leadership capacity, and approaching their work with intention.

Erica brings a strengths-based approach informed by advanced training in Gallup CliftonStrengths and Wiley Everything DiSC, helping individuals identify their strengths, clarify priorities, and make decisions that support sustainable impact.

She also uses storytelling and storylistening as core coaching practices, supporting clients to reflect on lived experience, surface patterns and insights, and explore possibilities they are genuinely curious about. This approach helps people move forward with greater clarity while honoring the complexity of their work and lives.

Her work centers on helping people slow down enough to think clearly, establish boundaries, and make choices aligned with their values, relationships, and responsibilities.