135. Susan Hensley - Helping people navigate change

Welcome to “People in Transition”, the podcast that gives you the tools, insights, and inspiration to navigate life’s biggest shifts with clarity and confidence. I’m your host, Bob Gerst — the Job Transition Professor — and today’s guest is someone who brings a powerful blend of creativity, wisdom, and lived experience to the world of personal transformation: Susan Hensley.

Susan is a transformational coach, speaker, and author whose global career has taken her from corporate boardrooms in Hong Kong and London to leadership development spaces across the U.S. Her work helps people meet change with resilience, curiosity, and even joy. One of her most impactful tools is art journaling — a creative practice that blends reflection, mindfulness, and imagination to help people process transition and build emotional strength.

In our conversation, Susan and I explore how creativity can quiet the inner critic, steady us in times of uncertainty, and unlock new possibilities during job transitions. We’ll dig into the “messy middle,” examine the six major types of life transitions, and talk about why early reflection and reinvention can completely reshape your job search path.

If you’re facing change — or helping others navigate it — you won’t want to miss this episode. Susan brings practical tools, a fresh perspective, and an energizing sense of possibility to anyone standing at a crossroads.

For more information about Susan, go to https://susan-hensley.com/