A Positive Regard · Private Career Advisory
Make your next move with a clearer perspective.
You’ve built a successful career. Now you’re weighing a decision that deserves more than another opinion from someone who hasn’t heard the whole story.
Work directly with Steve Marsh to examine your options, challenge your assumptions, and identify a practical way forward.
For senior professionals in technology, cybersecurity, risk, and financial services.
When the stakes feel personal
A good opportunity isn’t always the right move.
A bigger offer. A harder decision.
More compensation and responsibility, but unanswered questions about the manager, expectations, stability, or cost to your life outside work.
Successful. And ready for a change?
You’ve achieved what you set out to do. Now you’re wondering whether another promotion will bring you closer to what you actually want.
A leadership challenge. A career consequence.
A difficult relationship, stalled progression, or mounting pressure calls for a response that protects both your options and your self-respect.
Your adviser
Corporate experience. Understanding of the person.
Steve Marsh
My background spans technology operations, cybersecurity, and risk leadership, with experience at Amazon, Capital One, and Deloitte. I also hold graduate qualifications in occupational psychology and clinical mental health counseling.
That combination shapes how I approach career decisions: we consider the organizational realities alongside your motivations, priorities, and the life you want your work to support.
I’ll offer a perspective, explain my reasoning, and challenge assumptions where useful. The decision stays yours.
MA Clinical Mental Health Counseling
Career advisory is a distinct service from psychotherapy. Employer references describe professional experience and do not imply endorsement.
Focused engagements
Choose the depth your decision needs.
Start with a brief inquiry. We’ll confirm the scope, availability, and delivery timeline before you pay.
Executive Second Opinion
A considered perspective when you need help thinking through one specific situation.
- Structured written intake
- A personal audio response from Steve
- A concise written recommendation
- One follow-up clarification within seven days of delivery
Career Decision Review
A deeper examination of one decision, with space to explore the trade-offs and what’s still unknown.
- Structured intake and review of agreed documents
- A 45-minute private conversation
- A written decision brief covering options, trade-offs, uncertainties, and next steps
- One follow-up clarification within seven days of delivery
Each engagement covers one defined situation. Additional decisions or ongoing support are agreed separately. Delivery timing is confirmed before purchase.
See the approach
The offer looks better. Does the role?
A fictional example of a decision brief. This illustrates the reasoning you can expect; your review will reflect your own circumstances.
The situation
A technology director earns $280,000 in total annual compensation. A new employer offers $350,000 and a VP title. The current role feels stagnant; the new role involves more travel and a vaguely defined mandate.
The decision beneath the headline
This is a choice between a known plateau and an opportunity whose authority, workload, and progression are not yet clear. The title and compensation are attractive, but they don’t establish whether the role fits.
What needs checking
Separate guaranteed pay from variable compensation. Establish the reporting line, budget, decision rights, and first-year success measures. Ask for concrete travel expectations and why the position is open. Speak with a future peer about how disagreements are handled.
The trade-offs
Staying preserves predictability but may prolong stagnation. Moving could offer growth and greater compensation while introducing execution risk and more time away from home. Neither choice solves every problem.
My provisional perspective
Keep pursuing the opportunity, but resolve the mandate and travel questions before accepting. If authority is materially smaller than accountability, the VP title may conceal a difficult assignment. Clear sponsorship, realistic expectations, and an acceptable travel commitment would strengthen the case for moving.
The next step
Arrange a conversation with the hiring manager: “Before deciding, I’d like to understand the decisions I will own, the resources available, and what success would look like after twelve months.”
How it works
A clear process, from inquiry to next step.
Describe the decision
Send a brief overview through the Career Inquiry page. Include the service you’re considering and any deadline. We’ll assess fit and agree the engagement.
Examine the context
After confirmation and payment, complete the agreed intake. For a Decision Review, we’ll also meet to explore what matters and what’s missing.
Choose your next step
Receive your personal response or decision brief. Use the included clarification to understand the reasoning and prepare your next action.
Before we work together
Is this coaching or therapy?
This is focused career advisory. It supports professional decisions and development; it does not provide psychotherapy, mental-health treatment, or crisis support. Counseling training informs Steve’s listening and questioning approach.
Will you tell me which choice to make?
You’ll receive a reasoned perspective, including uncertainties and what would change the recommendation. You retain responsibility for your decision. No outcome, promotion, salary increase, or job placement is guaranteed.
What should I share in my first inquiry?
Your role, the broad decision, the service that interests you, and your deadline. Please omit employer secrets, client information, medical details, and documents. We’ll agree how to exchange relevant material after confirming the engagement.
Can you review compensation or employment terms?
We can explore how compensation and role expectations affect your career decision. Legal interpretation, tax advice, investment advice, and detailed equity valuation require an appropriately qualified specialist.
What happens if my situation isn’t a fit?
We’ll discuss suitability before payment. If another kind of support is more appropriate, Steve will say so. Scope, delivery dates, and applicable terms are agreed before you purchase.
Your next move
You don’t have to weigh it alone.
Share a brief outline of the decision you’re facing. We’ll establish whether a focused second opinion or a deeper review would be useful.