I STILL REMEMBER THE DAY I was 6 years old and starting back to school. And this school year was extra special as I had been told that I was “going into transition”, the classroom at the top of the stairs. The stairs that the bigger, super confident, good at all things children climbed each morning whilst I, a mere 5-year-old, went left at the bottom of the stairs to the classroom where the little children went.
When I reached the top of the stairs and stepped over the threshold and into the classroom called “transition” I took my seat, looked around at the familiar faces of my friends from downstairs who had also made it up the stairs, and waited for the change to happen. The change that would mean I felt bigger, super confident and good at all things – like those other children. As I walked down the stairs at the end of the day, I felt that “transition” was a bit of a letdown. I was in fact no different, if anything I felt smaller than I’d felt at the start of the day, and a bit of a fraud! I kept this to myself.
Realising the Truth About Transition
That little girl grew up to learn and appreciate that transition isn’t a room at the top of the stairs, or a one-off event. She appreciates now that it isn’t physical, visible or steady but internal, invisible, personal and disruptive. A wholly untidy process that unfolds before, during and after outward achievements or milestones. She knows the internal twists and turns of transition often continue way beyond the shelf life of the congratulation’s cards with their good wishes for securing that new job or having a baby or passing those exams. And that transition is part of being human and becoming the best we can be as we climb the stairways of our lives.
The Power of Coaching in Times of Transition
Richard Rohr describes transition as a process from “order to disorder to re-order” with “no non-stop flight to re-order”1Rohr, Richard, (2022) The Wisdom Pattern, SPCK Publishing, rather the need for individuals to immerse themselves in and learn from the disorder. And that is where timely targeted executive coaching comes in. Dr Susan Gardner, Dean of the College of Education at Oregan State University is quoted to have said “Equality is giving everyone a shoe. Equity is giving everyone a shoe that fits”. I believe coaching epitomizes equity because it is customized to fit the needs of each unique client in their unique context.
As the research base underpinning my executive coaching continues to grow so to do the opportunities to draw in new coaching tools for clients in a way that meets them exactly where they need to be met. Perhaps, for example, drawing on neuroscience insights into stress management for leaders stepping into bigger, higher profile roles, or maybe groundbreaking neurological insights into brain changes during and beyond pregnancy for new mother returner clients who are figuring out their emerging identity.
Which transition are you navigating I wonder? How might coaching support you and your organisation?
Photo by Micke Lindström on Unsplash
- 1Rohr, Richard, (2022) The Wisdom Pattern, SPCK Publishing
