What?

The other day I coached a Senior Manager who during the past year has had to get used to:

• A new boss
• A new team
• A more operational (vs more creative before) role
• Learning a new language to communicate remotely with his peers

The Manager also felt disengaged from the job and complained that:

‘There is much less of me in the final product now than in the past… hence I feel that what I am now doing is much less ‘personal’.

So what?

I asked the Manager these 3 simple question:

• What 3 things have you done this year that you are proud of?
• What 3 things have you learnt about yourself this year that you didn’t know before?
• Who have you connected to in this past year that you would have never have imagined to connect to?

As the candidate talked through the achievements and the new insights gained throughout the year she literally breathed deeply, straightened her back and started to move her eyes sideways. Quite different from the ‘leaning forwards and looking down’ professional I had seen up to that moment.

She started exploring her synergetic self and re-accessing her inner resources.

She shifted perspectives and started to replace ‘imposition’ with ‘milestones and success moments’.

She started realizing that she was still making an impact but in a different way from before.

She started claiming a new voice for herself.

Now what?

Let’s face it: we hear a lot about the need to change in today’s VUCA world (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) …but how easy is it to really maintain a positively curious attitude when everything and everyone around you is changing?

Homeostasis – or the tendency to maintain the system – is a strong and human force. All of us have self-sabotaging inner voices that hold us back. Preserving the status quo is part of these Saboteur’s job. It’s no wonder that when everything around us is changing we voice the Saboteurs even more.

But claiming that energy back through deeply growing in self-awareness and leading oneself first is the key to succeed in today’s VUCA world. Having an interest in aligning your behavior with your values is the necessary first step to take in order to consciously think, act and create value every day.

What can you do?

As the end of the year approaches, take stock of 2017 and answer the same questions I asked my Senior Manager:

• What you are proud of
• What have you learnt about yourself
• Who have you connected to

…and note down all the new and unexpected perspectives you get!