When You Sense Something Needs To Change At Work

One of the things I enjoy most about coaching is noticing patterns. Last week, a common theme emerged across several coaching conversations. Clients had a sense that something was not quite right, yet they often struggled to identify exactly where the issue lay or how to articulate it. Interestingly, many found it easier to describe their experience through metaphors rather than direct explanations.

Some of the metaphors that surfaced during these conversations included:

"I feel like I cannot switch off."

"I am wearing cement boots and can’t get to the strategic planning."

"I am running on a treadmill and feel exhausted"

For one client, we decided to stay with that image of the treadmill for a little longer. Rather than rushing towards solutions, we became curious about the picture itself.

If you were to draw exactly what is happening, what would it look like?

Who else would be in the picture? What are they doing?

Does what people see externally match what is happening internally?

As we explored the image, more details started to emerge. What had initially felt like a general sense of frustration became much clearer and more tangible. From there, we started to challenge the picture.

How accurate is it?

Who is putting the heavy backpack on your shoulders?

Could you be adding some of the weight yourself?

How could some of that weight be distributed elsewhere? What would be the impact of doing this?

Should that weight be carried at all and, if so, how much of it is helping to drive the strategy forward versus simply slowing you down?

I realised after the sessions, how easy it is for all of us to become so immersed in our day to day reality that we stop questioning it. The treadmill becomes normal. The cement boots become part of the job and we lose sight of the bigger picture.

We need to pause, even momentarily and make an intentional decision and commitment to change something.

As Sir John Whitmore famously said in this book Coaching for Performance, "if we do not change direction, we are liable to end up where we are headed."

Senior leaders, in particular, need space to think, to consider different perspectives, and a reflective mirror that helps them shine a light on what is really happening. It is often in those moments within a safe coaching space, that new possibilities begin to emerge.