We are currently living through a period when change is happening all around us at an exponential rate—socially, politically, economically and environmentally. In the coming decades more people will be facing momentous change and transition in life and at work than ever before in human history. I believe therefor it has never been a point time when if has been more important to take a good look at where we are today and where we want to be tomorrow.
Life-shattering change and distressing uncertainty is not only a global phenomenon, however, it can also affect each of us on a very personal level. Regardless of success and professional status everybody is likely to face transition at some point, and transition means change, and change is by definition uncomfortable. It will happen to you too, and when it does it is likely to make you feel stuck and unsure, and question your direction and sense of purpose.
We can choose to look on these global trends and dramatic occurrences in our lives as existential crises or as opportunity. I believe it to be opportunity for good men and women to reinvent, or perhaps rediscover, themselves and find a heightened sense self-awareness and personal responsibility; for themselves, for the people they love and for the world at large.
I am proud to say that I used to be an international principal dancer at the very top of my profession, and I have been an artistic director of two national arts organisations: The Royal New Zealand Ballet and English National Ballet, where I had the privilege of leadership and responsibility for personal development of up to 70 employees.
Over the years of working in the theatre I have had the pleasure of working with some of the most extraordinary, talented and successful people on the planet, all of them dealing with the complexity and uncertainty of change on a daily basis. Because in the arts change and transition is constant—it’s a way of being. The courage to enter into the unknown and unexplored is in fact the very essence of the Artistic Creative Process.
But the need to tackle complex transition and change is not exclusive to the arts. I often come across people in all walks of life who are highly successful and skilled at what they do, but have regardless got stuck—knowing that if they don’t find a way forward they run the risk of remaining unsatisfied and unfulfilled.
I provide a coaching service called: What Next? Typically my clients are successful senior professionals feeling stuck because they are going through a period of change and transition. I help them navigate the complexity of their situation and their feelings of uncertainty. I work with them to find clarity of direction to what’s next in their life, and/or business, and to decisively take action so they can get to where they want to be. My clients tend to go from feeling overwhelmed to being in control and knowing what they need to do to recover their mojo and get back in the driver’s seat again.
My coaching program is built around three fundamental elements: vision, strategy and mind-set: i.e. WHAT do you want, WHAT do you need to do to get what you want, and WHAT is stopping you from doing what you need to do. It sounds very simple, but simple is not the same as easy and to expect a person to manage that process on his or her own is a tough ask.
The answer lies not necessarily in a dramatic shift of life-paradigm, because the key to success is not in becoming someone different, but in doing things just a little differently, small adjustments that can lead to dramatically different and positive results. Much of the work we do together is focused around insight; because often one single insight might be all it takes to change everything.
If you are facing a time of uncertainty and change and want to explore, in a safe and confidential environment, what is next in your life drop me a line to book a free one-hour consultation. I would be pleased to hear from you.