You know that moment when you are talking with someone and they ask that question that stops you mid-sentence because it caused a gigantic airplane hanger door to blow open in your mind?
That happened to me yesterday. Yep, mind blown. I felt like I was in a movie scene – my mouth hanging open, my eyes bulging, my coach staring at me with a growing smile on her face. And my brain, stuttering and lurching like the car I was in when I was learning how to drive a manual drive car and hadn’t yet figured out how to get it into gear and moving.
Let me backtrack and give you some context. I’ve been struggling with planning a particular event. The roles and responsibilities are muddy, the buy-in from the volunteer planning committee is luke-warm, the budget is negligible while the goals are ambitious. And the lines from me to the leadership do not exist. Thus far I’d tried multiple strategies and was starting to feel like “I’m running out of time”. (I’m not of course because I’m a planner and always build in extra room for these things.) I only feel like that because my plan isn’t proceeding the way I want, and I’ve been told my performance pay is connected to the feedback forms from the event participants. Sound familiar?
I WAS SO FRUSTRATED THAT I CAN’T TALK DIRECTLY TO THE LEADERS THAT I WANT TO!!!! I mean, I could but that would likely start a controversy and drama that I just have no interest in embarking on because it would not be productive or serve anyone. The cost is too high for the potential benefit. (Yikes! did you hear the toddler in that sentence?!)
Coach helped me to identify for myself that I have been taking on responsibility for stuff that I can’t control. That I have a plan, I’ve started to execute it and now it just needs to be reviewed and possibly tweaked. That there are things that I haven’t tried yet.
So, as my brain is shuffling through everything that I’ve tried, starting to make lists of the resources I haven’t tapped into yet, listening to my coach turn on a bit of mentoring for me (thank goodness Coach gets my needs!!!), I’m still showing up all serious and frustrated. Coach suddenly asks me:
Well, what about using some fun on that?
Coach to Teresa
Teresa to self….woah!
Gigantic Airplane Hanger Door opened in my mind.
That my readers, is what one calls an ‘a-ha’ moment or an epiphany.
That one question, perfectly timed, in the right tone, created a shift that I needed. This is why business coaching can be SO pivotal and why I not only offer coaching, but also get coaching. Sometimes we can’t see our own patterns and keep getting stuck in our businesses because of that. Having a coach hear you out, ask you the questions that you didn’t know you needed to hear, and push you to examine your values and dreams in a new light, is the transformation that can take your business to another level.
For me, this door opening in my mind helped me to realize that not only was I taking myself too seriously (I mean come on ego – stop with the toddler-esque temper tantrums) but I was also neglecting how much fun it is to plan an amazing event with talented people for the benefit of other awesome people. I actually feel breathless even now as I write this and think about the POSSIBILITIES that exist as I move forward with an approach to solving my challenges with an attitude of ‘lets have some fun with this’ rather than ‘I have to be serious and responsible’.
Who said we can’t be responsible AND have fun? No one, ever.
I hope you have enjoyed this short foray into one of my own business coaching sessions. Here are my questions to you:
What is a business problem you are having that you can “use some fun on”?
What are the possibilities that open up for you as you use some fun on that?
What action will you take RIGHT NOW to get that fun started?
What will you do to keep the momentum going?
If you found this true story interesting and want to experience your own Solution Focused Coaching, please book a free consultation now. With over 20 years in a variety of businesses, industries as well as roles, coaching with me might be just what you need to get unstuck!
Wishing you a day filled with meaning – and FUN!!!!!
