Professional Trust

I am a professional planner. By which a mean, given half a chance, I would be a real mind-mapping, list-ticking, diary-scheduling, attitude-choosing, control-freak of a planner. My days can be a series of alarms set to remind me of the next client, the scheduled Skype session, the shift between the roles of mother, coach, supervisor, entrepreneur, wife, chief finance officer, friend…… et al. So overall, people know not to make too many spontaneous suggestions to me because they may get a frown in response. This is because because I can seriously overbook myself!
This is not me boasting about how busy and successful I am. This I me recognising that, whilst I can certainly get a lot done in a short space of time, my M.O. does not always serve me. What I miss out on primarily is joy and excitement of allowing things into my work and my world that are not pinned down in the diary.

This is where the five year old helps: whilst I do not find it easy to admit, when he is unwell, or joyous, or celebrating in the moment, as his mother, I am forced to change my plans and this does me the world of good. A change of plan last minute brings a richness of love or fun or humour or nourishment that keeps my life interesting and diverse. Interestingly it is similar within each coaching and supervision session. I will always have a loose plan for us to resort to, but, rarely is that what is actually needed. I need to be open to working with exactly what comes into the room with each individual, each and every time. This is what keeps the work dynamic and indeed relevant to the moment. This is when the biggest shifts in learning and perspective take place for both coach and client. This is when the real work is done.
So what I can learn from my clients and my small boy is to trust. Trust that if there’s is a framework of professional ethical boundaries, then the coaching work takes care of itself. Trust that qhen there are parental rules and contracts with the small boy, then there is the freedom to enjoy each moment whilst we are right in it.
This is how I build the the professional trust that I apply to my life. The trust that the structure of a diary serves as a safe platform for my work. The trust also that the ability to deviate from The Plan is essential in order to capitalise on passing opportunities. If I am too focused on The Outcome, I can miss the beauty that is right in front of my nose.

Contracts and agreements, ethics and boundaries, diaries and alarms, used appropriately, are all intrinsic in the platform of trust that enables the freedom and dynamism essential for a rich life and for powerful coaching.
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