With COVID-19, we are navigating a shared change and very individual transitions.

Yes, there is a difference between the two.

They may feel the same, but they are very different. Change is external and transition is the internal process we experience in response to change. There are two books, both written by William Bridges, that I use when I work with clients in career and life transition. And this pandemic is certainly a career and life transition that none of us have experienced before.

• The Way of Transition – A more personal account of Bridges’ own experiences with change and transition.
• Transition: Making Sense of Life’s Changes – Focused on the meat and potatoes of the three stages without so much personal background.

“Change is something that happens to people, even if they don’t agree with it. Transition, on the other hand, is internal: it’s what happens in people’s minds as they go through change. Change can happen very quickly, while transition usually occurs more slowly.” ~William Bridges

COVID-19 has changed us all. And, we are all transitioning in our very personal ways.

Using Bridges’ model, there are three stages of transition. Endings, The Neutral Zone, and New Beginnings.

• ENDINGS: Loss, letting go, saying goodbye. If you are here, we talk about the importance of honoring what is ending. I’ve had clients plant trees, bury tokens, and unsubscribe to industry news to mark the ending of a chapter. Marking the end is necessary before a new beginning can start. 
• THE NEUTRAL ZONE: Characterized by chaos, instability, disorientation. Sound familiar? And, also present in massive quantities in this zone are creativity, innovation, and possibility. If you are here, this state is temporary. The most important thing we can do is be compassionate with ourselves, find resources, support systems, and use mindful strategies to be open to the innovation and creativity that shares this space.
• NEW BEGINNINGS: This is a phase of reorientation, acceptance, and identification with a new way of being. It may be that you accept the new that has replaced the old or that you see a sense of who you are becoming on the other side. If you are here, there may be relief that you’ve navigated through the uncertainty, there also may be new anxiety, excitement, and awareness that change may come again.

The change that the pandemic has forced upon us is shared. The transition we experience individually is very personal. Everyone moves through these stages at their own pace. I believe the more resources we have, the better.

These books are my go-tos. Bridges’ down-to-earth, practical concepts can help us navigate this shared yet very individual experience.

We know of the glass ceiling. Ever heard of the glass wall?

A young woman stood on one side of a glass wall, watching her company’s business event happening on the other side. She was in there moments ago with her heels and suit. 

But pretending that she cared about the corporate blah-blah-blah wasn’t her jam. She left to get some air and caught the scene through the glass that now separated her from the event – and her fake self from her real self.

After years of deciphering clues from many glass wall moments, she fakes it no more.

If you’ve had your own glass wall moments – looking in, not feeling connected, not wanting to be connected – ask yourself:

• What’s the scene I’d be excited to rejoin?
• Who are the people, what is the environment, vibe, dress, emotion from that scene?
• What are people talking about? Making? Creating? Building? Solving?

And maybe even

• How can I create my own scene and invite others in?

Shatter the glass wall. Live you genuine.

I can help you do that. It’s my jam. 

Is Your Purpose Unfolding During the Coronavirus Pandemic?

Sometimes we follow an instinct or our intuition, like an internal whisper, to make a career or life change and we aren’t clear on exactly why we are compelled to honor that whisper. Sometimes, we find value and meaning right away. Sometimes we struggle. And, sometimes, that “Big Why” is revealed much later…like during a global pandemic.

I am launching a video interview series and want to talk to people who are fully realizing the value of their shift during the Coronavirus crisis. I want to know how your your path unfolded. 

Here are two short ( 2-min) videos explaining the Honor the Whisper Project. Forgive the rough cut on the 2nd when my dog generously contributed to the audio!

Let’s create something together! Email Barbara@LiveYourGenuine.com or connect on LinkedIn to share your story.

Jonah Hill, actor-director-producer, was interviewed on the Howard Stern Show in October 2018 (I’m an unapologetic fan since the early ’90s) and something Jonah said about doing work he loves resonated so deeply with me that I made note of it and posted a meme. Little did I know that one month later, I would stumble across an opportunity to immerse myself in a brain-based coaching program to learn more about how creating and connecting forms the framework for building our capacity at work and in life.

Capacity. What is that anyway? Is it the amount something can hold? Is it output? It can be both; holding and doing. We can apply the word to how much water an unyielding glass can hold before it overflows or how many parts a machine can produce in one hour but capacity interests me most when applied to humans.  We aren’t always great at recognizing our potential for growth. Rigid and limiting visions of ourselves and can allow output, our “doing”, to be sabotaged by what we tell ourselves about our capacity.

You are more than your limited perception of you and your capacity is greater than you realize.

As a coach who works with clients in major career and life transition, I know that capacity for finding solutions, identifying new possibilities, and dealing with setbacks increases when people are in a builder mindset. Just as capacity can be described as holding and doing, getting to a builder mindset boils down to creating and connecting. Begin by paying attention to these three things:

1. Notice if you are separating more than connecting – with yourself and with others.

Humans are hard-wired to connect. When we rely only on ourselves or are not connecting with our genuine self in meaningful ways, we are limiting our awareness and possibilities. When you notice you are going it alone ask yourself questions like Who might have new ideas about this? And who else? If I asked my real self, what would she say? Who else could be on this team?

2. Pay attention to whether you are reacting more than you are creating.

Reacting is a fight/flight/freeze response and our best decisions and solutions aren’t born here. When you notice you’re reacting to everything “out there” or waiting for the next shoe to drop or reacting only to the needs of others and not your own, ask yourself or your team What possibilities does this challenge present? What opportunities do you see? What part of this can be influenced?

3. Take deliberate action to move on the scale toward creating and connecting.

Move away from separating and reacting. Make the call, send the email, schedule the meeting, wake up 15 minutes early, write the blog post…DO something to move that needle.

What you will find is that connecting leads to creating and creating leads to connecting and it is in this cycle that we build our capacity for almost anything life and business throws at us.

Want to learn more? Connect here to learn more about what we could create together!

“I didn’t realize just how much of a beating my self-confidence was taking from being in the wrong profession.”

This was an email from a recent client, who successfully executed a complete career change (functional skills and industry change).

You are more than your limited perception of you, and your capacity is greater than you realize. This is why I became a coach. Although I couldn’t articulate it in that way 5 years ago, I knew that personal growth was where I belonged, and it made sense to use my understanding of the hiring process and my interest in career development as a focus.

Five years later, I am more deeply in love with the coaching process and the impact it can have when done well. I know, because I’ve been in the seat of the coachee. The transformation I have experienced due to my continued training with some of the best coaches out there fuels a perpetual fire to help reveal people to themselves…their beauty, strength, wisdom, and worth.

My wish is that you find a way to fuel whatever fires YOU up so you can begin to #LiveYourGenuine in 2019!  Happy Holidays!