Blindsided

She was completely blindsided. There she was, listening to the person who took over her department questioning everything she’d done over the past seven years - in front of people that mattered. Though she had moved up into other things, her heart was still attached to what she had worked so hard to create.?

The old version of her would have lashed out immediately, in her words: “Cutting him off at the knees.”?

That was her pattern and she was known in her organization as incredibly talented but harsh. She understood that this pattern affected her ability to be truly effective (and kept her on a stressful emotional roller coaster), so she sought executive coaching with me.?

Now back to the story…the new version of her felt the sting of the trigger, noticed and took a deep breath. Instead of lashing out, she paused, observed and let others in the room speak. As she listened, she thought, “Do I really care anymore? Does it looking a certain way really matter? Maybe there is another way.”

This was nothing short of monumental for her.

She eventually did speak, but from a place of being the executive she is and feeling responsible to voice her opinion, not defend her work and her vision. This opened up a dialogue that never would have happened had she cut him off at the knees.?

I asked her how it feels to have this level of emotional mastery. She said, “Finally. I’ve had the desire to stop operating like this for a very long time.”

Living proof that patterns don’t have to be forever.